110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 140 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Whereas the financial services industry is vitally important to 
the United States economy; 
Whereas in 2005, employment in the financial services indus-
try was about 7 percent of total employment in the 
United States, with over 10,000,000 employees; 
Whereas since 1995, the average hourly earnings of non-su-
pervisory 
workers 
in 
financial 
activities 
was
•HCON 140 EH 
above the private industry and increased from approxi-
mately $13 in 1997 to $18.80 in 2006; 
Whereas minorities and women face various challenges in ob-
taining and maintaining positions, especially upper-level 
positions, within the financial services industry; 
Whereas minorities and women often cite the lack of mentors 
and leadership training as barriers to their advancement; 
Whereas in 2005, about 14.9 percent of the board seats at 
the Fortune 100 companies were held by minorities, and 
women comprised about 16.9 percent of Fortune 100 
company board seats in 2005; 
Whereas in the financial services industry, the percentage of 
black employees has slowly decreased from about 10.5 
percent to 9.8 percent between 2000 to 2005; 
Whereas in 2005, blacks were approximately 9.8 percent of 
those employed in the financial services industry and 
about 7.4 percent of financial managers; 
Whereas from 2000 to 2005, Hispanics have been an increas-
ing percentage of the United States workforce and the fi-
nancial services industry; 
Whereas in 2005, Hispanics comprised about 9.7 percent of 
those employed in the financial services industry, just 6 
percent of financial managers, and less than 2 percent of 
the directors of Fortune 1,000 companies; 
Whereas in 2004, Asians represented about 5.5 percent of 
the employees in the financial services industry and about 
6.3 percent of all financial managers; 
Whereas in 2004, the financial services industry ranked third 
in the percentage of women employed in the workforce 
behind healthcare and education;
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Whereas approximately half of financial managers are women 
and the percentage of women financial managers was ap-
proximately 51.7 in 2005; 
Whereas in a 2001 survey of 2,200 senior and pipeline level 
women and men representing approximately 60 securities 
firms, 65 percent of women reported that women have to 
work harder than men to get the same rewards, and 51 
percent of women report that women are paid less than 
men for doing similar work; 
Whereas a minority of women (32 percent) and men (43 per-
cent) believe that promotion decisions are made fairly in 
their firm; 
Whereas the House-approved Financial Services Regulatory 
Relief Act of 2005 directed each Federal banking agency 
to submit biennial reports to Congress on the status of 
the employment by the agency of women and minorities; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office found in its 
report ‘‘Financial Services Industry: Overall Trends in 
Management-Level Diversity and Diversity Initiatives, 
1993–2003’’, issued in June 2006, that overall diversity 
at the management level in the financial services industry 
did not change substantially from 1993 to 2004; and 
Whereas, although the Government Accountability Office ac-
knowledged that financial services firms have initiated 
programs to increase workforce diversity, the Office 
found that these initiatives face challenges: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring),
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Serv-
ices Diversity Initiative’’. 
SEC. 2. FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVERSITY INITIATIVE. 
(a) 
CONGRESSIONAL
RECOGNITION.—The 
Con-
gress— 
(1) recognizes that minorities and women still 
face unique challenges entering into and obtaining 
upper level positions within the financial services in-
dustry; 
(2) encourages financial institutions to partner 
with organizations which are focused on developing 
opportunities for minorities and women to place tal-
ented young minorities and women in industry in-
ternships, summer employment, and full-time posi-
tions; 
(3) encourages financial institutions to partner 
with inner-city high schools, girls’ high schools, and 
high schools with majority minority populations to 
establish or enhance financial literacy programs and 
provide mentoring; 
(4) encourages financial institutions, including 
Federal and State financial institution regulatory 
agencies, to build and retain a diverse staff through 
initiatives, including—
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(A) providing financial support for minori-
ties and women undergraduate and graduate 
business programs; 
(B) heavily recruiting at historically Black 
colleges and universities, Hispanic serving insti-
tutions, women’s colleges, and colleges that 
typically serve majority minority populations; 
(C) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs 
in urban communities; and 
(D) placing job ads in newspapers and 
magazines oriented toward people of color; 
(5) encourages financial institutions to appoint 
more minorities and women as board members; and 
(6) encourages financial institutions, and public 
and private pension funds to seek qualified minority 
and women owned firms as investment managers, 
underwriters and other business relationships. 
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
the Congress that— 
(1) active measures should be taken by employ-
ers and educational institutions to increase the de-
mographic diversity of the financial services indus-
try; and 
(2) diversity within the financial services indus-
try is vitally important not only to promoting inno-
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vation and creativity in the industry but to devel-
oping a more inclusive workforce for a fair and just 
economy. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 
2007. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 140 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the low presence of minorities in the fi-
nancial services industry and minorities and 
women in upper level positions of management, 
and expressing the sense of the Congress that ac-
tive measures should be taken to increase the de-
mographic diversity of the financial services in-
dustry.