2020

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Section 342

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform

and Consumer Protection Act

REPORT TO CONGRESS

Table of Contents

AN INTRODUCTION FROM NIKITA PEARSON, 

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION

KEY INITIATIVES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2020

DEVELOPING AND SUPPORTING A DIVERSE, HIGH-PERFORMING WORKFORCE

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE PROSPERITY THROUGH FDIC CONTRACTING

PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE

CONCLUSION

APPENDICES

2

4

8

20

32

34

39

41

table of contents
2 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

An Introduction from Nikita Pearson, 

Director, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

For many, 2020 was a year unlike any other. The global 

pandemic and widespread lockdowns reverberated 

throughout the banking system; upended many 

Americans’ lives, their health, and their finances; and 

had a disproportionate impact on communities of 

color and women.1 At the same time, the tragic deaths 

of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, 

and other Black Americans prompted a long-overdue 

national conversation about race in America. 

Against this backdrop, and at the behest of Chairman 

Jelena McWilliams, the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC) embarked on a broad and deep 

look into the agency’s efforts to promote diversity, 

equity, and inclusion (DEI)—not only by looking at our 

workforce and contracting, but also by supporting 

diversity at financial institutions and financial inclusion 

in underserved communities. 

Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) requires 

that we provide an annual report to Congress on 

our efforts with respect to contracting with qualified 

minority- and women-owned businesses (MWOBs) and 

hiring qualified minority and women employees. And 

this report does so. But we have learned over the past 

year that DEI is woven much more fully throughout the 

FDIC’s operations, so we have broadened the scope of 

this report to include more of our important initiatives, 

plans, and achievements in this crucial area.

1

Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Consumer & Community Context, Vol. 2, No. 2 (November 2020), available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/

files/consumer-community-context-20201118.pdf.

director's message
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 3 

DEI are fundamental to the FDIC’s ability to fulfill our 

mission: to maintain stability and public confidence 

in the nation’s financial system. As such, DEI must be 

managed as an organizational priority. 

Earlier this month, we published our Diversity, Equity, 

and Inclusion Strategic Plan, 2021–232, and though we 

have published diversity and inclusion strategic plans 

in the past, this plan is unlike any strategy we have 

developed before. It is broad and ambitious—a call to 

action. Where our previous strategic plans focused on 

efforts to improve diversity and inclusion among the 

FDIC workforce, our new DEI Strategic Plan recognizes 

that the FDIC is uniquely positioned to make positive, 

lasting changes that will impact not only our workplace 

and the banking system, but also our communities and 

our country. 

Over the next three years, the FDIC will implement 

and pursue DEI initiatives built around five strategic 

goals—culture, career, communication, consistency, 

and community. Internally, we will further integrate 

DEI into our hiring, training, and career development 

programs. We will support each member of our 

workforce to help them reach their full potential 

and to bring their authentic selves to the workplace. 

Externally, we will promote inclusive prosperity 

by incorporating MWOBs, including law firms, and 

investors in our business activities. We will enhance 

our ability to assess diversity policies and practices 

at financial institutions, and will partner with our 

supervised institutions to identify and promote DEI 

policies and practices to make their communities more 

financially inclusive. And we will redouble our efforts 

to support Minority Depository Institutions. 

The DEI Strategic Plan is the culmination of a year’s 

work—examining data, meeting with employees and 

other stakeholders, and taking a deep dive into root 

causes of our culture, ethics, and history. We were 

brutally honest in our assessment of our successes and 

past failures. And we acknowledge that there will be 

growing pains as we address longstanding challenges, 

but the FDIC is ready and willing to embrace change. 

We are very proud of this ambitious plan and look 

forward to updating you on our progress. 

The FDIC has made diversity and inclusion 

a priority since long before the Dodd-Frank 

Act. The remainder of this report outlines our 

accomplishments over the past year. We have 

accomplished much, but we recognize that 

there is much more we can do. 

Developing a Strategy

for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

True equity and inclusion 

cannot be achieved until all 

Americans can access the 

benefits of the U.S. banking 

system. And the FDIC is 

driving meaningful progress 

towards this goal. 

2

FDIC. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan, 2021–23 (March 2021), available at https://www.fdic.gov/about/diversity/pdf/dei2021.pdf.

ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES

director's message

BUILDING ON THE PAST AND

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
4 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

In 2020, we implemented a number of new initiatives to 

strengthen DEI within the FDIC workforce, in our core 

business activities, and among our regulated entities. 

Implemented a new performance standard 

aimed at holding management accountable 

for supporting DEI.

Engaged an independent consultant to 

conduct a barrier analysis to identify root 

causes of inequity and to develop strategies to 

address retention and promotion disparities.

Became one of the first federal agencies to 

implement a paid parental leave program for 

employees several months before passage of 

the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act.

Key Initiatives and Accomplishments in 2020:

Workforce, Operations, and Supervised Institutions

Launched a pilot student 

loan repayment program 

that provides up to 100 

commissioned examiners 

with up to $18,000

to repay outstanding 

student loan debt.

key accomplishments
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 5 

Hired minorities at a rate 

above the civilian labor 

force (CLF) for entry-level 

examiners, the agency’s 

largest occupational group. 

Announced improvements to our 

Expression of Interest program, a valuable 

career development tool, to empower 

employees and expand opportunities to a 

broader pool of candidates.

Instituted mandatory DEI training for all 

corporate recruiters and all employees in 

the bank examination workforce.

Conducted a review of our pay system to 

help promote equity among incoming and 

current employees.

Hosted listening sessions to provide 

employees a forum to discuss current 

events and workplace DEI issues.

Increased minority 

representation at the executive 

level to almost 20 percent, 

significantly outpacing the prior 

period’s growth.

Increased our percentage of 

new hires that are veterans to 14 

percent (from 8 percent in 2019).

Increased representation of 

individuals with disabilities in 

the FDIC workforce to 13 percent, 

above the federal governmentwide goal of 12 percent.

Hosted formal mentoring 

programs that included 

approximately 32 percent 

minority participants and 58 

percent women participants.

Encouraged minorities and 

women to participate in external 

leadership development 

programs; approximately 44 

percent were minorities and 44 

percent were women.

20%

14%

13%

58%

44%

Achieved our highest favorable response rate in the 

Inclusion Quotient (IQ) category since we began 

tracking the IQ as a part of the Office of Personnel 

Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.

BY THE NUMBERS

key accomplishments

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

71% 71%

70%

72%

74%

In our Workforce of 2020
6 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Launched an online portal to host our 

Financial Institution Diversity Self-Assessment 

(FID-SA), making the process of completing 

the assessment easier, more efficient, and 

more secure for financial institutions. Also 

conducted ongoing communications with 

financial institutions via email and phone 

encouraging participation. 

Awarded $90 million, or 

21 percent, of new awards 

to MWOBs.

Made payments of 

approximately $107 

million to MWOBs.

Made payments of 

approximately $4 million, 

or 22 percent, to minorityand women-owned law 

firms (MWOLFs) and diverse 

attorneys.

Recognized our tenth 

consecutive year with 24 

percent of new contract 

actions awarded to MWOBs.

$90M

24%

$107M

$4M

Hosted a “Pitch Day” event, providing

an opportunity for four MWOB firms to 

market their capabilities to the FDIC.

BY THE NUMBERS

Achieved our highest participation rate for the 

diversity self-assessment: 19 percent. 

The institutions that responded employ 38 percent 

of all employees and hold 42 percent of all assets 

held by the 787 FDIC institutions invited to submit 

a diversity self-assessment. 

DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT

Launched a topical, virtual Technical 

Assistance series that included a session on 

Getting to Success: Marketing Your Business, 

that highlighted best practices for digital and 

traditional marketing generally. 

key accomplishments

2016 2017 2018 2019

11%

17%

16%

19%

In our Operations and among Financial Institutions
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 7 

The vision of the FDIC is to build and maintain a 

workforce that is talented and diverse, reflecting the 

communities we serve. To achieve this vision, in 2020, 

we established a goal to recruit, hire, and develop 

a high-performing workforce and committed to 

promoting this vision through leaders at all levels 

of the organization.

We identified three key objectives to support this goal:

TALENT ACQUISITION

Promote talent acquisition practices that 

consistently provide equal opportunity and 

strive to close representation gaps at all levels.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE

Maintain a diverse leadership pipeline.

Hold managers accountable for actively 

promoting career development and 

advancement opportunities for employees.

Allow every employee to have the opportunity 

to develop and excel in their career and 

recognize and reward high performers.

Read next how FDIC 

has developed an 

aggressive agenda to 

leverage the power of 

diversity by focusing 

on talent sources, 

retention efforts, and 

training activities. 

Our agenda includes 

building accountability 

into our system, as 

well as identifying and 

eliminating barriers to 

opportunities. 

A VISION LOOKING AHEAD

1 RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES

2

3

4

5

RETENTION EFFORTS

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND 

SUCCESSION PLANNING EFFORTS

INCLUSION EFFORTS

MEASURING OUR SUCCESS

KEY OBJECTIVES

key accomplishments

In our Workforce of the Future
8 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Developing and Supporting a Diverse, 

High-Performing FDIC Workforce

IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES

A key challenge for the FDIC in promoting diversity at 

all levels of our workforce continues to be the ability 

to attract, retain, and advance minorities and women 

in our bank examiner workforce. The examiner 

occupation is the largest occupational group at the 

FDIC, accounting for almost half of the FDIC’s total 

workforce. Individuals who began their careers as 

entry-level examiners tend to occupy a significant 

percentage of executive and managerial positions in 

the agency, as well as other non-examiner leadership 

positions. Thus, representation rates within the 

examiner workforce are key to achieving satisfactory 

representation across the broader FDIC workforce.

Our ability to attract and retain examiners is affected 

by a number of factors, including the amount of travel, 

field office structure (i.e., 81 office locations in smaller 

cities with frequent travel to institutions in rural areas), 

and low turnover. The FDIC has taken, and will continue 

to take, steps to mitigate these factors as a way to 

expand diversity among this segment of the workforce.

In addition, the FDIC continues to face challenges 

in attracting and recruiting minorities and women 

in non-examiner occupations: economists, financial 

administration, attorneys, accountants and auditors, 

and general business and industry. This is primarily due 

fdic workforce
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 9 

to low labor force representation rates for these groups 

in these occupations. In 2020, OMWI worked with the 

FDIC’s Division of Insurance and Research 

(DIR) and Division of Resolutions and Receiverships 

(DRR) to address this underrepresentation in mission 

critical non-examiner positions, as discussed in 

“Recruiting for Non-Examiner Occupations” below.

IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES 

The FDIC has developed an aggressive agenda to 

address these challenges and leverage the power 

of diversity by focusing on talent sources, retention 

efforts, and training activities. Our agenda includes 

building accountability into our system, as well as 

identifying and eliminating barriers to opportunities. 

Below are a number of actions OMWI has taken in 

support of these efforts.

 RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES

Building a diverse workforce starts with attracting a 

diverse pool of candidates and developing a diverse 

pipeline of current employees to move into leadership 

positions. Throughout 2020, the FDIC took a number 

of actions in pursuit of these goals.

1A. 

CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FDIC’S 

MINORITY RECRUITMENT TASK FORCE (MRTF)

Throughout 2020, OMWI supported MRTF’s efforts to 

develop a diverse pool of candidates for entry-level 

examiner positions and internships, which included 

expanded outreach to colleges and universities, affinity 

groups, and professional organizations that represent 

diverse candidates. The task force tested strategies 

to increase the diversity of entry-level examiner and 

examiner internship applicant pools, in particular 

among minority students at majority schools. The FDIC 

also expanded its regional intern direct hiring efforts to 

focus on potential applicants who are already located 

in areas where historically we have had difficulty hiring 

and retaining employees.

During the 2020 spring and fall recruitment seasons, 

the MRTF participated in more than a dozen virtual 

recruitment activities, including panel discussions 

on diversity, equity, and inclusion; “Day in the Life” 

podcasts; money management clinics; federal 

résumé writing workshops; and joint information 

sessions with university career services offices to help 

students develop career readiness and navigate the 

application pipeline.

In the past year we also increased our outreach to 

historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), 

Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian-serving institutions, 

and other schools with high numbers of minority 

graduates in key fields of study. Our corporate 

recruiters pursued opportunities to build relationships 

with professors and career center staff and to attend 

events on campus or online. This approach proved to 

be very successful in increasing awareness of the FDIC 

as an employer of choice. Our efforts resulted in a 2.4 

percent increase in identified minority applicants from 

targeted schools in 2020 compared to 2019. And, these 

efforts helped to support the increase in minority entrylevel examiners hired in 2020. 

1B. 

RECRUITING FOR NON-EXAMINER OCCUPATIONS

Over the past several years, DIR, which employs the 

majority of the FDIC’s economists, has experienced 

elevated attrition levels and numerous vacancies. 

Traditionally, recruiting women and minorities for 

economist roles has been challenging because the 

discipline is typically male-dominated and made up 

of a large percentage of non-U.S. citizen and nonminority participants. 

To address the lack of diversity in the economist 

occupation, DIR has sought to refine its recruiting 

efforts to improve hiring results, and recruiters 

1

Recruiting for Non-Examiners and Engagement

with FDIC’s Minority Recruitment Task Force (MRTF)

fdic workforce
10 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

targeted schools with higher numbers of minorities and 

women in economics and finance majors. In June 2020, 

DIR worked with the American Economic Association 

to launch the Summer Research Fellows Program, 

which is designed to advance the participation of 

women and underrepresented minorities in the 

economics profession.

Similarly, the FDIC has worked to expand the 

representation of women and minorities in DRR. During 

2008–13, DRR had greatly expanded its workforce to 

handle a large number of bank failures, resulting in 

a majority male, non-minority workforce with larger 

numbers of women and minorities at lower grade 

levels. By 2019, DRR was nearing the end of a multiyear process of downsizing its workforce, which 

had greatly expanded during the nation’s financial 

crisis. More recently, knowing that a large percentage 

of DRR’s employees were retirement eligible, the 

FDIC recognized this as an opportunity to hire new 

employees as part of our mid- to long-term planning, 

increase the diversity of the applicant pool and 

workforce, and put ourselves in a better position to 

handle any future financial crises.

DRR worked to develop lower-grade employees and 

prepare them to qualify for higher-level positions, 

including by encouraging participation in a job 

rotation program, which provides experience 

important for advancement. DRR also launched an 

informal mentoring program within the division to 

promote a more inclusive work culture and develop 

and retain diverse talent. Through this program, DRR 

employees have the opportunity to partner with a DRR 

manager to develop mentor relationships, advance 

career goals, gain organizational insight, and broaden 

skills, knowledge, and perspectives.

To expand diversity among its pool of external 

candidates, DRR also launched the “Graduates 

Program,” which enables the division to hire 

entry-level candidates into career ladder positions. 

The FDIC welcomed the first group of 14 new 

employees into the program in June 2020. 

1C.

EXPANDING AWARENESS OF DEI PRINCIPLES

All FDIC employees in the bank examination workforce, 

all corporate recruiters, and others involved in 

entry-level examiner hiring are required to complete 

mandatory DEI training. This enables the agency's 

commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion to 

be reflected to employee candidates and new hires 

throughout the recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and 

training process.

1D. 

EXPANDING DIVERSITY AT THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL

The FDIC’s Chief Human Capital Officer has partnered 

with the OMWI Director to further integrate DEI 

benchmarks into the executive hiring process, including 

in the initial assessment, interview questions, interview 

panel demographics, interview format, and final 

selection process. In 2020, the OMWI Director and 

Human Resources leadership met with FDIC hiring 

managers to discuss strategies to attract a diverse 

candidate pool for senior leadership positions. For 

example, the FDIC now posts executive vacancies 

to all sources when appropriate, enabling senior 

leadership to consider a broader pool of candidates. 

In addition, the FDIC publishes all vacancies on a 

weekly basis to multiple National Affinity Groups, 

Veterans Organizations, Federal Executive Boards, State 

Departments of Vocational Rehabilitation, colleges 

and universities, and the FDIC-recognized Employee 

Resource Groups (ERGs). The FDIC also recently 

entered into a contract with an external consulting firm 

to assist in creating a new assessment and selection 

process for our executive positions, building on existing 

efforts to increase diversity in our most senior positions. 

1E. 

GETTING EXECUTIVES INVOLVED IN RECRUITMENT

In 2020, the FDIC’s Corporate Recruitment Program 

partnered with the Executive Task Force to promote DEI 

in the examiner workforce by engaging FDIC 

Recruiting and Expanding 

Diversity at the FDIC Executive Level

fdic workforce
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 11 

executives in national recruitment efforts (e.g., 

speaking engagements, virtual career fairs, and other 

outreach initiatives). The goal is to build a connection 

with job seekers and applicants and stimulate 

leadership aspiration. 

1F. 

FOCUSING ON HISPANIC/LATINX RECRUITMENT

Like the federal government as a whole, the FDIC has 

an underrepresentation of Hispanic/Latinx employees 

in our workforce, including in occupations that are 

central to our mission (e.g., examiners, economists, 

and resolution and receivership roles). Recruitment 

of Hispanic/Latinx employees within the examiner 

occupation is a key focus of our Minority Recruitment 

Task Force efforts. 

To that end, FDIC recruiters have met with key leaders 

in Hispanic American organizations (e.g., Prospanica) 

to create awareness of FDIC careers and identify 

opportunities to expand outreach to their members. 

The FDIC participated in the 2020 Virtual Prospanica 

Conference & Career Expo and continues to consult 

with the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and 

Advancement (HOLA) employee resource group in 

support of DEI initiatives that target Hispanic/Latinx 

employees and job seekers.

1G.

REACHING OUT TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

The FDIC continues to conduct outreach that aims to 

bring more individuals with disabilities and disabled 

veterans into the examiner workforce. We partner with 

disability affinity groups and veterans’ organizations, 

and posted ads in disability and veterans publications 

in order to increase awareness among job seekers.

1H. 

FOCUSING ON INTERNSHIPS

The FDIC continues to make strategic use of internships 

to develop the next generation of talent for entry-level 

examiners. In 2020, we expanded our regional intern 

hiring, which focuses on potential applicants who are 

already located in areas where we have difficulties 

hiring and retaining employees. We also tested 

strategies to increase the diversity of the examiner 

internship applicant pools, in particular for minority 

students at majority schools. Of entry-level examiners 

hired in 2020, 43 percent were former participants in 

the FDIC’s Financial Management Scholars Interns and 

Financial Institution Intern programs. 

 RETENTION EFFORTS

As we build a more diverse workforce, we recognize that 

these individuals will have different needs, in terms of 

benefits, workplace accommodations, incentives, and 

more. Throughout 2020, the FDIC implemented several 

initiatives and programs designed to meet the evolving 

needs of a more diverse workforce.

2A. 

PILOT STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (SLRP)

In order to attract a more diverse pool of applicants 

and retain a diverse population among our entry-level 

examiner workforce, the FDIC instituted a program to 

appeal to individuals who may have taken on debt to 

finance their education. Over the next three years, up 

to 100 commissioned bank examiners will be eligible 

to have their student loans paid directly, up to $500 

per month for a total of up to $18,000 per employee. 

If successful, the FDIC will consider expanding this 

program to other categories of positions that face 

recruitment or retention challenges.

2B. 

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

The FDIC’s Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Program became 

effective in January 2020, making us one of the first 

federal agencies to provide paid leave to employees 

2

Implementing Initiatives to Meet 

Evolving Retention Efforts

fdic workforce
12 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

who are parents to a newborn child, adopt a child, or 

provide legal foster care to a child. FDIC employees 

have been eligible to take 12 weeks of paid parental 

leave since July 2020 (i.e., prior to the effective date of 

the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act).

2C.

PAY EQUITY REVIEW

 In 2020, the FDIC conducted a review of our pay system 

for incoming and current employees with the goal of 

promoting pay equity among FDIC employees. As a 

result of this review, we will be implementing a new 

system for setting incoming employees’ pay in 2021. 

Related to the implementation of the new pay system, 

current employees will be afforded the opportunity to 

request a pay adjustment review to ensure that current 

employees are paid in accordance with the principles 

underlying the new pay-setting system.

2D.

REDUCED TRAVEL FOR EXAMINERS

The amount of travel required for bank supervision 

efforts has been a challenge to our ability to hire 

and retain examiners. As a part of our supervision 

modernization efforts, we plan to implement 

technology solutions that will reduce the amount 

of time examiners need to be on-site at financial 

institutions. We are also negotiating with the National 

Treasury Employees Union to expand long-term 

telework flexibilities.

2E.

IMPROVED TRAINING PROGRAM FOR EXAMINERS

 In 2019, the FDIC announced a number of changes to 

our examiner training and commissioning program,

and the first examiners hired under this new program 

came on board in 2020. These changes addressed 

challenges like the time to obtain a commission 

and the inability to explore other areas of the 

organization. Under the new program, the time to 

obtain a commission is reduced by six to 12 months. 

This is important because it provides commissioned 

examiners with opportunities to express an interest, 

and develop, in other areas earlier in their careers.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT 

AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

DEI must be reflected at all levels of the FDIC 

organization. To that end, we are undertaking new 

efforts to develop our staff and prepare them to take on 

leadership positions. 

3A. 

NEW PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR MANAGERS

Starting with the 2020 performance rating period, all 

FDIC supervisors were assessed on their efforts to 

promote career development and cultivate an inclusive, 

constructive, harassment-free work environment 

built upon transparent communication, mutual trust, 

and respect. As reflected in our DEI Strategic Plan, 

accountability will play a larger role in our DEI 

efforts going forward.

3B.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) PROGRAM

EOIs are a valuable career development tool, allowing 

employees to rotate temporarily to new positions, 

often with increased responsibility and leadership 

exposure. The FDIC has made changes to our 

program to allow employees who are interested to 

have ample opportunity to participate. For example, 

employees are no longer required to obtain approval 

from their supervisor to apply for an EOI. This change 

empowers employees to identify and pursue the career 

development opportunities that are the best fit for 

them. In addition, to expand opportunities to a broader 

group of employees, selecting officials are expected to 

prioritize selection of qualified candidates without a 

detail or temporary promotion over the last 12 months. 

3

Investing in Career Development

and Preparing New Leaders at All Levels

fdic workforce
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 13 

3C.

LEADERSHIP, MENTORING, AND 

EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

The FDIC has refocused its efforts to develop rising 

leaders in the agency by encouraging participation 

in internal and external leadership development and 

mentoring programs. 

In 2020, 31.8 percent of the 88 mentees in the FDIC 

Mentoring and Leadership Mentoring programs were 

minorities, including 18.2 percent Black or African 

American, 6.8 percent Asian, 3.4 percent Hispanic/

Latinx, and 3.4 percent employees of two or more 

races. Fifty-eight percent of the mentees in the 

programs were women.

We also encourage employees to participate in external 

leadership development programs that support the 

FDIC’s leadership development values (e.g., programs 

conducted by the Graduate School USA, Georgetown 

University; the Kennedy School at Harvard; and the 

University of Massachusetts - Isenberg School of 

Business). In 2020, 43.8 percent of the individuals 

selected for external leadership development programs 

were minorities, including 31.3 percent Black or 

African American, 6.3 percent Asian, and 6.3 percent 

two or more races. Forty-four percent of the selectees 

were women.

3D. 

VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE 

AND EARLY RETIREMENT PROGRAM

In early 2020 the FDIC announced a targeted voluntary 

separation incentive (VSIP) and early retirement (VERA) 

program to proactively reshape our workforce. The 

program was intended to facilitate orderly succession 

management by providing us with an opportunity to 

accelerate the transition to the new skills, tools, and 

leadership that will be needed in the future to fulfill 

the FDIC’s mission responsibilities. This program also 

would have created opportunities to further diversity 

within the workforce, particularly among the leadership 

ranks. The average tenure of employees at the FDIC is 

25 years, and low turnover has challenged our ability

to make meaningful changes quickly. Unfortunately, 

we were forced to suspend this initiative soon after 

it was announced to allow us to assess the economic 

impact of the global pandemic on the banking industry 

and maintain our readiness to respond to any issues 

that emerge.3 

INCLUSION EFFORTS

4A. 

BARRIER ANALYSIS

 

To improve our ability to recruit, retain, and develop 

employees, the FDIC engaged an independent 

consultant to help us identify root causes of retention 

and promotion disparities among minorities and nonminorities, and develop strategies to address them. 

Other focus areas included: identifying barriers to 

the advancement by minorities and women to senior 

management, determining the root causes of low 

Hispanic/Latinx representation throughout the agency, 

and developing effective strategies for hiring individuals 

with disabilities. The consultant also identified 

representation gaps by race, ethnicity, gender, 

disability, and targeted disability within our major 

occupations and divisions. The consultant analyzed 

workforce data across the full employment lifecycle at 

the FDIC, compared it with available labor markets and 

other appropriate benchmarks, examined employment 

policies and practices, and conducted focus groups 

with employees and managers and interviews with 

various process owners. The final report of the 

consultant is being finalized, and we will continue to 

work closely with this consultant in 2021 to develop 

targeted strategies to eliminate identified barriers.

3 Recently, following targeted overhiring efforts to provide FDIC operational stability in the event of surge activities and given national progress in the pandemic 

and economic recovery, a more targeted VERA/VSIP program has been initiated for the Chief Information Officer organization, including the Office of the Chief 

Information Security Officer.

4

Identify Root Causes of Retention and

Promotion Disparties Among Minorities and Women

fdic workforce
14 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

4B. 

LISTENING SESSIONS

Employee feedback and perspectives on DEI inform our 

strategies and initiatives to promote a more inclusive 

workplace and improve employee engagement and 

retention. During the summer and fall of 2020, we 

offered our employees the opportunity to participate 

in facilitated listening sessions, both FDIC-wide and at 

the division and office level. These sessions provided 

employees with a forum to discuss current events 

and workplace DEI issues and understand personal 

differences. The FDIC’s Diversity and Inclusion 

Executive Advisory Council reviewed the themes 

that emerged from the sessions and developed DEI 

initiatives that were incorporated into our Strategic 

Plan and corporate goals.

4C. 

CHAIRMAN’S DIVERSITY ADVISORY COUNCILS 

(CDACS)

Throughout 2020, we continued to engage with CDACs 

to help us break down barriers, increase awareness 

of cultural differences, and promote inclusion and 

collaboration among all employees. We asked the 

CDACs to be ambassadors of change and concentrate 

their efforts on workplace DEI to help us advance our 

efforts. The councils sponsored numerous events, 

which were held virtually due to the pandemic. One 

very successful effort, held in conjunction with our 

recognized Employee Resource Groups, 

was a “Coffee & Convo” series that covered various 

DEI topics, including the importance of allyship. 

Participants had the opportunity to learn about 

important aspects of DEI, review our FEVS results, 

and discuss what is working well and what 

additional steps can be taken to improve inclusion 

in the workplace. These sessions also served to 

keep employees connected with each other during 

mandatory telework.

4D. 

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS (ERGS)

The FDIC’s ERGs were very active during 2020, engaging 

the workforce and promoting DEI in many ways, 

including:

• Lunch-and-learn session on “Black Banks – 

A Historical Presentation” during Black 

History Month. (Association of African 

American Professionals)

• Program on “Creating Awareness: Breaking the 

Concrete Ceiling,” which addressed the unique 

challenges that hinder the advancement of 

women of color in their professional lives, during 

Black History Month. (Networking Inclusion and 

Advancement for African American-Women: 

African American Women with a Purpose)

• Program celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act, during which ERG 

members of the Corporate Advocacy Network 

for Disability Opportunities (CAN DO) Board of 

Directors participated in the event and shared 

their pre-ADA work experiences. 

• Event to explain Spanish language dialects, 

which aimed to help non-Hispanic/Latinx 

employees better understand coworkers, bank 

employees, and bank customers with a Hispanic 

heritage. (Hispanic Organization for Leadership 

and Advancement)

• Four events targeted to women: “Stress 

and Time Management;” “Can I Have It All;” 

“Navigating the New Normal, Leadership Skills, 

and Mentorship;” and “Navigating Conflict 

Successfully.” (Partnership of Women 

in the Workplace)

Promoting Collaboration, Cultural

Awareness, and Inclusive Perspectives

fdic workforce
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 15 

MEASURING OUR SUCCESS

Between July 31, 2010 and May 31, 2018, the 

percentage of minorities in the FDIC workforce 

increased by 2.4 percent, from 26.3 percent to 28.7 

percent. By December 31, 2020, just two and half 

years later, minority representation in our overall 

workforce increased another 2.6 percent to 31.3 

percent, exceeding the combined total of the prior 

seven and a half years.

Between July 31, 2010 and May 31, 2018, minority 

representation at our most senior level, Executive 

Manager (EM), slightly improved from 15.7 percent 

to 15.9 percent. By December 31, 2020, minority 

representation at the EM level had increased 3.8 

percent to 19.7 percent, significantly outpacing 

growth in the prior eight years. Representation of 

women at the EM level has increased from 25.0 

percent as of July 31, 2010 to 37.0 as reflecting in 

data from December 31, 2020.

5 The racial and ethnic diversity 

of the FDIC’s workforce 

overall has improved since the 

passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, 

and even more so under the 

leadership of Chairman Jelena 

McWilliams in the past two 

and a half years. 

While we have made 

measurable progress, we 

recognize that we can do 

more—and we will.

Reflecting on the Past to Inform Progress 

and Plan for the Future of FDIC’s Workforce

% MINORITY % WOMEN

OVERALL 

WORKFORCE

EXECUTIVE

MANAGERS

26%

29%

31%

16% 16%

20%

42% 45% 45%

25%

36%

37%

2010 2018 2020 2010 2018 2020

fdic workforce
16 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

*Asian includes Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; percentages of individual racial/ethnic categories do not exactly sum to minority percentages 

due to rounding

5,657

45%

FDIC TOTAL 

WORKFORCE

Number of Employees in 

Permanent Workforce

Number of Employees in Term 

and Temporary Workforce

377

Percentage of Women in 

FDIC Total Workforce

56%

Percentage of Men in 

FDIC Total Workforce

69%

7.1% Asian*

31%

17.2% Black or African American

4.4% Hispanic or Latino

1.9% Two or More Races

6,034 Number of Employees in

Percentage of Minority (20%) and 

Non-Minority (80%) Demographics 

for FDIC Executive Managers

FDIC EXECUTIVE MANAGERS

• 11.0% Black or 20%

African American

• 3.9% Hispanic 

or Latino

• 4.7% Asian*

80%

Percentage of Women in 

Executive Managers

63%

37%

Percentage of Men in 

Executive Managers

Percentage of Minority (31%) and 

Non-Minority (69%) Demographics for 

FDIC Total Workforce

FDIC Demographics for Total Workforce 

and Executive Managers as of December 2020

127Number of Executives

fdic workforce

0.6% American Indian/Alaska Native*
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 17 

During 2020, we hired minority applicants into the 

examiner workforce at a rate several points above 

the CLF for the examiner occupational series, as 

approximately 33.8 percent of entry-level examiners 

hired in 2020 were minorities. That is an approximately 

9 percentage point increase in the minority hiring 

rate for entry-level examiners since we first started 

reporting these statistics to Congress for 2012. Women 

comprised 40.0 percent of entry-level examiners hired 

in 2020, a decrease from 2019, but a 5 percent increase 

compared to 2012.

The chart below illustrates similar trends in 

mission-critical job categories across the agency. 

See Appendix B for the 2020 racial/ethnic 

and gender breakdown for these occupations.

Hiring Trends in FDIC Mission-Critical

Occupations between July 2010 and December 2020

2018

%

22.5% 32.9% 19.7% 38.9% 19.4%

33.2% 16.0% 26.6% 21.9% 35.0% 18.5% 2010

36.1%

21.5% 2020 35.3% 29.1% 32.5% 33.8% 39.6%

%

WOMEN

MINORITY

%

%

WOMEN

MINORITY

% WOMEN

% MINORITY

EXAMINER

BY YEAR

GENERAL BUSINESS & INDUSTRY ECONOMIST

fdic workforce

TREND DATA OF FDIC MISSION-CRITICAL POSITIONS

INCREASING REPRESENTATION IN EXAMINERS

39.6%

21.5%

38.9%

19.4%

35.0%

18.5%

2020

% MINORITY

2018

2010

% WOMEN

2020

2018

2010
18 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

EXAMINER

Minority representation in the examiner workforce 

increased 3.0 percent between July 2010 and 

December 2020. We have also been able to increase 

the representation of women in the overall examiner 

workforce by 4.6 percent during the same period.

Despite improvements in hiring, we still must work to 

improve the representation of women and minorities in 

our examiner workforce. Representation remains below 

the CLF for Hispanic/Latinx men and women, Asian 

men and women, Black or African American women, 

and women of two of more races. Additionally, we are 

committed to addressing vital issues related to examiner 

retention (see Appendix B).

ECONOMIST

As a result of our concerted efforts to expand the 

applicant pool, the percentage of minorities in our 

economist positions increased 11.9 percent between 

July 2010 and December 2020. We have also been 

able to increase the representation of women in the 

FDIC’s economist workforce by 5.9 percent during the 

same period. 

GENERAL BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

In the general business and industry occupation, we 

concentrated on the permanent workforce, since the 

term/temp workforce expanded greatly during the 

financial crisis and then contracted once the crisis 

resolved. Since the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, 

we have increased the minority representation rate by 

13.1 percent (as of December 2020). While there is still 

work to do, the percentage of women increased by 2.1 

percent from July 2010 through the end of 2020.

HISPANIC/LATINX

The representation of Hispanic/Latinx employees in the 

FDIC workforce has remained low since the passage of 

Section 342. As previously mentioned, this is an area for 

more emphasis and targeted strategies.

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND VETERANS

As of December 31, 2020, the percentage of individuals 

with disabilities in the FDIC workforce was 13.0 percent, 

which is above the federal government-wide goal of 12 

percent. Likewise, the percentage of individuals with 

targeted disabilities was 2.3 percent, which is above 

the federal government-wide goal of 2 percent. The 

percentage of veterans in the FDIC workforce was 9.2 

percent as of December 31, 2020. Additionally, new 

hires of individuals with disabilities and veterans has 

improved since 2010.

Minority Representation in

FDIC Mission-Critical Occupations

% NEW HIRES BY YEAR

INDIVIDUALS

WITH

DISABILTIES

VETERANS

11.0%

2010 2019 2020

8.4%

14.2%

6.5%

8.4%

14.5%

TREND DATA OF NEW HIRE DEMOGRAPHICS

fdic workforce
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 19 

The FEVS offers useful information to help us measure 

our success in the area of inclusion. For the 2020 FEVS, 

the FDIC achieved its highest favorable response rate in 

the IQ category since we began tracking the aggregate 

score. Our overall IQ favorable response rate was 74 

percent in 2020, an increase of 4 percent over our 

2019 results. Of note, our scores for each of the five IQ 

behaviors—cooperative, empowering, fair, open, and 

supportive—increased anywhere from 3 percent to 6 

percent. We are encouraged by these results, and will 

continue our efforts to move our scores even higher. 

We are also encouraged by our FEVS results in the 

Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement areas. 

Global Satisfaction measures an employee’s satisfaction 

with their work, their job, their pay, and whether they 

would recommend their organization as a good place to 

work. In 2020, the FDIC’s favorable response rate 

for Global Satisfaction increased by 2 percent, from 

78 percent to 80 percent. Employee Engagement 

examines employee’s feelings of motivation and 

competency in the workplace; perceptions of 

leadership’s integrity, communication, and motivation; 

and perceptions of worker and supervisor relationship. 

For 2020, our Employee Engagement score increased 

by 4 percent, from 75 percent to 79 percent. These 

scores are signs that our employees, in general, are 

feeling included, satisfied, and engaged, and we 

will continue to monitor these metrics and aim for 

sustained improvement.

Inclusion Trends in FDIC Mission-Critical Occupations 

between July 2010 and December 2020

YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE IN FAVORABLE FEVS SURVEY RESPONSES

INCLUSION

COOPERATIVE EMPOWERING FAIR OPEN SUPPORTIVE OVERALL INCLUSION QUOTIENT

KEY 2019 Percentage of Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement Responses in 2019

2020 Percentage of Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement Responses in 2020

PERCENTAGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YEARS

6%

5%

3%

4%

3%

4%

74% 71% 62% 74% 86% 74%

fdic workforce
20 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

1

MWOBs were invited to share their 

companies’ capabilities and learn about 

the FDIC’s procurement process.

The FDIC developed and hosted a series of 

technical assistance events to educate and 

equip MWOBs with the tools they need to 

compete for FDIC and other government 

procurements and contracts.

INFORMATION SHARING

2 EDUCATION

KEY FOCUS AREAS IN 2020

Promoting Inclusive Prosperity 

through FDIC Contracting for MWOBs

When the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law in 2010 

the U.S. economy was still in the midst of a financial 

crisis. High numbers of bank closures had significantly 

increased the agency’s workload and, as a result, we 

heavily relied on contract support to carry out our 

mission. The increase in contract activity provided 

more opportunities to include MWOBs in our operations. 

In recent years, as the number of bank closures has 

declined, so has our need for related contract work. 

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an 

enormous toll on small businesses, including MWOBs, 

across the country. Against this backdrop, the FDIC is 

working to include MWOBs in our business activities to 

the maximum extent possible. 

fdic contracting
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 21 

Going forward, the FDIC will look at a number of 

different initiatives to promote inclusive prosperity, 

including how we identify qualified MWOBs through 

market research. In addition, OMWI is collaborating 

with different program areas within the FDIC to better 

understand their procurement needs well in advance 

of the start of the procurement process. This allows for 

extra time to perform market research and outreach 

to qualified MWOBs. It also allows for opportunities to 

develop procurement strategies that enable MWOBs to 

be competitive. 

In addition, over the next several years we will:

• Explore programs used by other agencies 

to determine if there are any best practices 

appropriate for implementation at the FDIC;

• Determine whether new policies, regulations, 

or guidance documents may be necessary to 

advance equity in agency actions and programs 

and procurement and contracting opportunities;

• Host a joint ventures virtual conference to 

provide technical assistance to minority- and 

women-owned investors (MWOIs); 

• Implement and enhance our tool for performing 

good faith reviews of our contractor workforce; 

• Develop and implement a portal to support 

OMWI’s vendor outreach activities; and

• Review the selection process for historically 

marginalized attorneys and MWOLFs to 

determine if there are opportunities to enhance 

the selection process, within existing guidelines, 

for legal referral services.

IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES

As previously mentioned, our contract needs and awards 

have declined over the past 10 years. During this period, 

total contract awards have declined from $2.6 billion in 

2010 to $426.7 million in 2020. In addition, the majority 

of contract actions (85 percent) have shifted from 

resolution and receivership work to contracts for 

nonfinancial services, such as Information Technology 

(IT) goods and services. The charts and tables that follow 

illustrate this trend.

These new initiatives, combined 

with our current practices, will 

expand the pool of available 

vendors, thereby increasing 

competition and competitive 

pricing and bringing new 

innovative solutions to 

support our mission. 

Strategies to Identify Qualified MWOBs

through Market Research and Collaboration

fdic contracting
22 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

total payments in 2010 $1,210m

22.7% 77.3%

mwobs non-mwobs

22.2% 77.8%

mwobs non-mwobs

$480m total payments in 2020

2016 2018 2019 TOTAL CONTRACTING PAYMENTS

to MWOBs, 2016–20 (in millions)

TOTAL AWARDS BY YEAR

TOTAL ACTIONS BY YEAR

731

$508.8

$56.0

1,181

TOTAL PAYMENTS BY YEAR

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

13.5%

$

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

2017 2020

737 565 518 409

$523.7 $499.5 $554.0 $426.7

$

%

$

%

$54.6 $49.5 $54.0 $62.1

13.2% 11.5% 11.6% 12.9%

$66.8

16.1%

$66.9 $59.5 $52.0 $53.9

16.2% 13.9% 11.2% 11.2%

$11.3

2.8%

$11.9 $11.1 $7.7 $9.5

2.9% 2.6% 1.7% 1.9%

B $415.2 $414.0 $429.6 $466.6 $479.7

A

C

Total Payments to MWOBs 

and Declining Trend Data by Year

fdic contracting

TREND DATA OF 10-YEAR DECLINE (2010-2020)
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 23 

total awards in 2010 $2,641m

24.3% 75.7%

mwobs non-mwobs

21.1% 78.9%

mwobs non-mwobs

$427m total awards in 2020

2016 2018 2019 TOTAL CONTRACTING AWARDS

to MWOBs, 2016–20 (in millions)

TOTAL ACTIONS BY YEAR

731

$56.5

1,181

TOTAL AWARDS BY YEAR

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

11.1%

$

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

2017 2020

737 565 518 409

$

%

$

%

$66.7 $45.8 $106.0 $58.9

12.7% 9.2% 19.1% 13.8%

$47.4

9.3%

$46.2 $83.0 $75.8 $50.1

8.8% 16.6% 13.7% 11.7%

$10.0

1.9%

$16.2 $6.3 $8.3 $19.0

3.0% 1.3% 1.5% 4.4%

B $415.2 $414.0 $429.6 $466.6 $479.7

A

C

TOTAL PAYMENTS BY YEAR

$508.8 $523.7 $499.5 $554.0 $426.7

Total Awards to MWOBs

and Declining Trend Data by Year

fdic contracting

TREND DATA OF 10-YEAR DECLINE (2010-2020)
24 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

2016 2018 2019

TOTAL AWARDS BY YEAR

731

$508.8

142

TOTAL ACTIONS BY YEAR

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

12.0%

#

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

2017 2020

$523.7 $499.5 $554.0 $426.7

%

%

100 87 68 53

13.6% 15.4% 13.1% 13.0%

187

15.8%

151 119 112 89

20.5% 21.1% 21.6% 21.8%

42

3.5%

41 40 28 25

5.6% 7.1% 5.4% 6.2%

B $415.2 $414.0 $429.6 $466.6 $479.7

A

C

total actions in 2010 2,573

20.3% 79.7%

mwobs non-mwobs

28.6% 71.4%

mwobs non-mwobs

409 total actions in 2020

TOTAL PAYMENTS BY YEAR

1,181 737 565 518 409

#

#

TOTAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

to MWOBs, 2016–20 

TOTAL CONTRACTING ACTIONS

to MWOBs, 2016–20 

Total Actions to MWOBs 

and Declining Trend Data by Year

TREND DATA OF 10-YEAR DECLINE (2010-2020)

fdic contracting
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 25 

IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES

The FDIC has increased its efforts to create a more diverse, 

equitable, and inclusive contracting environment.

The FDIC's acquisition policy, procedures, and guidance 

promote diversity in solicitations.

• For solicitations valued over $100,000, OMWI requires 

that MWOB recommendations be included on source 

lists. OMWI must be given the opportunity to submit 

sources to be included, and OMWI reviews of the 

acquisition plans are required.

• An OMWI representative participates as a voting 

member on Technical Evaluation Panels that review 

and make source selection recommendations.

• In addition, contractors with awards over $100,000 

must certify their commitment to the fair inclusion 

of minorities and women in their workforce and the 

workforces of their subcontractors.

The FDIC has developed strategies to increase MWOB 

participation in contracting opportunities.

• The agency participates in the U.S. Small Business 

Administration’s 8(a) Program to help small and 

disadvantaged businesses gain access to contracting 

opportunities with the FDIC.

• The FDIC assesses whether it can restructure large 

contract requirements to expand MWOB contracting 

opportunities, where it makes good business sense.

• The FDIC identifies and contracts with MWOB 

resellers of IT hardware and software rather than 

placing the orders directly with the manufacturers.

The FDIC Legal Division encourages referrals to MWOLFs 

and Diverse Attorneys.

• We have expanded our training for in-house counsel 

on the importance of diversity in legal matter staffing.

• We present at minority bar association meetings to 

help prepare MWOLFs for opportunities to work with 

the FDIC.

• We encourage co-counsel arrangements between 

large majority law firms and smaller MWOLFs, as 

well as between other MWOLFs, so that there are 

adequate resources and expertise to handle larger 

complex matters.

• Our Legal Division has promoted the use of Diverse 

Attorneys at majority firms when working on FDIC 

projects.

In 2020, due to the global pandemic, the FDIC quickly 

transitioned to virtual outreach activities, webinars, 

and matchmaking events to support diversity in our 

contracting activities. OMWI successfully participated 

in 10 procurement events: one virtual business expo, 

six business matchmaking events, and three panel 

presentations. In December, OMWI launched a virtual 

MWOB Technical Assistance series. These technical 

assistance events educate small businesses on how to do 

business with the FDIC, while also offering opportunities 

for firms to network and build relationships with OMWI 

and other FDIC personnel. As a result of these events, 

some MWOB firms have been invited to submit a bid or 

proposal for FDIC solicitations. 

In addition, the FDIC successfully hosted a half-day pilot 

marketing event called “Pitch Day,” which provided a 

virtual forum for MWOBs to market their capabilities 

directly to the FDIC. These events increase our awareness 

of competitive vendors and give potential vendors the 

opportunity to establish relationships with our program 

offices. Based on positive participant feedback, OMWI 

plans to host more of these events in the future.

Implementing Strategies to Create a More Equitable 

and Inclusive Contracting Environment

fdic contracting
26 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

MEASURING OUR SUCCESS

Our efforts to expand inclusive prosperity through our 

contracting activities have been successful, and we want 

to build on these successes. One significant example 

is the FDIC’s multiple-award Information Technology 

Application Services Contract, which was awarded in 

2013 and is still active today. Seven of the 14 firms 

awarded the contract are MWOBs, and more than half of 

the resulting task orders have been awarded to MWOBs. 

The combined value of these task orders is $296.0 

million, or 53.4 percent of the total award amount.

In 2020, we awarded 117 new contracts to MWOBs, 

totaling $90 million, or 21.1 percent of the total new 

awards for the year. In addition, we made payments 

totaling $106.5 million to MWOB contractors. 

One of the most significant awards in 2020 was the 

FDIC’s multiple award IT Security Contract. Four of the 

10 firms awarded the contract were MWOBs and will be 

able to compete for task orders under this $364 million 

contract. This multiple-award strategy was a significant 

change for the FDIC, as the prior contract was a singleaward contract. 

Although our contract dollars to MWOBs were lower in 

2020 than in previous years, MWOBs were awarded 28.6 

percent of all new contract actions. The tables and figures 

that follow provide additional detail on our contracting 

awards and payments.

Expanding Inclusive Prosperity through 

our Contracting Activities

mwobs

$90m

minorityowned

$59m

womenowned

$50m

21%

14% 12%

TOTAL CONTRACT

AWARDS TO

MWOBs 2020

mwobs

$107m

minorityowned

$62m

womenowned

$54m

22%

13% 11%

TOTAL CONTRACT

PAYMENTS TO

MWOBs 2020

Note: Minority- owned plus Women-owned Awards and Payments do not total MWOBs due to overlap. 

7of 

the 14 firms awarded

the Information Technology

Application Services

contract with a value

of $296m are

mwobs

fdic contracting
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 27 

Awards to Minority- and Women-Owned 

Businesses in 2020

41,991,104.00

9,000,000.00

3,895,731.00

3,576,463.00

2,151,843.00

1,995,875.00

1,566,734.00

1,161,956.00

906,742.00

833,379.00

545,650.00

500,000.00

275,000.00

 243,750.00

244,402.00

MINORITY- AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

Software Development/Maintenance/Enhancement Services

Career Counseling Services

Construction Management Services

Bank Resolution Services

Training Services

Program Support Services

Environmental Health and Safety Services

Call Center

Janitorial Services

Economic Inclusion Public Awareness Campaign

Diversity Services

FDIC’s first Rapid Prototype Competition (Bank Data)

Translation/Transcreation Services

Human Resources Benefits Consulting

Auditing Services

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

AWARDS

80%

20%

FDIC AWARDS TO TOP 10 NAICS MWOB, 2020

Collectively, 20.1 percent of the total award dollars for contracts 

containing FDIC’s top ten categories of North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) codes were awarded to MWOBs. 

(See Appendix A for FDIC Contract Awards by Top Ten NAICS Codes.)

fdic contracting
28 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

$427m

awards

409

actions

12%

women-owned

88%

$2.641m

awards

2,573

actions

9%

women-owned

91%

Contracting Awards, 2010 and 2020

Demographic Trend Data

2%

Asian

American

8%

Hispanic

American

7%

Black

American

2010

awards

2020

awards

DEMOGRAPHICS FOR 2010 TOTAL AWARDS DOLLARS

DEMOGRAPHICS FOR 2020 TOTAL AWARDS DOLLARS

7%

Hispanic

American

6%

Asian

American

0.8%

Black

American

0.1%

American Other Indian

fdic contracting
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 29 

The Legal Division’s legal contracting program endeavors 

to maximize the participation of both MWOLFs and 

minority and women partners and associates employed 

at majority-owned firms (i.e., Diverse Attorneys) in 

legal contracting. This approach is consistent with the 

provisions of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act that 

encourage diversity and inclusion at all levels. FDIC legal 

matters provide important learning and professional 

client development opportunities to MWOLFs and 

Diverse Attorneys that can be quite meaningful to career 

advancement. The employment and training of individual 

attorneys often provides opportunities for drafting legal 

documents, entering court appearances, and developing 

client relationships, all of which further the partnership 

potential of Diverse Attorneys. 

CHALLENGES

Similar to our business contracting activities, the volume 

of the FDIC’s legal activities—and our need to make 

referrals for outside counsel—has drastically changed 

since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. 

In 2011, for example, the FDIC paid $134.0 million to 

outside counsel, owing in large part to the amount of 

legal support required for the large number of failed 

or failing financial institutions. As the number of bank 

failures has decreased, so has our need for outside 

counsel support. In 2020, the agency’s payments to 

outside counsel totaled $18.3 million. The decline in our 

need for outside legal services over the last 10 years has 

directly impacted our ability to make legal 

referrals to MWOLFs; however, the FDIC remains 

committed to inclusion of MWOLFs in our outside 

legal services referrals.

ACTIVITIES AND SUCCESSES

In 2020, the FDIC paid $397,000 in legal fees to MWOLFs 

and $3.61 million to Diverse Attorneys. Taken together, 

the FDIC paid $4.0 million to MWOLF firms and Diverse 

Attorneys out of a total of $18.3 million dollars spent on 

outside counsel services. This represents an aggregate 

participation rate of 22 percent. (This figure represents 

a decline from 2019, when the agency had a 34 percent 

participation rate in the outside counsel legal contracting 

program.) The FDIC made 17 referrals to MWOLFs in 2020, 

which accounted for 26.0 percent of all legal referrals.

We continued to expand our pipeline of qualified 

MWOLFs by engaging in aggressive outreach efforts in 

2020. For example, the FDIC Legal Division participated 

in two minority bar association conferences and three 

stakeholder events. As a direct result of FDIC’s outreach 

efforts, 15 MWOLF firms from the National Association of 

Minority- and Women-Owned Law Firms were interviewed 

and recruited. In addition, the Legal Division has placed 

greater emphasis on developing and encouraging quality 

networking and relationships with MWOLFs.

Endeavors to Maximize Diversity

in Legal Contracting

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

$18m

$32m

$48m

$61m $76m

FDIC OUTSIDE COUNSEL REFERRALS, 2016-20

fdic contracting
30 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Referrals and Payments to MWOLFs 

and Diverse Attorneys, 2020

Native American

Black American

$0.022m

$0.040m

PAYMENTS TO MWOLFS, 2020 (IN MILLIONS)

22% 78% Non-MWOLFs

$14.34m

MWOLFs and Diverse Attorneys

$4.0m

PAYMENTS TO MWOLFS AND DIVERSE ATTORNEYS, 2020 (IN MILLIONS)

fdic contracting

Non-Minority

$17.945m

Women

$0.206m

Hispanic American

$0.129m

98%
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 31 

Percentage of Referrals 

to MWOLFs, 2020

Women

Unknown

Native American

Non-Minority

Hispanic American

1 (2%)

2 (3%)

7 (10%)

8 (12%)

49 (72%)

PAYMENTS TO MWOLFS, 2020 (IN MILLIONS)

Asian American

1 (2%)

fdic contracting

49 ( 72%)

8 (12%)

7 (10%)

2 (3%)

1 (2%)

1 (2%)
32 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

in the Financial System

To encourage supervised financial institutions to 

incorporate the principles of diversity, equity, and 

inclusion in their own workplaces and operations, 

the FDIC has developed a voluntary diversity selfassessment. Financial institutions are invited to 

complete the self-assessment annually, giving them an 

opportunity to gather and analyze data with respect 

to their own diversity policies and practices. The FDIC 

also analyzes this data in order to identify trends and to 

share exemplary diversity and inclusion practices.

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AND SUCCESSES

Since we launched the Diversity Self-Assessment 

instrument in 2016, participation by financial 

institutions has been low. Through outreach to 

financial institutions, we learned that they were not 

participating because they found the process to be 

arduous and did not understand the benefits. 

To address these issues, the FDIC developed a Strategic 

Roadmap for the Financial Institution Diversity Program 

in 2020 to identify a number of goals for the program:

• To develop and strengthen partnerships with 

financial institutions, trade organizations, 

and key stakeholders; 

• To maximize the use of technology to make 

submissions easier for financial institutions 

while improving our ability to analyze the 

data submitted; 

• To emphasize the benefits of conducting 

voluntary self-assessments; and 

• To make diversity information available 

to the public. 

dei in the financial system
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 33 

Streamlining and Improving

Outreach Initiatives and Assessments

In support of these goals, OMWI also launched the 

Financial Institutions Diversity Self-Assessment 

(FID-SA) online portal in 2020. The online portal 

streamlines and improves the assessment process, 

significantly reducing the time and resource burden 

on financial institutions. Through FID-SA, multiple 

authorized users can complete the assessment, and 

users can view previous submissions, attach supporting 

material, and print and save to a PDF format. For the 

first time, institutions have the ability to submit their 

self-assessments electronically. As a result, despite 

the pandemic and its impact on bank operations, 

participation for the 2019 reporting period was at 

the highest rate ever. See “Diversity Self-Assessment 

Response” below for more information about the selfassessment results.

OMWI also successfully completed the following 

outreach initiatives in 2020:

• Created a dedicated Resources webpage 

for Financial Institution Diversity;

• Prepared guidance material and other resources to 

help financial institutions develop and strengthen 

their diversity and inclusion practices and policies;

• Presented the Financial Institution Diversity 

Program to the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on 

Community Banking in July;

• Participated in the American Bankers Association’s 

Unconventional Convention in October;

• Presented to the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on 

Economic Inclusion in October; and

• Attended the American Bankers Association’s 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conference 

in November.

The FDIC will continue to increase outreach efforts to 

raise awareness with the intent of promoting diversity 

and inclusion throughout the financial industry. More 

specifically, we will encourage supervised financial 

institutions to implement diversity policies and 

practices, and share their completed self-assessments.

DIVERSITY SELF-ASSESSMENT RESPONSE 

For the 2019 reporting period, the FDIC invited 787 

supervised financial institutions with 100 or more 

employees to participate in the Diversity SelfAssessment. More than 150 institutions submitted 

self-assessments, representing a 19 percent 

submission rate. These institutions employ 38 

percent of all employees and hold 42 percent of the 

assets held by FDIC invited financial institutions. 

Overall submissions for the 2019 reporting period 

represent an increase of 14 percent over the 2018 

reporting period and an increase of 60 percent over 

the 2016 reporting period. The FDIC will continue 

to identify and implement strategies to improve 

participation in the coming years.

Through our analysis of the survey responses, we 

found that supervised financial institutions continue 

to employ a variety of methods and approaches to 

identify, attract, recruit, retain, and train a diverse 

workforce. Although smaller community banks 

have noted their limited resources, they too have 

incorporated diversity into their workforce practices. 

By continuing to share their diversity practices 

each year, more institutions are recognizing the 

importance of integrating diversity and inclusion 

into their corporate culture. 

Gathering data on financial institutions’ diversity 

practices with respect to vendors and suppliers 

remains a challenge because most reporting 

institutions do not have programs in place to track 

diversity in their procurement spending. However, 

based on the responsive comments we receive each 

reporting year, financial institutions increasingly 

understand the competitive advantage of having 

a broad selection of available suppliers to choose 

from, including competitive price, quality, 

attention to detail, and future relationship building.

dei in the financial system
34 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

in the Communities We Serve

The FDIC remains committed to expanding economic 

inclusion in rural, minority, and low- and moderateincome (LMI) communities, which often lack access to 

affordable housing, banking, and financial services. 

In 2020, LMI communities were disproportionately 

impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further 

highlighted the cultural disparities in terms of access 

to banking and healthcare. In 2020, the FDIC 

supported LMI communities through our efforts 

to preserve affordable housing and partner with 

community organizations, banks, and other federal 

agencies to provide access to banking services and 

products to individuals and small businesses. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING 

The need for affordable housing has become critical in 

many parts of the country, and the FDIC’s Affordable 

Housing Program (AHP) addresses this need by 

preserving housing and rental opportunities for lowincome households. AHP has an inventory of properties 

where owners are required to set aside a specified 

number of housing units for occupancy. The housing 

units were acquired by the Resolution Trust Corporation 

(RTC) Affordable Housing Program during the Savings 

and Loan Crisis and transferred to FDIC when the RTC 

terminated in 1995. Rent limits are set based on the 

area median income as published annually by the 

Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

dei in communities we serve
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 35 

These properties are located throughout the United 

States, primarily in markets undergoing gentrification 

and redevelopment. During 2020, AHP was successful 

in preserving 214 affordable housing units in an 

affluent area in Atlanta, Georgia, in one of the area’s 

last remaining properties with dedicated affordable 

housing units.

SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses are often forced to operate outside 

of the financial mainstream, and therefore lack access 

to capital. The FDIC encourages community banks to 

provide access to banking services and products to 

small businesses, including women and minorities 

who operate many of these businesses. During 

2020, we worked with financial institutions to foster 

small business lending through the Small Business 

Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

Using virtual formats, we expanded our outreach 

to help small businesses operating in communities 

severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These 

virtual events provided information on available 

small business lending resources and other activities 

that may warrant positive consideration under the 

Community Reinvestment Act.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO MAINSTREAM BANKING

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the urgent need 

to help people in LMI communities gain access to 

affordable and sustainable bank accounts. In March, 

the FDIC launched a dedicated webpage (www.fdic.

gov/GetBanked) to educate consumers on how to find 

and open an account remotely in order to receive their 

Economic Impact Payment (EIP). We partnered with 

the Internal Revenue Service on two national webinars 

to assist consumers who had not received their EIPs. 

Nearly 500 organizations registered for these webinars, 

representing 39 states, two territories, and a variety of 

nonprofit community-based organizations.

The FDIC understands the important role that 

technology will play in expanding banking services 

to the unbanked, underbanked, and individuals in 

underserved communities. In 2019, we launched 

“FDiTech,” a new office dedicated to promoting the 

adoption of innovative and transformative technologies 

in the financial services sector that will help us leverage 

technology in this way. Under the leadership of our 

new Chief Innovation Officer, FDiTech will engage 

both public and private sector partners to ensure the 

financial system of the future is innovative, resilient, 

and equitable. We have several inclusion-focused 

innovation programs underway that target consumers’ 

access to modern banking and minority- and womenowned small business banking services.

We also participated in community-based events to 

promote economic inclusion; one such event was 

“Pittsburgh Saves.” At this event, attendees were 

informed about:

• The FDIC’s initiatives to expand economic 

inclusion and access to insured bank accounts; 

• Unbanked and underbanked data, the reasons 

why people are unbanked, and why banks can be 

places for the unbanked to trust; and

• Resources banks can use to encourage 

lower-income households to save.

FINANCIAL LITERACY

Financial education is central to the FDIC’s efforts 

to expand economic inclusion. Effective financial 

education can help people gain the skills and 

confidence to establish and sustain a banking 

relationship, achieve their financial goals, and 

improve their financial well-being. The FDIC’s 

Money Smart curriculum is an award-winning tool 

we have developed to reach students of all ages, the 

elderly and their caregivers, small business owners, 

and others. Through the Money Smart Alliance, we 

help organizations effectively use the curriculum by 

facilitating quarterly webinars for the more than 1,500 

member organizations. 

Economic Inclusion in Rural, Minority, and

Low- and Moderate-Income Communities (LMI)

dei in communities we serve
36 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

In 2020, the FDIC also worked with the National 

Disabilities Institute on a webinar regarding actions 

taken by the federal regulators to respond to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. The nearly 400 registered 

attendees were primarily organizations engaging 

persons with disabilities. We also provided training and 

technical assistance to Catholic Charities with respect 

to its recent three-year grant from AmeriCorps for 14 

local chapters to teach financial education in their 

communities. Under the grant, each local chapter can 

“hire” an AmeriCorps volunteer, who will assist clients 

with financial issues, including by teaching Money 

Smart. We developed a suggested training plan for the 

AmeriCorps volunteers. AmeriCorps expects to help 

1,500 people enhance their financial skills and create 

positive banking relationships through this initiative.

MINORITY DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION ACTIVITIES 

The preservation and promotion of minority depository 

institutions (MDIs) remains a long-standing, top priority 

for the FDIC. The FDIC’s research study, Minority 

Depository Institutions: Structure, Performance, and 

Social Impact, published in 2019, found that MDIs have 

played an important role in providing mortgage credit, 

small business lending, and other banking services to 

minority and LMI communities.

In 2020, the FDIC pursued several strategies intended 

to support MDIs, including increasing engagement 

and representation, facilitating partnerships, updating 

FDIC policies, promoting the MDI sector through 

advocacy, and providing outreach, technical assistance, 

education, and training for MDIs.

ENGAGEMENT AND REPRESENTATION

The FDIC’s MDI Subcommittee of the Advisory 

Committee on Community Banking (CBAC), was formed 

in 2019 and held two virtual meetings in 2020. The 

MDI Subcommittee, comprising nine MDI executives 

representing all types of MDIs, provides a venue for 

minority bankers to discuss key issues and share 

feedback on program initiatives. In 2020, the MDI 

Subcommittee provided feedback on several initiatives, 

including the FDIC’s revised Statement of Policy 

Regarding MDIs. The MDI Subcommittee members 

showcase MDI best practices, both operational and in 

support of the communities they serve. Three MDIs 

serve on the 18-member CBAC, providing an additional 

platform to highlight the contributions of these 

institutions and provide MDI perspectives on topics 

affecting the banking sector.

PARTNERSHIPS

In 2019, the FDIC facilitated a number of networking 

roundtables to bring together MDIs and large banks, 

and these networking opportunities continued to bear 

fruit in 2020 with more than $10 million in additional 

deposits into MDIs. 

In October 2020, the FDIC published a resource guide,

Investing in Mission-Driven Banks: A Guide to Facilitating 

New Partnerships, as well as an MDI and Community 

Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Bank Locator 

to help private investors develop partnerships with 

MDIs and other mission-driven banks. The resource 

guide outlines the important role FDIC-insured MDIs 

and CDFIs play in the financial system, describes the 

business needs of these banks, and outlines strategies 

for private companies and philanthropic organizations 

to consider in supporting MDIs and CDFIs through 

equity investments, grants, deposits, creation of an 

investment fund, technology support, and other 

partnership opportunities. These strategies can help 

MDIs build capacity and scale. 

In August 2019, Chairman McWilliams announced an 

initiative to establish a Mission-Driven Bank Fund, 

which would provide an investment vehicle for 

corporations, philanthropic organizations, banks, and 

others to investment in FDIC-insured MDIs and CDFIs. 

The fund will provide opportunities for FDIC-insured 

mission-driven banks to pitch proposals for equity 

capital, loan participations, and other ways to build 

capacity and scale. With private sector support, the 

fund will provide a source of capital and other tools 

Engaging in Partnerships, Research, 

and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs)

dei in communities we serve
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 37 

that can help MDIs and CDFIs grow their operations and 

expand their impact in minority communities. 

The FDIC intends to launch the fund in 2021. The FDIC 

will facilitate creation of the fund and may continue 

to serve as an observer on the overall activities of the 

fund. The FDIC will not be an investor, play a role in 

hiring the independent fund manager, serve on the 

investment committee, or have any role in individual 

investment decisions.

MDI Policy

The FDIC’s Board of Directors updated and 

strengthened its Statement of Policy regarding Minority 

Depository Institutions in August and published it 

for public notice-and-comment in September 2020. 

The policy statement reflects the agency’s enduring 

commitment to fulfilling the five statutory goals 

to preserve and promote MDIs, and outlines the 

framework for the MDI program across the FDIC. Key 

changes include emphasis on engagement with MDIs, 

enhanced technical assistance, and a description of 

how examiners apply examination standards to the 

unique business models of MDIs. The public comment 

period closed in November 2020, and after reviewing 

and considering the comments, the FDIC will issue the 

final Statement of Policy in 2021.

ADVOCACY

The FDIC is committed to promoting the visibility 

of MDIs by telling their stories and showcasing the 

important role they play in their communities. In early 

2020, the FDIC began recording and publishing videos 

of MDI executives sharing their institutions’ “origin 

stories,” highlighting the reasons their institutions 

were formed and describing how they have served 

their communities over time. In addition, the FDIC 

recorded and promoted a number of videos and 

podcasts centered on MDIs, and agency leaders 

emphasized the significance of MDIs in numerous 

speaking engagements.

OUTREACH, EDUCATION, 

AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The FDIC also pursued efforts to improve 

communication and interaction with MDIs and to 

respond to the concerns of minority bankers in 2020. 

The agency maintains active outreach with MDI 

trade groups and offers to arrange annual meetings 

between FDIC regional management and each MDI’s 

board of directors to discuss issues of interest. The 

FDIC routinely contacts MDIs to offer return visits 

and technical assistance following the conclusion of 

FDIC safety and soundness, consumer compliance, 

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and other 

specialty examinations to help bank management 

better understand and implement examination 

recommendations. These return visits, normally 

conducted within 90 to 120 days after the examination, 

are intended to provide useful recommendations or 

feedback for improving operations, not to identify 

new issues.

The FDIC issued a resource guide in October 

to help private investors develop partnerships 

with MDIs and other mission-driven banks.

Showcasing the Unique Stories and Visibility 

of MDIs in Local Communities

dei in communities we serve
38 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

Through its public website (www.fdic.gov), the FDIC 

invites inquiries and provides contact information for 

any MDI to request technical assistance at any time. 

In 2020, the FDIC provided 135 individual technical 

assistance sessions on approximately 40 risk 

management, consumer compliance, and resolution 

topics, including:

• Accounting, 

• Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money 

laundering,

• Business continuity planning, 

• Community Reinvestment Act,

• Compliance management,

• Funding and liquidity, 

• Information technology risk management and 

cybersecurity, 

• Internal audit, 

• Loan modifications and Troubled Debt 

Restructuring, and;

• and Pandemic contingency planning. 

The FDIC also held outreach, training, and educational 

programs for MDIs through conference calls and 

regional banker roundtables. In 2020, topics of 

discussion for these sessions included many of those 

listed above, as well as collaboration and partnerships, 

current expected credit losses (CECL) accounting 

methodology, IT vendor management, cybersecurity, 

CRA, innovation, BSA, CDFI Fund Programs, and 

emerging technology.

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams (center), participates in the Freedman’s Bank Forum, an event held at the U.S. Treasury on March 3, 2020, to 

commemorate the 155th anniversary of the bank’s founding. From left, NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood, Treasury Assistant Secretary Bimal Patel, 

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting, and Federal Reserve Governor Michelle W. Bowman. 

Enabling Banks to Focus on the Needs

of their Local Communities

dei in communities we serve
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 39 

The year 2020 was unlike any other. In spite of the 

economic uncertainty and widespread shutdowns 

caused by the pandemic, the FDIC continued to make 

significant progress to expand diversity, equity, and 

inclusion in the FDIC workforce and contracting 

activities, to promote diversity in financial institutions, 

and to support financial inclusion in minority and 

LMI communities across the United States.

While we are encouraged by our progress over the last 

year, we expect even greater results in the years to come. 

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan, 

2021–23 sets forth a broad and ambitious agenda. 

The plan will help the FDIC build and maintain a 

workforce that is talented, diverse, and dedicated, 

and foster inclusion in the banking system, 

consistent with our mandate. 

Conclusion of the 2020 Annual Report

We look forward to describing the accomplishments of FDIC’s Office 

of Minority and Inclusion in next year’s Annual Report to Congress. 

“Our supervisory and 

regulatory response is 

focused on enabling 

banks to best serve their 

communities during 

these difficult times.”

JELENA MCWILLIAMS

CHAIRMAN OF THE FDIC
40 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

appendices
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 41 

appendix b: workforce and trend data

appendix c: acronyms

appendix a: contracting and trend data

Appendices

appendices
42 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

2016 2018 2019

731 TOTAL AWARDS

ASIAN AMERICAN

BLACK AMERICAN

% 4.9%

MINORITY-OWNED OR

AND WOMEN-OWNED 

BUSINESS TOTALS

2017 2020

%

%

6.0% 6.8% 15.0% 6.0%

1.9% 6.2% 0.4% 1.0% 0.8%

$93.9

18.5%

$96.7 $122.5 $173.5 $90.0

18.5% 24.5% 31.3% 21.1%

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

%

%

HISPANIC AMERICAN

% 4.0% 0.3% 1.4% 2.4% 6.8%

NATIVE AMERICAN

% 0.0% 0.2% 0.6% 0.6% 0.1%

Note: Percentages in chart do not total to 100 due to overlap between minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

TOTAL CONTRACTING AWARDS

to MWOBs, 2016–20 (in millions)

OTHER MINORITY

% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%

$

$508.8 $523.7 $499.5 $554.0 $426.7

$56.5

11.1%

$66.7 $45.8 $106.0 $58.9

12.7% 9.2% 19.1% 13.8%

$47.4

9.3%

$46.2 $83.0 $75.8 $50.1

8.8% 16.6% 13.7% 11.7%

$10.0

1.9%

$16.2 $6.3 $8.3 $19.0

3.0% 1.3% 1.5% 4.4%

TOTAL AWARDS TO MWOBS BY YEAR

fdic contract awards to mwobs (in millions)

appendix a: contracting and trend data

$25.0 $31.2 $33.9 $83.1 $25.6

$9.4 $32.7 $1.9 $5.8 $3.3

$20.6 $1.6 $7.0 $13.3 $28.8

$0.1 $0.9 $2.9 $3.5 $0.6

$1.4 $0.3 $0.1 $0.3 $0.5
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 43 

2016 2018 2019

731 TOTAL PAYMENTS

ASIAN AMERICAN

BLACK AMERICAN

%

MINORITY-OWNED OR

AND WOMEN-OWNED 

BUSINESS TOTALS

2017 2020

%

%

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

%

%

HISPANIC AMERICAN

%

NATIVE AMERICAN

%

Note: Percentages in chart do not total to 100 due to overlap between minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

TOTAL PAYMENTS TO MWOBS BY YEAR

fdic contract payments to mwobs (in millions)

appendix a: contracting and trend data

$56.0 $54.6 $49.5 $54.0 $62.1

13.5% 13.2% 11.5% 11.6% 12.9%

$66.8 $66.9 $59.5 $52.0 $53.9

16.1% 16.2% 13.9% 11.2% 11.2%

$11.3 $11.9 $11.1 $7.7 $9.5

 2.8% 2.9% 2.6% 1.7% 1.9%

$33.5 $30.1 $28.8 $31.5 $37.7

8.1% 7.2% 6.7% 6.8% 7.9%

$11.5 $14.2 $9.5 $6.2 $6.9

2.8% 3.4% 2.2% 1.3% 1.4%

$10.3 $9.5 $ 8.4 $12.0 $15.0

 2.5% 2.3% 2.0% 2.6% 3.1%

$0.1 $0.2 $2.2 $3.9 $1.8

0.0% 0.1% .05% 0.8% 0.4%

 $415.2 $414.0 $429.6 $466.6 $479.7

$111.5 $109.6 $98.0 $98.3 $106.5

26.8% 26.5% 22.8% 21.1% 22.2%
44 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

2018 2019

 

2016

731

62

TOTAL ACTIONS

ASIAN AMERICAN

BLACK AMERICAN

5.2%

#

%

MINORITY-OWNED OR

AND WOMEN-OWNED 

BUSINESS TOTALS

2017 2020

%

%

63 54 33 26

8.6% 9.6% 6.4% 6.4%

24

2.0%

22 11 15 14

3.0% 1.9% 2.9% 3.5%

287

24.3%

210 166 152 117

28.5% 29.4% 29.3% 28.6%

1,181 737 565 518 409

#

#

142

MINORITY-OWNED

WOMEN-OWNED

12.0%

#

%

BOTH MINORITY-OWNED

AND WOMEN-OWNED

%

%

 100 87 68 53

13.6% 15.4% 13.1% 13.0%

187

15.8%

151 119 112 89

20.5% 21.1% 21.6% 21.8%

42 41 40 28 25

#

#

HISPANIC AMERICAN

%

48

4.1%

4 11 9 7

0.5% 1.9% 1.7% 1.7%

#

NATIVE AMERICAN

%

2

0.2%

7 6 5 3

1.0% 1.1% 1.0% 0.7%

#

OTHER MINORITY

%

6

0.5%

4 5 6 3

0.5% 0.9% 1.1% 0.7%

#

3.5% 5.6% 7.1% 5.4% 6.2%

Note: Percentages in chart do not total to 100 due to overlap between minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

TOTAL ACTIONS TO MWOBS BY YEAR

fdic contract actions to mwobs

appendix a: contracting and trend data
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 45 

FDIC CONTRACT AWARDS BY TOP 10 NAICS CODES

naics code description dollars for top 10 naics

NAICS 541512

97,070,030.26 26,944,188.48 

1 Computer Systems Design Services

dollar amount of awards

2020

$

NAICS 541519

86,910,739.53 3,092,990.01 

2 Other Computer Related Services

$

NAICS 511210

43,307,418.38 14,887,476.42 

Software Publishers

$

NAICS 519130

33,362,698.73 -

Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals

$

NAICS 541611

17,939,384.53 3,750,082.50 

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services 

$

part i

fdic contract awards by top 10 naics codes

PART II CONTINUES ON PAGE 46

4

3

5

appendix a: contracting and trend data
46 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

fdic contract awards by top 10 naics codes

naics code description dollars for top 10 naics

NAICS 517919

17,934,965.81 -

6 All Other Telecommunications

dollar amount of awards

$

NAICS 236220

16,494,146.45 -

7 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction 

$

NAICS 541511

14,295,476.30 12,015,055.91 

Custom Computer Programming Services

$

NAICS 531311

11,863,390.00 -

Residential Property Managers

$

NAICS 541612

9,343,625.00 9,243,750.00 

10 Human Resources Consulting Services

$

FDIC CONTRACT AWARDS BY TOP 10 NAICS CODES

part ii 2020

total of top 10

$348,521,874.99

total of top 10 awards

20.1%

minority- and 

women-owned

businesses

79.9%

$69,933,543.00

awards to mwobs

$278,588,332.00

awards to non-mwobs

appendix a: contracting and trend data

9

8
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 47 

2020

total, permanent, and executive manager workforce

appendix b: workforce demographic and trend data

FDIC TOTAL, PERMANENT AND 

EXECUTIVE MANAGER WORKFORCE +/-

CHANGE

minority

non-minority

men

women

%

%

%

%

minority

non-minority

men

women

%

%

%

%

minority

non-minority

men

women

%

%

%

%

2016 2017 2018 2019

 28.0% 28.7% 29.8% 30.4% 31.3% +0.9%

 72.0% 71.3% 70.2% 69.6% 68.7% -0.9%

55.2% 55.2% 55.2% 55.1% 55.5% +0.4%

44.8% 44.8% 44.8% 44.9% 44.5% -0.4%

 28.2% 29.0% 29.9% 30.4% 31.6% +1.2%

71.8% 71.0% 70.1% 69.6% 68.4% -1.2%

54.9% 55.1% 55.3% 55.2% 55.6% +0.4%

45.1% 44.9% 44.7% 44.8% 44.4% -0.4%

 18.8% 18.3% 17.6% 16.7% 19.7% +3.0%

 81.2% 81.7% 82.4% 83.3% 80.3% -3.0%

63.2% 61.1% 64.0% 62.3% 63.0% +0.7%

 36.8% 38.9% 36.0% 37.7% 37.0% -0.7%

total workforce - executive manager (permanent and non-permanent)

permanent workforce 

total workforce (permanent and non-permanent)
48 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

HISPANIC

AMERICAN

WHITE AIAN MAJOR OCCUPATIONS

FDIC TOTAL WORKFORCE

TOTAL

GENDER

major occupations, total workforce, 2020

%

CLF

TOTAL 80 26 54 0 3 12 41 4 2 9 7 0 0 1 1

BLACK

AMERICAN

ASIAN

AMERICAN

TWO+

RACES

JOB TITLE/SERIES

ECONOMIST (0110)

NON-HISPANIC OR LATINO

%

CLF

TOTAL 

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAM (0501)

%

CLF

TOTAL 

ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS (O510/0511)

KEY Percentage of Civilian Labor Force

Symbol denotes Men

CLF Symbol denotes Women

AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native

RACE/ETHNICITY

 33% 68% 0% 4% 15% 51% 5% 3% 11% 9% 0% 0% 1% 1%

 33% 67% 2% 3% 25% 56% 3% 3% 3% 4% .1% .2% .4% .6%

136 66 70 1 2 29 50 30 10 5 6 1 1 0 1

 49% 52% .7% 2% 21% 37% 22% 7% 4% 4% .7% .7% 0% .7%

 56% 44% 6% 4% 39% 33% 8% 5% 3% 2% .4% .3% 1% .6%

79 44 35 1 0 20 24 13 5 9 3 0 0 1 3

 56% 44% 1% 0% 25% 30% 17% 6% 11% 4% 0% 0% 1% 4%

 60% 40% 4% 2% 44% 32% 6% 2% 5% 3% .3% .1% .7% .4%

part i

appendix b: workforce demographic and trend data
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 49 

HISPANIC

AMERICAN

WHITE AIAN MAJOR OCCUPATIONS

FDIC TOTAL WORKFORCE

TOTAL

GENDER

major occupations, total workforce, 2020

%

CLF

TOTAL 2778 1100 1678 45 73 796 1386 171 114 61 68 5 12 22 25 

BLACK

AMERICAN

ASIAN

AMERICAN

TWO+

RACES

JOB TITLE/SERIES

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION EXAMINING (0570)

NON-HISPANIC OR LATINO

%

CLF

TOTAL 

ATTORNEY (0905)

%

CLF

TOTAL 

GENERAL BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY (1101)

KEY Percentage of Civilian Labor Force

Symbol denotes Men

CLF Symbol denotes Women

AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native

RACE/ETHNICITY

 40% 60% 2% 2.6% 29% 50% 6% 4% 2% 2% .2% .4% .8% .9%

 45% 55% 4% 3.1% 28% 44% 8% 3% 4% 4% .2% .1% 1% .6%

316 134 182 2 7 104 152 15 14 11 5 1 1 1 3

 42% 58% .6% 2% 33% 48% 5% 4% 4% 2% .3% .3% .3% .9%

 33% 67% 2% 3% 27% 60% 3% 2% 2% 2% .1% .1% .6% .6%

275 97 178 2 11 61 134 25 15 8 13 0 0 1 5 

 35% 65% .7% 4% 22% 49% 9% 6% 3% 5% 0% 0% .4% 2%

 63% 37% 6% 3% 44% 27% 9% 4% 3% 2% .4% .2% 1% .6%

part ii

appendix b: workforce demographic and trend data
50 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

AIAN ASIAN BLACK HISPANIC WHITE TWO 

OR MORE

ENTRY-LEVEL EXAMINER 

TREND DATA BY YEAR TOTAL

ENTRY-LEVEL EXAMINER

HIRES SINCE 2005

KEY

Percentage of Civilian Labor Force

Symbol denotes Men

Symbol denotes Women

2005

2020

ENTRY-LEVEL EXAMINER

HIRES IN 2020

%

%

CLF

CLF

CLF

AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native

entry-level examiner program hires trends

appendix b: workforce demographic and trend data

2,304 23 27 5 15 52 77 205 137 45 61 577 1080

 100% 1% 1% .2% .7% 2% 3% 9% 6% 2% 3% 25% 47%

 100% 1% .6% .2% .1% 4% 4% 8% 3% 4% 3% 28% 44%

195

 

 2 4 0 3 8 10 13 12 6 8 49 80

100% 1% 2% .0% 2% 4% 5% 7% 6% 3% 4% 25% 41%

100% 1% .6% .2% .1% 4% 4% 8% 3% 4% 3% 28% 44%
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 51 

HIRES

INVOLUNTARY

DEPARTURES

AIAN ASIAN BLACK HISPANIC WHITE TWO 

OR MORE

ENTRY-LEVEL

EXAMINER ATTRITION TOTAL

INVOLUNTARY

ATTRITION RATE +

SUBTOTAL

CEP

TRANSITIONS*

VOLUNTARY

DEPARTURES

VOLUNTARY

ATTRITION RATE**

NUMBER 

RETAINED

*CEP Transitions are employees who transitioned from the former Corporate Employee Program 

 to join the New Entry-Level Examiner Hire Program in 2020

KEY

+ +

Involuntary Attrition Rate is the percentage of Involuntary Departures compared to Total Hires

**Voluntary Attrition Rate is the percentage of Voluntary Departures compared to the Subtotal

*

**

Symbol denotes Men

Symbol denotes Women AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native

entry-level examiner attrition

appendix b: workforce demographic and trend data

2,304 23 27 5 15 52 77 205 137 45 61 577 1080

 42 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 9 1 2 4 16

 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 1% 4% 7% 2% 3% .7% 2%

2,262 23 27 5 15 51 76 197 128 44 59 573 1064

 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3

 800 5 5 2 5 17 30 78 60 15 19 189 375 

36% 22% 19% 40% 33% 33% 40% 40% 47% 34% 32% 33% 35% 

1,456 18 21 3 10 34 45 119 68 29 40 383 686

 
52 Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020

ACRONYM

A3P 

AHP

BSA

CAN DO 

CBAC

CDACS

CDFI

CLF

COME-IN

CRA

DEI

DIR

DRR

EIP

EOI

EM

ERGS

FDIC

FEVS

FID-SA

HBCUS

IQ

LMI

MDIS

MWOBS

MWOIS

MWOLFS

OMWI

PPL

PPP

DEFINITION

Association of African American Professionals (ERG)

Affordable Housing Program

Bank Secrecy Act

Corporate Advocacy Network for Disability Opportunities (ERG)

Community Bankers Advisory Committee

Chairman’s Diversity Advisory Councils

Community Development Financial Institution

Civilian Labor Force

Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion

Community Reinvestment Act

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Division of Insurance and Research

Division of Resolutions and Receiverships

Economic Impact Payment

Expression of Interest

Executive Manager

Employee Resource Groups

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Employee Viewpoints Survey

Financial Institution Diversity Self-Assessment

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Inclusion Quotient

Low- and Moderate-Income 

Minority Depository Institutions

Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses

Minority- and Women-Owned Investors

Minority- and Women-Owned Law Firms

Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Paid Parental Leave

Paycheck Protection Program

appendix c: acronyms

appendices
Section 342, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report to Congress 2020 53 
OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION

Section 342 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act 2020

graphic design and printing unit, washington, d.c.

publication fdic-006-2021