III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 140 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007 

Received and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the low presence of minorities in the financial 

services industry and minorities and women in upper 

level positions of management, and expressing the sense 

of the Congress that active measures should be taken 

to increase the demographic diversity of the financial 

services industry. 

Whereas the financial services industry is vitally important to 

the United States economy; 

Whereas in 2005, employment in the financial services industry was about 7 percent of total employment in the 

United States, with over 10,000,000 employees; 

Whereas since 1995, the average hourly earnings of non-supervisory workers in financial activities was 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
2 

HCON 140 RFS 

above the private industry and increased from approximately $13 in 1997 to $18.80 in 2006; 

Whereas minorities and women face various challenges in obtaining and maintaining positions, especially upper-level 

positions, within the financial services industry; 

Whereas minorities and women often cite the lack of mentors 

and leadership training as barriers to their advancement; 

Whereas in 2005, about 14.9 percent of the board seats at 

the Fortune 100 companies were held by minorities, and 

women comprised about 16.9 percent of Fortune 100 

company board seats in 2005; 

Whereas in the financial services industry, the percentage of 

black employees has slowly decreased from about 10.5 

percent to 9.8 percent between 2000 to 2005; 

Whereas in 2005, blacks were approximately 9.8 percent of 

those employed in the financial services industry and 

about 7.4 percent of financial managers; 

Whereas from 2000 to 2005, Hispanics have been an increasing percentage of the United States workforce and the financial services industry; 

Whereas in 2005, Hispanics comprised about 9.7 percent of 

those employed in the financial services industry, just 6 

percent of financial managers, and less than 2 percent of 

the directors of Fortune 1,000 companies; 

Whereas in 2004, Asians represented about 5.5 percent of 

the employees in the financial services industry and about 

6.3 percent of all financial managers; 

Whereas in 2004, the financial services industry ranked third 

in the percentage of women employed in the workforce 

behind healthcare and education; 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
3 

HCON 140 RFS 

Whereas approximately half of financial managers are women 

and the percentage of women financial managers was approximately 51.7 in 2005; 

Whereas in a 2001 survey of 2,200 senior and pipeline level 

women and men representing approximately 60 securities 

firms, 65 percent of women reported that women have to 

work harder than men to get the same rewards, and 51 

percent of women report that women are paid less than 

men for doing similar work; 

Whereas a minority of women (32 percent) and men (43 percent) believe that promotion decisions are made fairly in 

their firm; 

Whereas the House-approved Financial Services Regulatory 

Relief Act of 2005 directed each Federal banking agency 

to submit biennial reports to Congress on the status of 

the employment by the agency of women and minorities; 

Whereas the Government Accountability Office found in its 

report ‘‘Financial Services Industry: Overall Trends in 

Management-Level Diversity and Diversity Initiatives, 

1993–2003’’, issued in June 2006, that overall diversity 

at the management level in the financial services industry 

did not change substantially from 1993 to 2004; and 

Whereas, although the Government Accountability Office acknowledged that financial services firms have initiated 

programs to increase workforce diversity, the Office 

found that these initiatives face challenges: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
4 

HCON 140 RFS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Serv3 ices Diversity Initiative’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVERSITY INITIATIVE. 

5 (a) CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION.—The Con6 gress— 

7 (1) recognizes that minorities and women still 

8 face unique challenges entering into and obtaining 

9 upper level positions within the financial services in10 dustry; 

11 (2) encourages financial institutions to partner 

12 with organizations which are focused on developing 

13 opportunities for minorities and women to place tal14 ented young minorities and women in industry in15 ternships, summer employment, and full-time posi16 tions; 

17 (3) encourages financial institutions to partner 

18 with inner-city high schools, girls’ high schools, and 

19 high schools with majority minority populations to 

20 establish or enhance financial literacy programs and 

21 provide mentoring; 

22 (4) encourages financial institutions, including 

23 Federal and State financial institution regulatory 

24 agencies, to build and retain a diverse staff through 

25 initiatives, including— 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
5 

HCON 140 RFS 

1 (A) providing financial support for minori2 ties and women undergraduate and graduate 

3 business programs; 

4 (B) heavily recruiting at historically Black 

5 colleges and universities, Hispanic serving insti6 tutions, women’s colleges, and colleges that 

7 typically serve majority minority populations; 

8 (C) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs 

9 in urban communities; and 

10 (D) placing job ads in newspapers and 

11 magazines oriented toward people of color; 

12 (5) encourages financial institutions to appoint 

13 more minorities and women as board members; and 

14 (6) encourages financial institutions, and public 

15 and private pension funds to seek qualified minority 

16 and women owned firms as investment managers, 

17 underwriters and other business relationships. 

18 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

19 the Congress that— 

20 (1) active measures should be taken by employ21 ers and educational institutions to increase the de22 mographic diversity of the financial services indus23 try; and 

24 (2) diversity within the financial services indus25 try is vitally important not only to promoting innoVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:36 Sep 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC140.RFS HC140

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
6 

HCON 140 RFS 

1 vation and creativity in the industry but to devel2 oping a more inclusive workforce for a fair and just 

3 economy. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS