Michelle W Bowman: Closing remarks - "Gender and Career
Progression"
Closing remarks by Ms Michelle W Bowman, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, at the joint Bank of England, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and European
Central Bank conference on "Gender and Career Progression", European Central Bank,
Frankfurt am Main, 21 October 2019.
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Congratulations on what I have no doubt was a productive and thought-provoking day, though
one, I am sure, that also underscored the many remaining challenges for women and minorities
in the professions of economics and finance. I want to thank our hosts, the European Central
Bank, who put so much work into making this conference a success, as well as the conference
organizers from all three sponsoring institutions-the ECB, Federal Reserve, and the Bank of
England. I also want to express my appreciation to the many researchers from universities and
from other central banks, as well as the members of women's and minority committees of
economics and finance associations from around the world, who are attending the conference in
Frankfurt. I wish that I could have been there with you to participate in the discussions.
I found the conference program to be particularly interesting, and I look forward to Federal
Reserve staff coming back to Washington to share what they learned from the research and
discussions. At the Federal Reserve, we greatly value this conference, not only for the
interactions that our staff have while they are there, but also when they bring back what they
learn and share it with our staff. Last year, we had over 200 staff members from across the
organization attend summary presentations in DC given by several staff members who had
attended the conference in London. In fact, staff in Washington had a "watch party" to view the
webcast of today's panels. The topics of today's conference, including papers on the promotion
of women, the role of culture and institutions, and the dynamics of publishing, conferences, and
seminars, will all spur additional conversations and ideas for action among staff at the Federal
Reserve.
In my view, central banks have a responsibility to be leaders in addressing diversity and
inclusion, not only for our own institutions, but also because of our influence on the profession as
a whole. Part of the value of this conference is that we, as central banks, can promote the study
of these issues and discuss concrete steps that we can take together to address them.
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Certainly, we take diversity and inclusion issues to heart at the Federal Reserve. We believe
that the best ideas, policies and, ultimately, service to the public are the result of diverse
perspectives, and from a staff that reflects the rich diversity of our nation. Inclusion makes us
stronger by providing all employees the assurance that they will be working in an environment
that welcomes and values their differences, and that recognizes and rewards people according
to the contributions they make in advancing the mission of the organization. That is not to say
that we have all of the solutions, or that we do not have considerable progress to make. But we
have made efforts in a number of areas. These efforts are consistent with the Congressional
directive to establish the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, and as articulated in the Board
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of Governors' Strategic Plan for Diversity and Inclusion.
First, we have made a commitment, and have made progress, to make our institution more
diverse. That includes efforts to bring greater diversity to the Board of Directors of our Federal
Reserve Banks and Branches as well as to senior leadership in the Federal Reserve System.
We have also worked to improve our internal culture. These efforts include re-establishing and
strengthening employee resource groups. We are working to come up with codes of conduct
including efforts to make our meetings more inclusive and set rules around behavior in seminars.
We are also providing diversity and inclusion as well as bystander training to both new and
existing employees.
Second, we have broadened our reach in recruiting to provide a more diverse range of applicants
the opportunity to apply for positions at the Federal Reserve-through strengthening our
connections to schools that serve diverse populations, hiring an outreach specialist for these
communities, establishing a stronger presence at career fairs for diverse students, and hosting
career events for students to promote jobs in economics and finance at the Federal Reserve.
Third, we are working with high schools and universities to inspire students' interest in
economics and finance. We are also working to provide them with the tools they need to enter
these fields. This has included partnerships with local high schools to teach economics, and with
a local Historically Black University, Howard University, to teach and mentor students in
economics and statistical analysis. This last initiative has led to students developing an interest
and pursuing careers in economics, including as research assistants at the Federal Reserve,
and several are currently employed at the Board as research assistants.
Of course, these conferences are also an important part of addressing diversity and inclusion in
central banking, and the economics and finance professions. I look forward to welcoming all of
you to Washington next fall to attend the third such conference, hosted by the Federal Reserve.
We hope these conferences will inspire further work on these important topics and will highlight
the issues that researchers are addressing, and more broadly promote the conversations we are
having in the economic and finance professions.
Thank you for your work, and I look forward to seeing you at the Federal Reserve next year.
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1. See www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/diversityinclusion.htm
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2. www.federalreserve.gov/publications/minority-women-inclusion.htm