U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Office of Minority and Women Inclusion 

Annual Report to Congress 

March 2018 
Disclaimer 

This is a report of the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Commission 

has expressed no view regarding the analysis, findings, or conclusions contained herein. 
Contents 

Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1 

Organizational Overview ............................................................................................................. 2 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission................................................................................ 2 

The Office of Minority and Women Inclusion ........................................................................... 2 

Supplier Diversity ......................................................................................................................... 4 

Supplier Diversity Initiatives ...................................................................................................... 4 

Supplier Diversity Performance Metrics .................................................................................... 5 

Next Steps ................................................................................................................................... 9 

Workforce Diversity and Workplace Inclusion ....................................................................... 10 

Outreach and Recruitment ........................................................................................................ 12 

Diversity Training..................................................................................................................... 15 

Leadership Development Programs .......................................................................................... 15 

Diversity and Inclusion Performance Standard ........................................................................ 16 

Monitoring and Analyzing Internal Demographics .................................................................. 16 

Evaluating Performance............................................................................................................ 16 

Current State of Diversity ......................................................................................................... 18 

Work Environment.................................................................................................................... 27 

Challenges and Next Steps........................................................................................................ 29 

Diversity Policies and Practices of SEC-Regulated Entities ................................................... 31 

SEC Contractors’ Workforce Inclusion of Minorities and Women ...................................... 33 

Conclusion and FY 2018 Outlook.............................................................................................. 34 

Appendix A: OMWI FY 2017 Diversity Partners ................................................................... 35 

Appendix B: FY 2017 Outreach and Recruitment Events ...................................................... 36 

Appendix C: FY 2017 Programs for Special Observances ..................................................... 37 
 

 

Introduction 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Minority and Women 

Inclusion (OMWI) is pleased to submit its Annual Report to Congress pursuant to Section 342 of 

the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank 

Act).1

 The Annual Report summarizes the actions the SEC and OMWI have taken to enhance 

diversity in the agency’s workforce, promote the utilization of minority-owned and womenowned businesses in the agency’s business activities, and implement other statutory 

requirements. Unless otherwise noted, this report covers the period October 1, 2016 to 

September 30, 2017. 

The major sections in this Annual Report describe the specific actions the SEC and 

OMWI have taken to execute statutory responsibilities related to Supplier Diversity, Workforce 

Diversity and Workplace Inclusion, Diversity Policies and Practices of SEC-Regulated Entities, 

and SEC Contractors’ Workforce Inclusion of Minorities and Women. In addition to highlighting 

the progress the SEC has made toward attaining diversity at all levels of the agency’s workforce 

and attracting diverse suppliers, the report identifies challenges and continuing efforts to further 

advance the agency’s diversity and inclusion objectives. 

1

 Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376, July 11, 2010, codified as 12 U.S.C. § 5452. Section 342(e). 

1 
 

Organizational Overview 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or Commission) is a bi-partisan 

Commission consisting of five Commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the 

Senate. The President designates one Commissioner to serve as Chairman of the Commission. 

Jay Clayton is the current Chairman of the Commission. The mission of the SEC is to protect 

investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. 

Accordingly, the agency’s goals are to establish and maintain an effective regulatory 

environment, promote compliance with the Federal securities laws, facilitate access to 

information needed to make informed investment decisions, and enhance the agency’s 

performance through effective management of human resources, information, and financial 

capital. 

The SEC oversees more than 26,000 market participants, including investment advisers, 

mutual funds and exchange traded funds, broker-dealers, transfer agents, national securities 

exchanges, and others. The agency’s functional responsibilities are carried out through five main 

divisions and 25 offices, each of which is headquartered in Washington, DC. The SEC also has 

11 regional offices located throughout the country. 

The Office of Minority and Women Inclusion 

In accordance with Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC established its Office of 

Minority and Women Inclusion in July 2011, and assigned the office responsibility for all 

matters related to diversity in the agency’s management, employment, and business activities. 

The Director of OMWI is a Senior Officer reporting directly to the Chairman. OMWI’s staff also 

includes a deputy director, attorney advisers, a data analyst, and management and program 

analysts dedicated to the office’s major functional areas—workforce diversity and inclusion and 

supplier diversity. 

OMWI is responsible for providing leadership and guidance for all of the SEC’s diversity 

and inclusion efforts. Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the OMWI Director to develop 

standards for ensuring equal employment opportunity and the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity 

of the workforce and senior management of the agency; increasing participation of minorityowned and women-owned businesses in the SEC’s programs and contracts; and assessing the 

diversity policies and practices of entities regulated by the SEC.2

 The OMWI Director is also 

2 See Section 342(b)(2)(A)-(C). 

2 
 

 

required to advise the Commission on the impact of the SEC’s policies and regulations on 

minority-owned and women-owned businesses.3 

Further, Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the OMWI Director to develop 

procurement procedures that include a written statement that a contractor shall ensure, to the 

maximum extent possible, the fair inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce of the 

contractor and, as applicable, subcontractors.4

 As a result of this requirement, the OMWI 

Director is required to establish standards and procedures for determining whether an agency 

contractor or subcontractor has failed to make a good faith effort to include minorities and 

women in its workforce.5 

3 See Section 342(b)(3). 

4 See Section 342(c)(2). 

5 See Section 342(c)(3)(A). 

3 
Supplier Diversity 

The SEC is committed to maintaining a diverse supplier base and utilizing minorityowned and women-owned businesses (MWOBs) in the agency’s business activities, as the 

agency recognizes that supplier diversity is needed to ensure the best goods and services are 

procured to meet its contracting needs. To implement the agency’s strategy for promoting 

supplier diversity, OMWI works closely with the Office of Acquisitions (OA), which is 

responsible for all procurement activities at the agency. OA also has responsibility for ensuring 

the SEC attains the specific statutory goals established by the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) for increasing small business contracting opportunities. 

The SEC follows the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which requires Federal 

agencies to set aside certain requirements for competition solely among certain categories of 

small businesses. This authority provides opportunities for MWOBs that are small businesses to 

compete for contracts through the Small Disadvantaged Business, 8(a) Certified, Women-Owned 

Small Business, and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business programs 

administered by SBA. 

In FY 2017, the SEC continued to implement supplier diversity initiatives for ensuring 

the utilization of MWOBs in the agency’s business activities. As discussed in more detail below, 

the five-year trend data show: 

 The SEC paid MWOBs $133.7 million or 36 percent of the SEC total contract 

payments in FY 2017; an increase of nearly 7 percentage points since FY 2013. 

 The dollar amounts and percentages of SEC contract awards to MWOBs increased by 

$49.6 million and 5.3 percentage points since FY 2013. 

 The average dollar value of the SEC contract award to MWOBs increased from 

$829,464 in FY 2013 to $1.24 million in FY 2017. 

Supplier Diversity Initiatives 

Outreach and Technical Assistance: 

While the SEC’s supplier diversity initiatives are intended to reach MWOBs of all sizes, 

many MWOBs are small businesses. In fact, 90 percent of MWOBs awarded SEC contracts in 

FY 2017 were small businesses under SBA size standards. Thus, OMWI and the Small 

Business Specialist in OA collaborate on outreach activities that are designed to increase 

MWOB and small business awareness of SEC requirements and participation in agency 

contracting. The SEC also provides potential contractors technical assistance on how to 

4 
conduct business within the SEC procurement space. The cooperation between OMWI and OA 

has contributed significantly to the overall success of the SEC’s supplier diversity efforts. 

As they have done in previous years, OMWI and OA jointly hosted “Vendor Outreach 

Days” at SEC headquarters during FY 2017. This monthly forum provides MWOBs and small 

businesses with an individualized opportunity to learn about the SEC’s contracting needs and 

to present their business capabilities to OMWI’s Supplier Diversity Officer, the SEC’s Small 

Business Specialist, and other key SEC personnel. A total of 81 businesses participated in 

Vendor Outreach Day in FY 2017. 

To increase the interaction between MWOBs and the SEC, OMWI also participated in 

external business networking events. During FY 2017, OMWI participated in ten national 

business conferences and procurement matchmaking sessions, including the 27th Annual 

Government Procurement Conference; Women as Veteran Entrepreneurs Annual Seminar; 

National Minority Supplier Development Council Conference and Business Expo; National 8(a) 

Association Conference; and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Conference and 

Business Fair. 

Other Initiatives to Promote Supplier Diversity: 

OMWI maintains an electronic Supplier Diversity Business Management System 

(SDBMS) to collect up-to-date business information and capabilities statements from diverse 

suppliers interested in doing business with the SEC. SDBMS is used to assist OA and SEC 

Program Offices with identifying MWOB suppliers for market research purposes, as requested. 

In addition, OMWI regularly disseminates information to MWOBs about SEC contracting 

opportunities, industry days, and supplier diversity outreach events. 

Another useful tool for MWOBs is the “Potential Competitive Contracting Opportunities 

Forecast” (Forecast) published by OA on the SEC.gov website. The Forecast lists competitive 

contracting opportunities that may occur during the fiscal year and provides project descriptions, 

estimated award amounts, and in a few instances, the estimated start date for performance. The 

Forecast also indicates the SEC division with the potential contracting need and whether the 

government-wide acquisition contract or some other acquisition strategy will be used. 

OMWI maintains a webpage for Supplier Diversity Outreach, dedicated email address, 

and telephone line for contracting inquiries and outreach. 

Supplier Diversity Performance Metrics 

SEC Contractors: 

Figure 1 shows the total number of contractors the SEC paid and the number of MWOBs 

receiving contract payments from FY 2013 to FY 2017. Of the 430 firms receiving contract 

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payments in FY 2017, 107 or 24.9 percent were classified as MWOBs. With the exception of FY 

2016, MWOBs represented nearly 25 percent of the firms receiving contract payments in each 

fiscal year since FY 2013. MWOBs represented 27.4 percent of the firms receiving SEC contract 

payments in FY 2016. Women-owned businesses represented 5.8 percent of the firms receiving 

SEC contract payments in FY 2017, and their percentage decreased each year since FY 2013. 

Figure 1: SEC Contractors Receiving Payments FY 2013 – FY 2017 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

SEC Total 464 100.0% 488 100.0% 504 100.0% 405 100.0% 430 100.0%

All Other Firms 350 75.4% 367 75.2% 381 75.6% 294 72.6% 323 75.1%

Total MWOBs 114 24.6% 121 24.8% 123 24.4% 111 27.4% 107 24.9%

Asian 29 6.3% 36 7.4% 39 7.7% 44 10.9% 26 6.0%

Black 21 4.5% 24 4.9% 28 5.6% 27 6.7% 29 6.7%

Hispanic 13 2.8% 9 1.8% 14 2.8% 9 2.2% 15 3.5%

Other Minority 8 1.7% 7 1.4% 9 1.8% 6 1.5% 12 2.8%

Women Only 43 9.3% 45 9.2% 33 6.5% 25 6.2% 25 5.8%

Source: Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) and Delphi retrieved on January 23, 2018. Firm count uses distinct count of 

Supplier Number. “Women Only” includes firms without minority designations. 

Contract Payments:6 

The contract payments made in each fiscal year since FY 2013 and the amounts paid to 

MWOBs are shown in Figure 2. The percentage of the SEC total contract payments paid to 

MWOBs increased each year since FY 2013, and increased 3.6 percentage points from FY 2016 

to FY 2017. The SEC paid a total of $371.1 million to contractors in FY 2017, and $133.7 

million or 36 percent of this total was paid to MWOBs. 

Contract payments to Hispanic American-owned businesses increased from 1.5 percent in 

FY 2016 to 3.8 percent of the SEC total contract payments in FY 2017. Contract payments to 

Asian American-owned businesses decreased from 19.1 percent in FY 2016 to 18.5 percent of 

the SEC total contract payments in FY 2017. Women-owned businesses and Black/African 

American-owned businesses saw negligible decreases in their percentages of the SEC total 

contract payments from FY 2016 to FY 2017. 

6

 Contract payments” are the actual funds the SEC paid out to contractors for goods and services provided. 

Performance of a contract may not occur within the same fiscal year the contract is awarded. Payments made during 

the fiscal year in many instances are for goods or services provided under contracts awarded in prior fiscal years. As 

a result, the dollar amounts for contract payments and contract awards in a given fiscal year are not comparable. 

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Figure 2: Contract Payments by MWOB Category FY 2013 – FY 2017 (Amount in Millions) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

SEC Total $436.1 100.0% $336.3 100.0% $362.9 100.0% $380.9 100.0% $371.0 100.0%

All Other Firms $309.2 70.9% $250.5 74.5% $239.8 66.1% $257.3 67.6% $237.3 64.0%

Total MWOBs $126.9 29.1% $85.8 25.5% $123.2 33.9% $123.6 32.4% $133.7 36.0%

Asian $63.4 14.5% $28.6 8.5% $52.9 14.6% $72.7 19.1% $68.7 18.5%

Black $16.9 3.9% $14.3 4.3% $18.9 5.2% $16.2 4.3% $14.7 4.0%

Hispanic $5.5 1.3% $8.3 2.5% $19.6 5.4% $5.8 1.5% $14.2 3.8%

Other Minority $3.3 0.8% $6.1 1.8% $4.3 1.2% $8.0 2.1% $16.2 4.4%

Women Only $37.8 8.7% $28.5 8.5% $27.6 7.6% $20.8 5.5% $20.0 5.4%

Source: FPDS and Delphi retrieved on January 23, 2018. “Women Only” include firms without minority designations. 

Contract Awards:7 

Figure 3 depicts the total number of MWOBs awarded SEC contracts in each fiscal year 

since FY 2013, and the percentage of MWOBs among firms awarded SEC contracts. The 

percentage of MWOBs among firms awarded SEC contracts increased incrementally since FY 

2013. In FY 2017, the SEC awarded contracts to 438 firms, of which 115 or 26.3 percent were 

classified as MWOBs. Women-owned businesses represented 12.3 percent of the firms awarded 

SEC contracts in FY 2017, and their percentage among firms awarded SEC contracts decreased 

since FY 2013. 

Figure 3: MWOBs with SEC Contract Awards FY 2013 – FY 2017 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

SEC Total 447 100.0% 515 100.0% 549 100.0% 484 100.0% 438 100.0%

Total MWOBs 112 25.1% 130 25.2% 145 26.4% 126 26.0% 115 26.3%

WOBs 65 14.5% 69 13.4% 75 13.7% 63 13.0% 54 12.3%

MW‐OBs 33 7.4% 30 5.8% 35 6.4% 35 7.2% 26 5.9%

MOBs 80 17.9% 91 17.7% 105 19.1% 98 20.2% 83 18.9%

Asian 35 7.8% 41 8.0% 45 8.2% 42 8.7% 33 7.5%

Black 24 5.4% 26 5.0% 30 5.5% 28 5.8% 26 5.9%

Hispanic 11 2.5% 14 2.7% 20 3.6% 16 3.3% 12 2.7%

Native American 3 0.7% 2 0.4% 3 0.5% 5 1.0% 6 1.4%

Other 7 1.6% 8 1.6% 7 1.3% 7 1.4% 6 1.4%

Source: FPDS retrieved on January 23, 2018. WOBs include all firms designated as women-owned irrespective of MOB designation. 

MOBs include all firms designated as minority-owned irrespective of WOB designation. MW-OBs include firms with both minorityowned and women-owned designations. “Other” category includes MOBs with more than one race designation and MOBs with an 

“other” designation. 

7 “Contract awards” are the net amount of funds obligated for all contract actions, which includes new awards and 

modifications, that the SEC entered into the Federal Data Procurement Systems (FPDS) during the fiscal year. 

7 
 

                   

                  

                  

                 

              

                 

                  

                  

                  

                      

                  

Figure 4 depicts the dollar value of contract awards to MWOBs in each fiscal year since 

FY 2013, and the percentage of SEC contract dollars awarded to MWOBs. Of the $418.9 million 

in SEC contract awards made in FY 2017, a total of $142.5 million or 34 percent of SEC contract 

dollars went to MWOBs. Contract awards to MWOBs increased from 31.7 percent of SEC 

contract awards in FY 2016 to 34 percent of awards in FY 2017. 

Contract awards to minority-owned businesses represented 26.8 percent ($112.4 million) 

of the contract dollars awarded by the SEC, awards to women-owned businesses represented 

13.6 percent ($57 million), and awards to minority women-owned businesses represented 8.3 

percent ($34.7 million) of the awarded contract dollars. 

The $142.5 million awarded to MWOBs in FY 2017 represented a 54 percent increase 

over the $92.9 million awarded to MWOBs in FY 2013, and is attributed to the increase in 

contract awards to minority-owned businesses. The average dollar value of contracts awarded to 

MWOBs increased from $829,464 in FY 2013 to $1.24 million in FY 2017. 

Figure 4: Contract Awards by MWOB Category FY 2013 – FY 2017 (Amount in Millions) 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

SEC Total $323.4 100.0% $434.2 100.0% $456.9 100.0% $486.0 100.0% $418.9 100.0%

Total MWOBs $92.9 28.7% $147.4 33.9% $155.6 34.1% $153.9 31.7% $142.5 34.0%

WOBs $45.0 13.9% $66.0 15.2% $73.3 16.0% $75.6 15.6% $57.0 13.6%

MW‐OBs $19.0 5.9% $41.5 9.6% $49.0 10.7% $50.2 10.3% $34.7 8.3%

MOBs $66.9 20.7% $122.9 28.3% $131.3 28.7% $128.5 26.4% $112.4 26.8%

Asian $31.7 9.8% $84.5 19.5% $73.3 16.0% $71.1 14.6% $72.6 17.3%

Black $17.5 5.4% $17.8 4.1% $30.4 6.7% $24.8 5.1% $12.8 3.1%

Hispanic $6.3 1.9% $11.4 2.6% $11.1 2.4% $15.7 3.2% $5.0 1.2%

Native American $2.4 0.7% $0.8 0.2% $5.6 1.2% $9.3 1.9% $14.9 3.6%

Other $8.9 2.8% $8.4 1.9% $11.0 2.4% $7.7 1.6% $7.1 1.7%

Source: FPDS retrieved on January 23, 2018. WOBs include all firms designated as women-owned irrespective of MOB designation 

MOBs include all firms designated as minority-owned irrespective of WOB designation. MW-OBs include firms with both minorityowned and women-owned designations. “Other” category includes MOBs with more than one race designation and MOBs with an 

“other” designation. 

Major Contract Award Categories: 

Figure 5 shows the total SEC contract awards and contract awards to MWOBs by the 

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) categories. The highest amount of SEC 

contract dollars was awarded for contracts in the NAICS category of Computer Systems Design 

and Related Services, followed by Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 

These were also the two largest categories for contract dollars awarded to MWOBs. 

8 
Figure 5: SEC and MWOBs Contract Amount by NAICS Category (Amount in Millions) 

Source: FPDS retrieved on January 23, 2018. 

$205.5 

$50.5 

$25.2 $14.0 $6.8 $10.7 

$106.2 

$74.4 

$35.7 

$1.4 $1.3 $0.0 $2.1 

$27.6 

Computer 

Systems Design 

and Related 

Services 

Management, 

Scientific, and 

Technical 

Consulting 

Services 

Legal Services Data Processing, 

Hosting, and 

Related Services 

Agencies, 

Brokerages, and 

Other Insurance 

Related Activities 

Investigation and 

Security Services 

All Other NAICS 

Catagories 

Millions

SEC Contracts MWOBs 

 “All Other NAICS Categories” includes, among others: 

 Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping and Payroll Services (5412) - $7.2 

million in SEC contract awards, and $2.7 million awarded to MWOBs; 

 Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (8112) - $10.4 

million in SEC contract awards, and no contracts in this category awarded to 

MWOBs; 

 Business Support Services (5614) - $5.3 million in SEC contract awards, and all 

awarded to MWOBs; and 

 Employment Services (5613) - $0.3 million in SEC contract awards, and all 

awarded to MWOBs. 

Next Steps 

In FY 2018, OMWI is launching a self-registry web portal that will enable MWOBs to 

securely complete business profiles in the office’s SDBMS. This new functionality will 

contribute to OMWI’s ongoing efforts to augment our repository of interested diverse suppliers. 

Additionally, OMWI will continue efforts to enhance the content of the supplier diversity section 

of the OMWI external webpage to provide additional information and resources to interested 

vendors. Finally, OMWI will work collaboratively with external business groups and other 

financial regulatory agencies to increase our participation as panelists at supplier diversity 

outreach conferences. The goal of this effort is to educate larger audiences of MWOBs about the 

supplier diversity program and how to do business with the SEC. 

9 
Workforce Diversity and Workplace Inclusion 

The SEC is firmly committed to achieving and maintaining workforce diversity and 

workplace inclusion. To successfully perform its mission—protecting investors, maintaining fair 

and orderly markets, and facilitating capital formation—the SEC recognizes that sustained 

efforts are needed to attract, hire, develop, and retain high-quality, diverse talent for all levels of 

the agency’s workforce. To that end, the SEC strives to cultivate a workplace culture that values 

diversity, encourages collaboration, flexibility and fairness, and allows all employees to 

contribute to their full potential. 

The SEC pursues a comprehensive strategy for achieving and sustaining workforce 

diversity and inclusion. Key components of that strategy include: 

 Engaging in outreach and recruitment to attract diverse candidates for employment 

and internship opportunities; 

 Training for employees, supervisors, and managers in equal employment opportunity 

and diversity awareness; 

 Supporting employee participation in leadership development training programs; 

 Incorporating support for agency diversity and inclusion efforts in a performance 

standard for supervisors and managers; 

 Monitoring and analyzing internal demographics to assess diversity at all levels of the 

agency’s workforce and identify opportunities for improvement; and 

 Evaluating the effectiveness of the agency’s workforce diversity initiatives. 

All SEC divisions and offices have a role in ensuring the agency promotes workforce 

diversity and fosters an inclusive workplace. While OMWI is responsible for all matters related 

to diversity in employment at the SEC, OMWI coordinates and collaborates with the Office of 

Human Resources (OHR), the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO), and other 

offices to advance the SEC’s diversity and inclusion goals and objectives. 

The SEC Diversity Council is actively involved in supporting and facilitating workforce 

diversity and inclusion. Commissioner Kara M. Stein serves as the chair of the Diversity Council 

and its 20 members include representatives from agency management, the National Treasury 

Employees Union (NTEU), and SEC Employee Affinity Groups. In FY 2017, the Diversity 

Council, in partnership with OMWI, developed an interactive “Diversity Data Dashboard” to 

promote transparency and enhance employee engagement. The Diversity Data Dashboard 

displays workforce data and is posted on the SEC intranet for all employees to access. In 

addition, the Diversity Council continued to work on a proposal to establish a mentoring 

program at the SEC. 

10 
 

Further, the members of the Commission are committed to promoting diversity and 

fostering a culture of inclusion at the SEC. In January 2018, the SEC Chairman and 

Commissioners jointly hosted a roundtable on mentoring, during which panelists discussed 

potential objectives and methods for promoting mentorship opportunities at the agency. In 

February 2018, in connection with the celebration of African American History Month, 

Chairman Clayton hosted a roundtable on diversity and ways to ensure all SEC employees have 

opportunities for career growth and development. The roundtable panelists addressed 

professional development, strategies for career advancement, and conscious and unconscious 

bias in the workplace. 

In FY 2017, the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in senior management positions and 

four of the agency’s five designated “mission critical occupations”—attorney, accountant, 

economist, and securities compliance examiner—continued to be areas of focus.8 Employees in 

these four occupations comprised 71.6 percent of the SEC workforce as of the end of FY 2017.9 

The actions taken in FY 2017 to promote workforce diversity and inclusion at the SEC are 

summarized below. 

The SEC workforce continues to become more diverse. The data for FY 2015 to FY 2017 

show: 

 The representation of women among Senior Officers increased from 38.1 percent in 

FY 2015 to 38.9 percent in FY 2017. 

 Minorities held 24.1 percent of supervisory and management positions at the SEC in 

FY 2017, up from 22.3 percent in FY 2015. 

 The representation of minorities in mission critical occupations increased from 24.1 

percent in FY 2015 to 25.5 percent in FY 2017. 

8

 The SEC has designated Information Technology (IT) Management as a mission critical occupation. The 

representation of minorities in the IT management occupation has been above their representational percentage in 

the IT management occupation in the Civilian Labor Force (CLF), and the representation of women has been within 

a few percentage points of their representational percentage in the occupational CLF. 

9

 The remaining 28.4 percent of the SEC workforce consisted of paralegal specialists and employees in 

administrative and program, management and program analysis, and IT management occupations. Women 

represented 54.8 percent and minorities 56.5 percent of the employees in these occupations. Thus, strategic outreach 

and recruitment efforts have been focused on the four mission critical occupations identified above. 

11 
Outreach and Recruitment 

In late FY 2016, the SEC imposed restrictions on external hiring that remained in effect 

throughout FY 2017. As a result of the hiring restrictions and budgetary constraints, the SEC 

participated in fewer outreach events in FY 2017 than in previous years, and placed greater 

emphasis on outreach to students and developing a pipeline of talent for future careers at the 

agency. 

Diversity Partnerships: 

The SEC has established and maintains relationships with minority and women 

professional associations and educational organizations to support the agency’s diversity 

objectives. These collaborative relationships, referred to as “Diversity Partnerships” at the SEC, 

provide a variety of opportunities for outreach and recruitment. Partnering organizations also 

agree to disseminate information about current SEC employment and internship opportunities, 

and share information and best practices for promoting diversity and inclusion. In addition to the 

formal partnerships, the SEC collaborates regularly with academic institutions and educational 

organizations. 

In FY 2017, the SEC continued its existing Diversity Partnerships with student-focused 

organizations, such as the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Black 

MBA Association, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and National Association of Asian MBAs. 

The SEC established new Diversity Partnerships with the Council on Legal Education 

Opportunity (CLEO) and International Leadership Foundation (ILF) in FY 2017. The SEC also 

maintained Diversity Partnerships with several minority professional associations, including, 

among others, the Association of Latino Professionals for America, Hispanic Bar Association of 

the District of Columbia, National Association of Black Accountants, Women's Bar Association 

of the District of Columbia, and Diverse Partners Network. For a complete list of organizations 

that have entered into Diversity Partnerships with the SEC, see Appendix A. 

Outreach Events: 

Notwithstanding the limitations on external hiring in FY 2017, the SEC engaged in 

outreach and recruitment to attract diverse talent for employment and internships at the agency. 

The SEC participated in 39 diversity outreach and recruitment events to inform professionals and 

students about employment at the SEC. Over 100 SEC employees nationwide actively 

participated in diversity outreach in FY 2017, serving as speakers and panelists at conferences 

and meetings of partnering organizations, and representing the SEC at career fairs and outreach 

events held on campuses of women’s colleges and minority-serving colleges and universities and 

law schools. SEC employees participating in outreach and recruitment promoted the SEC as an 

employer of choice while providing information on a wide variety of topics including the 

specialized skills and experience needed for employment at the SEC, agency career paths, and 

12 
the application process. For a list of the FY 2017 outreach and recruitment events, see Appendix 

B. 

Student Outreach Initiatives: 

In FY 2017, the SEC focused on pipeline development to encourage interest in future 

careers and internships at the SEC and in financial services. SEC employees conducted outreach 

and attended events at several schools including Morgan State University, Howard University, 

Florida International University, New Mexico State University, and University of Puerto Rico. 

Highlighted below are examples of outreach activities in FY 2017 that were geared toward 

students. 

 Hispanic National Bar Foundation (HNBF) Law Camp: The SEC headquarters in 

Washington, DC hosted high-school students from around the country participating in 

the HNBF’s Future Latino Leaders Law Camp. The visit arranged by OMWI 

included a career panel with senior SEC attorneys and a question and answer session 

that helped students understand how to prepare for law school and careers in 

corporate and securities law. Students toured the SEC’s offices and met with senior 

members of the Chairman’s staff. 

 National Association of Black Accountants National (NABA) Convention: An 

accounting professional from the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant served on an 

industry panel at NABA’s National Convention. The conference attendees included 

many minority students majoring in Accounting. 

 Trinity University Career Fair: At the career fair held at this women’s college located 

in Washington, DC, the SEC provided information on careers available to recent 

graduates in the fields of accounting, law, IT and other areas, and also provided 

investor education materials. 

 International Leadership Foundation (ILF): ILF is an organization that promotes 

public service among Asian American youth. OMWI hosted ILF’s summer cohort at 

the SEC for a career seminar, financial literacy event and tour. ILF’s college students 

learned about pathways to SEC careers and how the capital markets promote 

American entrepreneurship and prosperity. The SEC also participated in ILF’s career 

fair. 

For the last seven years, the Professionals Reaching Out to Promote Excellence and 

Learning for Students (PROPELS) program has been held at SEC headquarters and several 

regional offices. Students from high schools with high minority populations participate in the 

PROPELS program and gain exposure to careers in business, law, and technology and learn 

about the importance of financial education. In FY 2017, more than 2,000 students participated 

in the PROPELS program, well over double the number that participated in 2016. 

13 
Diversity Outreach and Initiatives in Regional Offices: 

SEC regional offices actively support the agency’s workforce diversity and inclusion 

initiatives. In FY 2017, employees in the regional offices were involved in some of the activities 

prescribed in Section 342(f) of the Dodd-Frank Act for seeking diversity at all levels of the 

agency’s workforce. For example, employees from the Atlanta, Boston, Denver, and Miami 

regional offices conducted outreach and recruitment on campuses of minority-serving colleges 

and universities and women’s colleges in their regions. In addition, Miami, Los Angeles, and San 

Francisco regional office employees represented the SEC at conferences, career fairs, and other 

diversity outreach events. 

As part of the PROPELS program in FY 2017, employees from the Boston, Chicago, 

Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco regional offices 

mentored high school students about careers in financial services and financial literacy. Boston 

regional office employees had nearly 400 students from five high schools participate in the 

PROPELS program. Employees from the Miami regional office made financial literacy 

presentations at 17 high schools in South Florida, reaching over 1200 students. More than 150 

employees from SEC regional offices were involved in the PROPELS program in FY 2017. 

In FY 2017, attorneys from the Miami regional office taught a Securities Law course at 

the Florida International University College of Law, a minority-serving institution. The course, 

which has been taught by Miami regional office attorneys since 2009, explores all aspects of 

SEC enforcement from the perspectives of both the government and the private practitioner. 

The Diversity Committees in several regional offices conducted programs and activities 

to commemorate Special Observances, which help to foster greater awareness and understanding 

of diversity and support for an inclusive workplace culture. 

Student Interns: 

The SEC’s Student Honors Program provides opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, 

and law students to learn about securities regulations and the work of the SEC. The ten-week 

internship is offered at headquarters and in the SEC’s 11 regional offices. From fall 2016 to 

summer 2017, 728 students participated in the Student Honors Program, and 43 (5.9 percent) 

were from educational institutions specified in Section 342(f)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act— 

historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, women’s colleges, and 

colleges that typically serve majority minority populations. 

Advertising and Social Media: 

Limited hiring opportunities in FY 2017 resulted in decreased advertising activity. 

OMWI focused its paid advertisements on leadership positions at the SK-15 pay grade and 

above, with a special emphasis on Senior Officer and financial economist positions. 

14 
The SEC advertised on over 25 job boards targeting diverse candidates. Advertising 

sources included the Chronicle of Higher Learning, National Bar Association, Social Science 

Research Network, National LGBT Bar Association, Pan-Asian Leaders in Finance and 

Accounting, Hispanic National Bar Association, and the National Association of Black 

Accountants. SEC job postings received more than 60,000 views. 

The SEC continued to expand its social media outreach efforts using LinkedIn, Twitter, 

Facebook, and YouTube in FY 2017. This led to an 18 percent increase in LinkedIn followers, 

an additional 667 Twitter followers (now totaling nearly 23,000), and an additional 947 

Facebook followers for nearly 30,000 contacts. The SEC’s YouTube channel had more than 

9,980 views in FY 2017. Social media sources have helped the SEC reach a diverse pool of 

candidates. 

Diversity Training 

Making diversity and inclusion training readily available to managers and employees 

continues to be a key element of the SEC’s strategy for building and maintaining a diverse 

workforce and fostering an inclusive workplace. OMWI works closely with SEC University 

(SECU) in OHR to offer on-demand, web-based courses as well as classroom training related to 

diversity and inclusion throughout the year. Two courses on non-conscious bias training and 

leadership diversity listening sessions introduced by SECU in FY 2016 were continued in FY 

2017. 

OMWI presented instructor-led diversity traning in FY 2017 on emerging topics, such as 

flexibility in the workplace and gender identity in the workplace, as part of its Diversity and 

Inclusion series. OMWI also sponsored webcasts offered by the Conference Board on gender 

bias in the workforce and strategies for career advancement, unconscious bias, and generational 

diversity. About 10 percent (477) of SEC employees participated in formal diversity and 

inclusion training in FY 2017. 

Leadership Development Programs 

The SEC provides several opportunities for employees to acquire the skills needed to 

succeed in their positions and advance in their careers. In FY 2017, the SEC sponsored eight 

employees for The Women in Leadership program, an external developmental program 

conducted by the Brookings Institution. Women from across Federal agencies learn how to 

strengthen leadership qualities and explore key elements of senior leadership success. 

The SEC selected 14 employees (supervisors and non-supervisors) to participate in the 

Excellence in Government (EIG) Fellows Program coordinated by the Partnership for Public 

Service in FY 2017. The EIG program strengthens the leadership skills of experienced Federal 

15 
employees through a combination of innovative coursework, best practices benchmarking, 

challenging action-learning projects, executive coaching and government-wide networking. 

A total of 54 employees participated in The Aspiring Leaders program at the SEC, which 

is an interactive blended learning program designed to strengthen the leadership and 

management skills of non-supervisory employees in SK-13 and SK-14 pay grades. 

Diversity and Inclusion Performance Standard 

All SEC Senior Officers and supervisors and managers share responsibility for the 

success of the agency’s initiatives to promote workforce diversity and workplace inclusion. 

Leveraging diversity is a key executive core qualification for senior leadership. Senior Officers 

are expected to foster an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are 

valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the agency. 

Diversity and inclusion competency is included under the critical element related to 

managing human resources in the performance work plans for mid-level supervisors and 

managers (SK-15 and SK-17). The performance management program uses a four-level scale to 

rate performance on critical elements. The descriptions for the two highest ratings— 

“Performance Leader” and “Accomplished Practitioner”— include examples of actions 

demonstrating the supervisor or manager champions and promotes a diverse and inclusive work 

environment. 

Monitoring and Analyzing Internal Demographics 

In FY 2017, OMWI continued to provide each of the SEC’s divisions and offices a 

quarterly workforce demographic profile, which tracks personnel activity (e.g., hiring, 

promotions, and separations) by gender, race, and ethnicity. In the fall of 2017, the OMWI 

Director conducted briefings for the divisions and offices at headquarters to provide an overview 

of the current state of diversity and inclusion in their organizations. During each meeting, OMWI 

presented detailed workforce statistics and discussed the progress made since FY 2013 in 

enhancing diversity, particularly in leadership positions and major occupations in the division or 

office. 

Evaluating Performance 

Applicant Data Analysis: 

OMWI obtained from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) demographic data for 

the applicants for vacancies filled through the USAJOBS.gov website. OMWI analyzed the data 

to determine the diversity of the applicant pools for vacancies in four of the agency’s mission 

16 
                    

      

                   

  

     

  

  

                   

critical occupations—accountant, attorney, economist, and securities compliance examiner. In 

FY 2017, the SEC received over 17,000 unique applications for employment and nearly 60 

percent of all applicants elected to provide some type of demographic information. 

As depicted in Figure 6, the data from applicants who self-identified their gender, race, 

and ethnicity show that the application rate of each racial and ethnic minority group for 

vacancies in the four mission critical occupations was about equal to or higher than the group’s 

representational percentage in the same occupations in the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). The 

analysis indicates that women applied for vacancies in accountant, securities compliance 

examiner, and economist occupations at rates that were lower than their CLF representational 

percentages in these occupations. 

 Figure 6: Applications by Mission Critical Occupations, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity Comparison 

to CLF 

Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian NHPI AIAN TOM

0905 General Attorney

Applied 62.3% 37.7% 62.1% 15.2% 9.3% 11.6% 0.2% 0.6% 1.0%

OCLF 66.7% 33.3% 86.4% 4.7% 4.4% 3.6% 0.0% 0.5% 0.4%

0510 Accounting

Applied 53.6% 46.4% 34.7% 35.8% 12.0% 15.7% 0.0% 0.5% 1.4%

OCLF 39.9% 60.1% 76.0% 8.1% 6.1% 8.6% 0.1% 0.6% 0.5%

1831 Securities Compliance

Examining

Applied 64.0% 36.0% 41.4% 28.3% 18.4% 9.6% 0.4% 0.8% 1.1%

OCLF 54.7% 45.3% 72.4% 12.3% 6.7% 7.7% 0.0% 0.4% 0.5%

0110 Economist

Applied 85.0% 15.0% 55.0% 20.0% 5.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

OCLF 67.1% 32.9% 81.0% 5.5% 5.2% 7.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.9%

Source: Applicant flow data from OPM retrieved using USA Staffing portal from the “Vacancy Detail” data file for each fiscal quarter 

in FY 2017. OCLF reflects the occupational CLF retrieved from Census 2010 EEO Tabulation using occupational cross-classification 

provided by EEOC. 

While not a precise measure of the impact of the SEC’s outreach and recruitment efforts, 

the analysis of applicant demographic data provides OMWI with some measure of the 

effectiveness of diversity outreach and recruitment initiatives and can be used to identify areas 

for strategic outreach. In addition, the SEC’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity regularly 

looks at applicant demographic data to examine the fairness and inclusiveness of agency 

recruitment efforts. 

17 
Current State of Diversity 

FY 2017 SEC Workforce Profile: 

As of the end of FY 2017, the SEC workforce had 4,599 employees (4,504 permanent 

employees and 95 temporary employees). For the first time in seven years, the size of SEC 

workforce decreased and had 86 fewer employees in FY 2017 than it had in FY 2016. 

Nearly two-thirds of SEC employees worked at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, 

DC, and one-third worked in the SEC’s 11 regional offices. From FY 2016 to FY 2017, the 

demographic composition of the SEC workforce remained relatively unchanged. 

Figure 7 shows the SEC workforce representation by gender, race, and ethnicity. As of 

the end of FY 2017, men comprised 54 percent and women comprised 46 percent of the SEC 

workforce. The breakdown of the SEC workforce by race and ethnicity was as follows: 65.6 

percent of SEC employees self-identified as White, 15.5 percent as Black or African American, 

12.2 percent as Asian, 5.5 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 0.4 percent as American Indian or 

Alaskan Native, 0.4 percent as Two or More Races, and 0.1 percent as Native Hawaiian or Other 

Pacific Islander. 

Since FY 2015, the representation of Asian and Hispanic or Latino employees increased 

slightly, while the representation of Black or African American employees decreased slightly. As 

shown in Figure 8, the representation of women in the SEC workforce remained relatively 

unchanged since FY 2015, while the representation of minorities increased incrementally. 

Figure 7: Workforce Demographic by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other 

FY 2015 54.1% 45.9% 66.5% 16.3% 5.0% 11.3% 0.9% 

FY 2016 54.2% 45.8% 65.8% 15.9% 5.3% 12.0% 0.9% 

0% 

10% 

20% 

30% 

40% 

50% 

60% 

FY 2017 54.0% 46.0% 65.6% 15.5% 5.5% 12.2% 1.0% 

70% 

Source: Federal Personnel and Payroll System (FPPS) FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native 

Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. 

18 
 

Figure 8: Women and Minority Representation FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. 

33.5% 34.2% 34.4% 

45.9% 45.8% 46.0% 

0% 

5% 

10% 

15% 

20% 

25% 

30% 

35% 

40% 

45% 

50% 

FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 

Minority Women 

SEC Workforce Compared to the Federal Workforce and CLF: 

Figure 9 shows how the demographic composition (i.e., gender, race, and ethnicity) of the 

SEC workforce compared to the demographic composition of the CLF and the Federal 

workforce. These comparisons provide a frame of reference for the present level of diversity in 

the SEC workforce and the progress made toward building and maintaining a workforce drawn 

from all segments of society. As of the end of FY 2017, the SEC workforce had a higher 

representation of women than the Federal workforce by 2.6 percentage points, but a lower 

representation of women than the CLF. 

Minorities, collectively, represented 34.4 percent of the SEC workforce as of the end of 

FY 2017, which was 25 percent higher than the CLF (24.6 percent), and 6.7 percent lower than 

the FY 2017 Federal workforce representation of minorities (36.7 percent). The SEC workforce 

had a lower representation of Black or African American employees (12.0 percent) and Hispanic 

or Latino employees (5.3 percent) than the FY 2017 Federal workforce, and a lower 

representation of Hispanic or Latino employees than the CLF. The percentage of Asian 

employees in the SEC workforce exceeded their representational percentage in both the CLF and 

Federal workforce. 

19 
                           

           

         

   

               

             

           

Figure 9: FY 2017 SEC Workforce Compared to CLF and Federal Workforce 

Demographic Groups SEC FY 2017 Workforce FY 2017 Federal Workforce 2010 Civilian Labor Force

Men 54.0% 56.6% 51.9%

Women 46.0% 43.4% 48.1%

White (Non‐Minority) 65.6% 63.3% 72.4%

Minority 34.4% 36.7% 27.6%

Black or African American 15.5% 18.1% 12.0%

Hispanic or Latino 5.5% 8.7% 10.0%

Asian 12.2% 6.0% 3.9%

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.5% 0.1%

American Indian or Alaska Native 0.4% 1.7% 1.1%

Two or More Races 0.5% 1.6% 0.5%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. Federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management and 

CLF data from Census 2010 EEO Tabulation retrieved on January 23, 2018. 

Workforce Analysis by Occupation: 

The SEC has employees in over 50 occupations. The workforce analysis revealed gender 

and racial differences in employment patterns. 

Figure 10 shows the percentage of each demographic group in the 15 most prevalent 

occupations in the SEC workforce. Attorney is the most prevalent occupation in the SEC 

workforce; 42.2 percent of all SEC employees were in the attorney occupation as of the end of 

FY 2017. 

Attorney is the most prevalent occupation for both men and women, followed by 

accountant. Securities compliance examiner is the third most prevalent occupation for men, 

while the third most prevalent occupation for women is the 0301 occupational series, 

Miscellaneous Administration and Program Series. 

Attorney is also the most prevalent occupation for all racial and ethnic groups, though 

differences exist in the degree of prevalence. Fifty percent of White, 36.2 percent of Asian, 31.4 

percent of Hispanic or Latino, and 18.7 percent of Black or African American employees were 

employed as attorneys. 

The second most prevalent occupation for White employees is accountant, followed by 

securities compliance examiner. The most prevalent occupations for Hispanic or Latino and 

Asian employees are similar; accountant is the second most prevalent occupation for these two 

groups, followed by IT management. For Black or African American employees, the 0301 

occupational series is the second most prevalent occupation, followed by accountant. 

20 
                    

               

                        

      

                          

        

                        

                          

                      

                        

                        

                      

        

                          

                            

      

                      

                      

Figure 10: FY 2017 Percent of Demographic Group in Top 15 Occupations 

SEC Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

0905 General Attorney 42.2% 43.5% 40.8% 50.0% 18.7% 31.4% 36.2% 27.7%

0510 Accounting 19.9% 20.8% 18.8% 21.7% 11.2% 21.6% 20.8% 14.9%

1831 Securities Compliance Examining 7.3% 9.0% 5.2% 7.3% 4.1% 8.2% 10.7% 6.4%

2210 Information Technology Management 6.5% 8.9% 3.7% 4.3% 9.4% 9.0% 13.1% 12.8%

0301 Miscellaneous Administration & Program 5.4% 2.6% 8.7% 2.7% 18.3% 8.2% 1.4% 8.5%

0343 Management and Program Analysis 3.0% 1.9% 4.4% 2.1% 8.0% 3.1% 2.0% 4.3%

0110 Economist 2.2% 3.0% 1.3% 2.1% 0.6% 2.4% 4.6% 4.3%

0950 Paralegal Specialist 1.8% 0.6% 3.3% 1.4% 3.6% 3.1% 1.1% 4.3%

0201 Human Resources Management 1.2% 0.6% 1.9% 0.8% 3.6% 1.2% 0.5% 4.3%

1102 Contracting 1.1% 1.0% 1.2% 0.7% 2.4% 2.0% 0.9% 4.3%

1160 Financial Analysis 1.0% 1.2% 0.7% 0.9% 0.4% 0.4% 2.3% 2.1%

0303 Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant 0.8% 0.6% 1.0% 0.2% 3.9% 0.4% 0.0% 0.0%

0501 Financial Administration and Program 0.8% 0.3% 1.3% 0.4% 2.7% 0.8% 0.4% 0.0%

0318 Secretary 0.6% 0.0% 1.3% 0.2% 2.5% 0.8% 0.4% 0.0%

0340 Program Management 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.8% 0.1% 0.4% 0.0% 2.1%

All Other Occupations 5.6% 5.4% 5.9% 4.3% 10.5% 7.1% 5.7% 4.3%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American 

Indian/Alaska Native, Two or More Races, and unknowns. Four of the mission critical occupations are highlighted in red. 

The majority of White, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino employees worked in four of the 

agency’s four mission critical occupations shown in red in Figure 10. As of the end of FY 2017, 

81 percent of White employees, 72.3 percent of Asian employees, and 63.6 percent of Hispanic 

or Latino employees worked in these occupations. By contrast, 34.6 percent of Black or African 

American employees worked in these mission critical occupations. 

Mission Critical Occupations: 

Figure 11 shows how the FY 2017 workforce representation of minorities and women in 

the attorney, accountant, securities compliance examiner, and economist occupations compared 

to the availability of minorities and women in these occupations in the CLF. The comparisons 

with the occupational CLF are helpful in assessing the agency’s progress towards achieving 

diversity at all levels of the agency’s workforce and identifying any areas that should be the 

focus of ongoing outreach and recruitment efforts. 

The percentage of women accountants, securities compliance examiners, and economists 

in the SEC workforce was below the percentage of women in these occupations in the CLF. The 

percentage of Hispanic or Latino employees in the economist occupation in the SEC workforce 

21 
               

      

                 

               

  

                 

               

     

  

                 

               

  

                 

               

 

     

   

   

   

  

     

was slightly higher than their representational percentage among economists in the CLF. In the 

other mission critical occupations, the percentage of Hispanic or Latino employees in the SEC 

workforce was marginally lower than their representational percentage in these occupations in 

the CLF. The percentage of Black or African American employees in the securities compliance 

examiner and economist occupations in the SEC workforce was lower than their percentage in 

these two occupations in the CLF. 

Figure 11: FY 2017 SEC Workforce Mission Critical Occupations Compared to CLF 

Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

0905 General Attorney

SEC Workforce

OCLF

55.6%

66.7%

44.4%

33.3%

77.8%

86.4%

6.9%

4.7%

4.1%

4.4%

10.5%

3.6%

0.7%

0.9%

0510 Accounting

SEC Workforce

OCLF

56.5%

39.9%

43.5%

60.1%

71.7%

76.0%

8.7%

8.1%

6.0%

6.1%

12.8%

8.6%

0.8%

1.2%

1831 Securities Compliance

Examining

SEC Workforce

OCLF

66.8%

54.7%

33.2%

45.3%

66.2%

72.4%

8.7%

12.3%

6.3%

6.7%

18.0%

7.7%

0.9%

0.9%

0110 Economist

SEC Workforce

OCLF

72.5%

67.1%

27.5%

32.9%

62.7%

81.0%

3.9%

5.5%

5.9%

5.2%

25.5%

7.1%

2.0%

1.3%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. OCLF data from Census 2010 EEO Tabulation retrieved on January 4, 

2017. NHPI = Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; AIAN = American Indian/Alaska Native, and TOM = Two or More Races. 

Figure 12 depicts employees in mission critical occupations by gender, race, and ethnicity 

since FY 2015. The percentage of minorities in mission critical occupations increased slightly 

from 24.1 percent in FY 2015 to 25.5 percent in FY 2017. The percentages of Asian, Black or 

African American, and Hispanic or Latino employees in mission critical occupations increased 

incrementally over the three-year period. The percentage of women in mission critical 

occupations also increased slightly since FY 2015. 

Figure 12: Mission Critical Occupations FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

3,154

100.0%

1,841

58.4%

1,313

41.6%

2,394

75.9%

233

7.4%

145

4.6%

365

11.6%

17

0.1%

FY 2016

3,333

100.0%

1,924

57.7%

1,409

42.3%

2,493

74.8%

251

7.5%

162

4.9%

407

12.2%

20

0.6%

FY 2017

3,293

100.0%

1,894

57.5%

1,399

42.5%

2,452

74.5%

247

7.5%

162

4.9%

407

12.4%

25

0.8%

Percent Change

(FY 2015 ‐ FY 2017) 4.4% 2.9% 6.5% 2.4% 6.0% 11.7% 11.5% 47.1%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American 

Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. 

22 
Supervisors and Managers: 

Generally, SEC employees at grade levels SK-15 (e.g., branch chiefs), SK-17 (e.g., 

assistant directors), and Senior Officers (e.g., associate directors, deputy directors, and directors) 

serve in supervisory and management positions. Senior Officers, the highest-ranking employees 

at the SEC, are equivalent to Senior Executive Service personnel at other Federal agencies. As of 

the end of FY 2017, the SEC workforce had 902 supervisors and managers. Of this total, 879 

supervisors and managers held positions at grade levels SK-15, SK-17, or Senior Officer.10 

Figure 13 shows the number and percentage of SEC supervisors and managers by gender, race, 

and ethnicity from FY 2015 to FY 2017. The percentage of women among SEC supervisors and 

managers decreased since FY 2015, while the percentage of minorities among SEC supervisors 

and managers increased incrementally over the three-year period. Minorities held 24.1 percent of 

supervisory and management positions at the SEC as of the end of FY 2017, up from 22.3 

percent in FY 2015. 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

866 527 339 673 80 33 72 8

100.0% 60.9% 39.1% 77.7% 9.2% 3.8% 8.3% 0.9%

FY 2016

911 562 349 698 84 37 84 8

100.0% 61.7% 38.3% 76.6% 9.2% 4.1% 9.2% 0.9%

FY 2017

902 564 338 685 82 41 88 6

100.0% 62.5% 37.5% 75.9% 9.1% 4.5% 9.8% 0.7%

Percent Change  

(FY 2015 ‐ FY 2017) 4.2% 7.0%  ‐0.3% 1.8% 2.5% 24.2% 22.2%  ‐25.0%

 

Figure 13: Supervisors and Managers FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. 

The percentage of Asian supervisors and managers increased each year since FY 2015. 

The percentage of Hispanic or Latino supervisors and managers increased incrementally, while 

the percentages of all Black or African American and all other racial minority groups in 

supervisory and management positions negligibly decreased since FY 2015. 

Senior Officers: 

The gender, race, and ethnicity of Senior Officers from FY 2015 to FY 2017 are shown in 

Figure 14. Since FY 2015, the SEC added two Senior Officer positions and had 149 Senior 

Officers as of the end of FY 2017. Women represented 38.9 percent of the Senior Officers in FY 

2017, compared to 38.1 percent in FY 2015. The representation of women among Senior 

10 The SEC also had employees in supervisory and management positions in the SK-9 – SK-14 grade levels. 

23 
Officers was higher than the representation of women among Senior Executives in the Federal 

workforce. According to OPM’s FedScope, women made up 34 percent of Senior Executives in 

the Federal workforce in FY 2017. 

As of the end of FY 2017, minorities held 12.8 percent of Senior Officer positions. In 

contrast, minorities held 20.7 percent of Senior Executive positions in the Federal workforce in 

FY 2017. 

Figure 14: Senior Officers FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

147 91 56 128 8 4 7 0

100.0% 61.9% 38.1% 87.1% 5.4% 2.7% 4.8% 0.0%

FY 2016

146 93 53 127 7 3 8 1

100.0% 63.7% 36.3% 87.0% 4.8% 2.1% 5.5% 0.7%

FY 2017

149 91 58 130 7 3 8 1

100.0% 61.1% 38.9% 87.2% 4.7% 2.0% 5.4% 0.7%

Percent Change  

(FY 2015 ‐ FY 2017) 1.4% 0.0% 3.6% 1.6%  ‐12.5%  ‐25.0% 14.3% 100.0%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018 and includes employees in the SO pay plan. “All Other” includes the 

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. 

Includes only permanent and temporary employees in the SO pay plan. 

From FY 2015 to FY 2017, the number of Black or African American and Hispanic or 

Latino Senior Officers decreased, while the number of Asian Senior Officers increased. Since 

FY 2015, the percentage of minorities among Senior Officers negligibly decreased. The 

percentages of Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino Senior Officers decreased 

since FY 2015. 

New Hires: 

The SEC workforce had significantly fewer new hires in FY 2017 than in previous years 

as a result of the hiring restrictions that were in effect. As shown in Figure 15, the SEC 

workforce had 166 new hires as of the end of FY 2017, representing a decrease of 63.6 percent 

from the FY 2015 hiring level. 

The percentage of women new hires decreased to 39.8 percent in FY 2017, compared to 

44.1 percent in FY 2015. The percentage of minorities among new hires also decreased, from 36 

percent of new hires in FY 2015 to 33.1 percent of new hires in FY 2017. The percentage of 

Black or African American new hires decreased 5.6 percentage points from FY 2016 to FY 

2017. The percentage of Hispanic or Latino new hires increased negligibly from FY 2016 to FY 

2017, and the percentage of Asian new hires decreased slightly. 

24 
Figure 15: New Hires Trend by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

456 255 201 292 56 33 70 5

100.0% 55.9% 44.1% 64.0% 12.3% 7.2% 15.4% 1.1%

FY 2016

444 246 198 274 57 29 80 4

100.0% 55.4% 44.6% 61.7% 12.8% 6.5% 18.0% 0.9%

FY 2017

166 100 66 111 12 11 29 3

100.0% 60.2% 39.8% 66.9% 7.2% 6.6% 17.5% 1.8%

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

297 168 129 210 19 22 46 0

100.0% 56.6% 43.4% 70.7% 6.4% 7.4% 15.5% 0.0%

FY 2016

267 134 133 182 22 16 45 2

100.0% 50.2% 49.8% 68.2% 8.2% 6.0% 16.9% 0.7%

FY 2017

116 74 42 83 5 5 20 3

100.0% 63.8% 36.2% 71.6% 4.3% 4.3% 17.2% 2.6%

 

 Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. Includes permanent and temporary employees. 

Figure 16 shows new hires into mission critical occupations by gender, race, and 

ethnicity since FY 2015. From FY 2016 to FY 2017, the percentage of women new hires into 

mission critical occupations decreased 13.6 percentage points, the percentage of Black or African 

American new hires decreased 3.9 percentage points, and the percentage of Hispanic or Latino 

new hires decreased 1.7 percentage points. The percentage of Asian new hires increased slightly 

from FY 2016 to FY 2017. 

Figure 16: New Hires into Mission Critical Occupations FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. Includes permanent and temporary employees. 

Separations: 

Figure 17 depicts the separations by gender, race, and ethnicity since FY 2015. In FY 

2017, 249 employees left the SEC. Separations due to resignation, retirement, and term 

appointments accounted for nearly all separations from FY 2016 to FY 2017; involuntary 

separations accounted for 3.6 percent of total separations. Women represented 77 percent of all 

involuntary separations. 

25 
Figure 17: Workforce Separations by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

258 139 119 176 40 15 25 2

100.0% 53.9% 46.1% 68.2% 15.5% 5.8% 9.7% 0.8%

FY 2016

201 114 87 138 30 10 20 3

100.0% 56.7% 43.3% 68.7% 14.9% 5.0% 10.0% 1.5%

FY 2017

249 148 101 167 37 10 30 5

100.0% 59.4% 40.6% 67.1% 14.9% 4.0% 12.0% 2.0%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. Includes permanent and temporary employees. 

From FY 2015 to FY 2017, the percentage of women separating from the SEC workforce 

decreased. The percentage of minorities separating was slightly higher in FY 2017 than in FY 

2015. 

Separations from mission critical occupations by gender, race, and ethnicity in each fiscal 

year since FY 2015 are shown in Figure 18. In FY 2017, 65.1 percent of employees who 

separated from the SEC left from mission critical occupations. The percentage of minorities 

separating from mission critical occupations was 4.2 percentage points higher in FY 2017 than in 

FY 2015. However, the separations in FY 2017 had little effect on the overall representation of 

minorities in mission critical occupations. 

Figure 18: Separations from Mission Critical Occupations FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

FY 2015

161 97 64 128 11 7 14 1

100.0% 60.2% 39.8% 79.5% 6.8% 4.3% 8.7% 0.6%

FY 2016

128 75 53 104 7 4 12 1

100.0% 58.6% 41.4% 81.3% 5.5% 3.1% 9.4% 0.8%

FY 2017

162 106 56 122 9 7 21 3

100.0% 65.4% 34.6% 75.3% 5.6% 4.3% 13.0% 1.9%

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. Includes permanent and temporary employees. 

Promotions: 

Figure 19 depicts promotions by gender, race, and ethnicity since FY 2015. For purposes 

of this report, promotions include all instances where employees are converted to a higher pay 

grade. Accordingly, the data reflects career-ladder, competitive, and temporary promotions, as 

well as conversions to a higher level position. 

Minorities received 41 percent of promotions in FY 2017. Compared to FY 2015, the 

percentages of promotions received by Hispanic or Latino and Asian employees increased in FY 

26 
Total Men Women White Black Hispanic Asian All Other

564 292 272 345 117 30 64 8

FY 2015

100.0% 51.8% 48.2% 61.2% 20.7% 5.3% 11.3% 1.4%

612 330 282 390 102 40 77 3

FY 2016

100.0% 53.9% 46.1% 63.7% 16.7% 6.5% 12.6% 0.5%

559 290 269 330 103 44 76 6

FY 2017

100.0% 51.9% 48.1% 59.0% 18.4% 7.9% 13.6% 1.1%

2017, while the percentage of promotions received by Black or African American employees 

decreased. Although the percentage of promotions received by women decreased negligibly 

since FY 2015, their percentage of promotions increased from FY 2016 to FY 2017. 

Figure 19: Promotions FY 2015 – FY 2017 

Source: FPPS FY 2017 data retrieved on January 23, 2018. “All Other” includes the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 

American Indian or Alaskan Native, Two or More Races categories, and unknowns. Promotions include all employee transactions 

resulting in a higher grade level. 

Work Environment 

The Partnership for Public Service annually publishes rankings for the Best Places to 

Work in the Federal Government, which are based on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 

(FEVS) administered by OPM. The SEC moved up a place in rankings in 2017, and was ranked 

fifth out of 27 mid-size agencies. Although areas for improvement exist, the steady increases in 

FEVS scores on the indices for Global Satisfaction (17 percentage points), New Inclusion 

Quotient Index (5 percentage points), and Employee Engagement (10 percentage points) reflect 

the SEC’s commitment to promoting workforce diversity and fostering workplace inclusion as an 

integral part of the agency’s human capital strategic plan. 

Employee Affinity Groups: 

Employee Affinity Groups have been instrumental in helping the SEC cultivate a 

workplace culture that attracts diverse talent and encourages employee engagement and 

retention. The improvements seen in FEVS scores and the SEC’s ranking as a best place to work 

are attributable in part to the active involvement of Employee Affinity Groups in fostering 

inclusion at the SEC. Employee Affinity Groups provide educational, cultural, and networking 

opportunities for SEC employees, and serve as a resource for outreach and recruitment 

initiatives. 

SEC Commissioners and Senior Officers serve as sponsors for Employee Affinity 

Groups. OMWI provides program support for all Employee Affinity Groups except the Veterans 

Committee, which receives program support from OHR. In FY 2017, nine Employee Affinity 

Groups were active at the SEC: 

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 African American Council; 

 American Indian Heritage Committee; 

 Asian American and Pacific Islander Committee; 

 Caribbean American Heritage Committee; 

 Disability Interests Advisory Committee; 

 Hispanic and Latino Opportunity, Leadership, and Advocacy Committee; 

 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Committee; 

 Veterans Committee; and 

 Women’s Committee. 

Employee Affinity Groups have a major role in planning and conducting SEC-sponsored 

programs and activities to commemorate Special Observances. These programs celebrate the 

diversity in the SEC workforce and enhance cross-cultural awareness and understanding. For a 

list of the FY 2017 programs and activities for Special Observances, see Appendix C. 

FEVS Inclusion Quotient Index: 

The FEVS Inclusion Quotient Index (the New IQ) empirically measures enabling 

conditions that lead to an inclusive workplace. The New IQ is made up of 20 FEVS questions 

grouped into the following “5 Habits of Inclusion:” 

 Fair: Are all employees treated equitably? 

 Open: Does management support diversity in all ways? 

 Cooperative: Does management encourage communication and collaboration? 

 Supportive: Do supervisors value employees? 

 Empowering: Do employees have the resources and support needed to excel? 

The New IQ score reflects the percentage of positive responses to the questions 

corresponding to each “habit” of inclusion. The SEC’s overall New IQ for 2017 was 69 percent 

positive, which was 5 percentage points higher than the agency’s overall New IQ for 2016 and 

15 percentage points higher than 2013. The SEC’s scores on each Habit of Inclusion also 

increased: Fair (up 4 percentage points), Open (up 5 percentage points), Cooperative (up 7 

percentage points), Supportive (up 4 percentage points), and Empowering (up 6 percentage 

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points). The trend calculations shown in Figure 20 indicate the SEC New IQ continues to 

increase. 

Figure 20: SEC’s New IQ vs. Government Average 

Source: OPM’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 2017 retrieved on February 1, 2018. 

56% 

60% 

54% 

69% 

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 

Government SEC 

In addition to the New IQ, OMWI tracks the percent of positive responses to three 

diversity-related FEVS questions. As shown in Figure 21, the agency’s scores on these questions 

increased each year since FY 2013, which suggests growing support for the agency’s diversity 

and inclusion efforts. 

Figure 21: SEC Scores on Selected Diversity Related FEVS Questions 

Question 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Q34 ‐ Policies and programs promote diversity in the workplace (for example,

recruiting minorities and women, training in awareness of diversity issues,

mentoring).

53.1% 59.8% 63.4% 64.7% 67.0%

Q45 ‐ My supervisor is committed to a workforce representative of all segments

of society.

66.2% 71.4% 72.3% 75.9% 79.6%

Q55 ‐ Supervisors work well with employees of different backgrounds. 58.7% 62.8% 63.8% 67.7% 76.7%

Source: OPM’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 2017 retrieved on February 1, 2018. 

Challenges and Next Steps 

The SEC plans to continue a measured approach to external hiring throughout FY 2018. 

Thus, to ensure continued progress towards attaining diversity at all levels of the agency’s 

workforce, OMWI will work with divisions and offices on strategic outreach and recruitment to 

improve: (1) the representation of minorities in senior management; (2) the representation of 

women in the accountant, securities compliance examiner, and economist occupations; (3) the 

29 
Black or African American representation in securities compliance examiner and economist 

occupations; and (4) the Hispanic or Latino representation in the attorney, accountant, and 

securities compliance examiner occupations. 

Increasing the representation of minorities among Senior Officers is a perennial 

challenge. Since their numbers are small, retirements and other separations by minorities in 

Senior Officer positions have a visible impact on their representational percentage. In addition to 

strategic outreach and recruitment, OMWI will explore other innovative initiatives to ensure the 

SEC attracts diverse candidates for future vacancies at the Senior Officer level. 

30 
 

 

 

Diversity Policies and Practices of SEC-Regulated Entities 

The SEC joined with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors 

of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection, and National Credit Union Administration to develop joint standards (Joint 

Standards) to provide a framework for assessing the diversity policies and practices of regulated 

entities in the areas of:11 

 Organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion; 

 Workforce profile and employment practices; 

 Procurement and business practices (supplier diversity); 

 Practices promoting transparency of organizational diversity and inclusion; and 

 Entities’ self-assessments of diversity policies and practices. 

The Joint Standards that address “Entities’ Self-Assessment” contemplate that regulated 

entities will voluntarily: (1) conduct self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices at 

least annually; and (2) provide information pertaining to their self-assessments to the OMWI 

Director of their primary Federal financial regulator. 

To facilitate self-assessments of diversity policies and practices and to provide a means 

for standardizing the information pertaining to self-assessments submitted to the OMWI Director 

at the SEC, OMWI developed a form called the “Diversity Assessment Report for Entities 

Regulated by the SEC” (Diversity Assessment Report).12 

The Diversity Assessment Report is intended for regulated entities with more than 100 

employees, as the Agencies focused primarily on institutions of this size when developing the 

Joint Standards. Entities with fewer than 100 employees, however, may also find it useful. The 

Diversity Assessment Report will be completed on line using a secure web-based survey 

management system. SEC-regulated entities may download a PDF version of the Diversity 

Assessment Report and use it to guide their self-assessments, but PDF versions will not be 

submitted to OMWI. 

The SEC issued a press release on January 25, 2018 to introduce the Diversity 

Assessment Report and announce that SEC-regulated entities would receive an email from 

11 See the “Final Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and 

Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies,” Release No. 34-75050; File No. S7-10-15; 80 FR 33016 (June 10, 

2015). 

12 On September 27, 2017, the SEC received approval from the Office of Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act to use the Diversity Assessment Report in connection with the Joint Standards. 

31 
 

OMWI inviting them to complete the Diversity Assessment Report. In addition, OMWI posted a 

set of Frequently Asked Questions on its webpage to provide more information about the Joint 

Standards and the Diversity Assessment Report. 

On January 30, 2018, OMWI sent emails to certain SEC-regulated entities requesting that 

they complete and submit the Diversity Assessment Report using the hyperlink to the report 

included in the email. The regulated entities were given 60 days, from January 31 to March 31, 

2018, to complete the Diversity Assessment Report. 

OMWI expects the responses to the Diversity Assessment Reports will answer the 

general question whether respondents are promoting workforce and supplier diversity in their 

organizations, and provide information on which policies and practices reflected in the Joint 

Standards have been adopted by respondents. OMWI may publish information obtained from 

Diversity Assessment Reports in its Annual Report to Congress, but only in a form that does not 

identify a particular entity. Further, OMWI may share information with other Agencies that 

joined in issuing the Joint Standards to support coordination of efforts and to avoid duplication. 

The SEC hopes that distributing the Diversity Assessment Report will raise awareness 

about the Joint Standards and the ways in which regulated entities may establish new, or 

strengthen existing, diversity policies and practices, as well as encourage transparency. 

32 
 

SEC Contractors’ Workforce Inclusion of Minorities and Women 

To implement the requirements of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act related to the 

workforce diversity of agency contractors, the SEC includes its Contract Standard for Contractor 

Workforce Inclusion (Contract Standard) in all solicitations and contracts for services with a 

dollar value of $100,000 or more. The Contract Standard also is to be included in subcontracts 

for services with a dollar value of $100,000 or more awarded under the contract. 

The Contract Standard requires the service contractor, upon entering into a contract with 

the SEC, to confirm it will ensure, to the maximum extent possible and consistent with 

applicable law, the fair inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce. The Contract 

Standard further requires a contractor to provide documentation, upon the request of the OMWI 

Director, demonstrating it has made good faith efforts to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities 

and women in its workforce and, as applicable, demonstrating its covered subcontractor(s) has 

made such good faith efforts. 

Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act directs the OMWI Director to determine whether a 

contractor has failed to make good faith efforts to include minorities and women in its 

workforce, and requires the agency administrator to take appropriate action if the OMWI 

Director makes such a determination. OMWI conducts post-award reviews, referred to as “Good 

Faith Effort Reviews,” to determine whether contractors have complied with the requirements of 

the Contract Standard to make good faith efforts to ensure workforce inclusion of minorities and 

women. 

In FY 2017, OMWI reviewed a total of 116 contractors (82 prime and 34 subcontractors), 

which represented about 92 percent of the contractors that were eligible for review. In each 

review, OMWI determined that the information and representations in the contractor’s 

submission appeared to indicate the contractor had taken actions demonstrating good faith efforts 

to comply with the requirements of the Contract Standard. Where OMWI’s analysis of a 

contractor’s workforce data revealed that the representation of women or minorities in an EEO-1 

job category (e.g., Officials and Managers and Professionals) was lower than would be expected, 

OMWI advised the contractor that the particular job categories should be areas of focus for its 

ongoing diversity efforts. 

33 
Conclusion and FY 2018 Outlook 

The SEC embraces diversity and inclusion not only as matter of implementing the 

requirements of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, but also as a mission imperative. 

Leveraging the benefits of diversity and inclusion will assist the SEC in maintaining the highest 

standards in pursuit of its mission. In FY 2018, OMWI will continue to work with all divisions 

and offices, SEC senior leadership, the agency’s Diversity Council, the Office of Equal 

Employment Opportunity, and the Office of Human Resources to promote diversity in the 

agency’s workforce and foster an inclusive workplace. 

The SEC will also continue to implement existing initiatives and explore new strategies 

for improving gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in senior management positions and certain 

SEC mission critical occupations. Diversity in both leadership and the workforce is needed to 

maximize mission effectiveness. Further, in a period of reductions in hiring and constricting 

budgets, OMWI will continue to direct efforts toward developing a pipeline of diverse talent for 

future employment and internship opportunities. 

OMWI will continue to work with the Office of Acquisitions to build on the agency’s 

success in advancing the agency’s supplier diversity goals. OMWI will also continue to conduct 

post-award reviews of agency contractors to determine compliance with SEC Contract Standard. 

OMWI anticipates reviewing and analyzing responses provided in Diversity Assessment Reports 

in FY 2018. At conferences and other events hosted by the industry trade associations, OMWI 

will continue to promote the use of the Joint Standards and encourage SEC-regulated entities to 

conduct self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices. 

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Appendix A: OMWI FY 2017 Diversity Partners 

Organization Name

ASCEND, Inc.

Association of Latino Professionals For America

Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc.

D.C. Diverse Partners Network, Inc.

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities

Hispanic National Bar Association

Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia

International Leadership Foundation

National Association of Asian MBAs

National Association of Black Accountants

National Association of Black Accountants, Metropolitan D.C. Chapter

National Bar Association

National Bar Association, Greater Washington Area Chapter

National Black MBA Association, D.C. Chapter

National Society of Hispanic MBAs

National Society of Hispanic MBAs, D.C. Chapter

Thurgood Marshall College Fund

United Negro College Fund

White House Initiative on HBCUs

Women’s Bar Association

Source: Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. 

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Appendix B: FY 2017 Outreach and Recruitment Events 

Event Name Date

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities 30th Annual Conference October 2016

National Association of Black Accountants Western Region Student Conference October 2016

Central State University Fall 2016 Career & Internship Fair October 2016

Accounting and Financial Women's Alliance 2016 National Conference & Career Fair October 2016

ExpoMujer 2016 Atlanta November 2016

Georgia Young Farmers Association Convention January 2017

Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation 13th Annual Picnic: Networking Event for Minority Law

Students, Lawyers and Judges February 2017

Glenbrook South High School Women in Business Breakfast February 2017

American University, School of International Services International Affairs Expo February 2017

Hispanic Bar Association of DC Career Fair and Networking Event March 2017

2017 FINRA Diversity Summit March 2017

Hispanic National Bar Association 8th Annual Corporate Counsel Conference March 2017

Lincoln University Career and Graduate / Professional School Fair March 2017

Federal Bar Association 2017 Indian Law Conference April 2017

Penn State University Careers in the Law April 2017

Minority Corporate Counsel Association General Counsel Summit April 2017

Trinity Washington University's 2017 Employer in Residence Program April 2017

Association of Latino Professionals for America Finance Summit (DC Chapter) April 2017

2017 National Association of Black Accountants National Convention & Expo June 2017

23rd Annual Women in Technology Summit June 2017

Florida International University Career Fair June 2017

Association of Latino Professionals for America 2017 Leadership Summit June 2017

National Association of Securities Professional Pension and Financial Services Conference June 2017

South Asian Bar Association 14th Annual Convention July 2017

International Leadership Foundation Student Visit to SEC July 2017

Hispanic National Bar Foundation 2017 Future Latino Leaders Law Camp Visit to SEC July 2017

International Leadership Foundation Career Fair July 2017

NAACP 108th Annual Convention July 2017

National Bar Association 92nd Annual Convention & Exhibits July 2017

National LGBT Bar Association Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair August 2017

Association of Latino Professionals For America 45th Annual Convention & Career Fair August 2017

National Association of Securities Professionals Legislative Symposium September 2017

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference September 2017

13th Annual Corporate Counsel Women of Color Career Strategies Conference September 2017

Source: Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. Representative list only. 

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Appendix C: FY 2017 Programs for Special Observances 

Program and Speaker

Hispanic Heritage Month

Guest Speaker: Honorable Rene Alexander Acosta, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary

Disability Awareness Month

Guest Speaker: Sonia L. Aranza, Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist

Veterans Day Commemoration

Guest Speaker: Sergeant Jerry Wolf, U.S. Army Air Corps, Eighth Air Force, WWII and POW

American Indian Heritage Month

Guest Speaker: Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of Interior

African American History Month

Guest Speaker: Honorable Robert L. Wilkins, U.S. Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of

Columbia

Women’s History Month

Coffee Networking Event in Honor of Women’s History Month

Asian American Pacific Islander Month

Guest Speaker: Dr. Min Zhou, Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles

Caribbean American Heritage Month

Guest Speaker: Dr. Natalie Vassall, Physician and Deputy Informatics Officer, Veterans Affairs Medical Center,

Washington, D.C.

Source: Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. 

37