Financial Services Industry: Overall Trends in Management-Level Diversity and Diversity Initiatives, 1993-2008
Released: 2010-05-12T00:00:00

Letter

Background

We defined the financial services industry to include the following sectors: depository credit institutions, which include commercial banks, thrifts (savings and loan associations and savings banks), and credit unions; holdings and trusts, which include investment trusts, investment companies, and holding companies; nondepository credit institutions, which extend credit in the form of loans and include federally sponsored credit agencies, personal credit institutions, and mortgage bankers and brokers; the securities sector, which is made up of a variety of firms and organizations (e.g., broker-dealers) that bring together buyers and sellers of securities and commodities, manage investments, and offer financial advice; and the insurance sector, including carriers and insurance agents that provide protection against financial risks to policyholders in exchange for the payment of premiums.

The financial services industry is a major source of employment in the United States. EEO-1 data showed that financial services firms we reviewed for this work, which have 100 or more staff, employed over 3 million people in 2008. Moreover, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the financial services industry was expected to grow by 5 percent from 2008 to 2018. Employment in the credit intermediation and related activities industry, which includes banks, is expected to account for 42 percent of all new jobs within the finance and insurance sector.

Diversity in the Financial Services Industry at the Management Level Did Not Change Substantially from 1993 through 2008, and Diversity in Senior Management Positions Is Limited

As discussed in our 2006 report, overall diversity in management-level positions did not change substantially from 1993 through 2004. Specifically, figure 1 shows that diversity in senior positions increased from 11.1 percent to 15.5 percent during that period. Regarding the change within specific groups, African-Americans increased their representation from 5.6 percent to 6.6 percent, Asians from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent, Hispanics from 2.8 percent to 4.0 percent, and American Indians from 0.2 to 0.3 percent. Management-level representation by white women was largely unchanged at slightly more than one-third during the period, while representation by white men declined from 52.2 percent to 47.2 percent.

Revised EEO-1 data for the period 2005 through 2008 show an increase in minority representation in management positions from 15.5 percent to 17.4 percent (fig. 2). This increase was largely driven by the growing representation of Asians in management positions—an increase of nearly a full percentage point from 4.7 percent to 5.5 percent during the period.

Meanwhile, African-American representation remained stable at about 6.3 percent from 2005 through 2008, while Hispanic representation increased by half of a percentage point from 4.3 to 4.8 percent. Management-level representation by white women and white men both decreased by about one percentage point from 2005 through 2008.

However, before 2008 EEO-1 data generally overstated representation levels for minorities and white women in the most senior-level positions, such as chief executive officers of large investment firms or commercial banks, because the category that captured these positions—”officials and managers”—covered all management positions. Thus, this category included lower-level positions (e.g., assistant manager of a small bank branch) that may have a higher representation of minorities and women. Recognizing this limitation, starting in 2007 EEOC revised its data collection form for employers to divide the “officials and managers” category into two subcategories: “executive/senior-level officers and managers” and “first/midlevel officials.”

EEOC’s revised data, as reported in 2008, indicate that minorities accounted for 10 percent of senior positions in the financial services industry. As I discussed previously, the percentage in the broader data category was 17.4 percent. Moreover, as shown in figure 3, white men accounted for approximately 64 percent of senior-level management positions. In contrast, African Americans held 2.8 percent of such senior management positions, while Hispanics held 3.0 percent and Asians 3.5 percent.

Initiatives to Promote Workforce Diversity in the Financial Services Industry Face Challenges

Officials from the firms that we contacted for our previous work said that their top leadership was committed to implementing workforce diversity initiatives but noted that making such initiatives work was challenging. In particular, the officials cited ongoing difficulties in recruiting and retaining minority candidates and in gaining employees’ “buy-in” for diversity initiatives, especially at the middle management level. Some firms noted that they had stepped up efforts to help ensure a diverse workforce. However, the recent financial crisis has raised questions about their ongoing commitment to initiatives and programs that are designed to promote workforce diversity.

Financial Services Firms Implemented a Variety of Diversity Initiatives

Minorities’ rapid growth as a percentage of the overall U.S. population, as well as increased global competition, convinced some financial services firms that workforce diversity was a critical business strategy. Since the mid-1990s, some financial services firms have implemented a variety of initiatives designed to recruit and retain minority and women candidates to fill key positions. Officials from several banks said that they had developed scholarship and internship programs to encourage minority students to consider careers in banking. Some firms and trade organizations had also developed partnerships with groups that represent minority professionals and with local communities to recruit candidates through events such as conferences and career fairs. To help retain minorities and women, firms have established employee networks, mentoring programs, diversity training, and leadership and career development programs.

Industry studies have noted, and officials from some financial services firms we contacted confirmed, that senior managers were involved in diversity initiatives. Some of these officials also said that this level of involvement was critical to success of a program. For example, according to an official from an investment bank, the head of the firm meets with all minority and female senior executives to discuss their career development. Officials from a few commercial banks said that the banks had established diversity “councils” of senior leaders to set the vision, strategy, and direction of diversity initiatives. A 2007 industry trade group study and some officials also noted that some companies were linking managers’ compensation to their progress in hiring, promoting, and retaining minority and women employees. However, the study found that most companies reported that they still did not offer managers financial rewards for improving diversity performance.

This study also found that firms, overall, have significantly increased accountability for driving diversity results. For example, more firms reported that they were holding managers accountable for improving diversity. Performance reviews and management-by-objectives were the top two methods for measuring managers’ diversity performance. Finally, firms whose representation of women and minorities was above the median for the survey group were considerably more likely to use certain diversity management strategies and practices.

A few firms had also developed performance indicators to measure progress in achieving diversity goals. These indicators include workforce representation, turnover, promotion of minority and women employees, and employee satisfaction survey responses. Officials from several financial services firms stated that measuring the results of diversity efforts over time was critical to the credibility of the initiatives and to justifying the investment in the resources such initiatives demanded.

Several Challenges May Have Affected the Success of Workforce Diversity Initiatives in the Financial Services Industry

While financial services firms and trade groups we contacted had launched diversity initiatives, officials from these organizations and other information suggested that several challenges may have limited the success of their efforts. These challenges include the following: Recruiting minority and women candidates for management development programs. Available data on minority students enrolled in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs suggest that the pool of minorities, a source that may feed the “pipeline” for management-level positions within the financial services industry and other industries is a limiting factor. In 2000, minorities accounted for 19 percent of all students enrolled in MBA programs in accredited U.S. schools; in 2006, that student population had risen to 25 percent. Financial services firms compete for minorities in this pool not only with one another but also with firms from other industries.

Fully leveraging the “internal” pipeline of minority and women employees for management-level positions. As shown in figure 4, there are job categories within the financial services industry that generally have more overall workforce diversity than the “Executive/Senior Level Officials & Managers” category, particularly among minorities. For example, minorities held almost 25 percent of “professional” positions in the industry in 2008, compared with 10 percent of “executive/senior level officials & managers” positions. According to a 2006 EEOC report, the professional category represented a possible pipeline of available management-level candidates. The EEOC report stated that the chances of minorities and women (white and minority combined) advancing from the professional category into management-level positions were lower than they were for white males.

Retaining minority and women candidates that are hired for key management positions. Many industry officials said that financial services firms lack a critical mass of minority men and women, particularly in senior-level positions, to serve as role models. Without a critical mass, the officials said that minority or women employees might lack the personal connections and access to informal networks that are often necessary to navigate an organization’s culture and advance their careers. For example, an official from a commercial bank we contacted said he learned from staff interviews that African-Americans believed that they were not considered for promotion as often as others partly because they were excluded from informal employee networks needed for promotion or to promote advancement.

Achieving the “buy-in” of key employees, such as middle managers.

Middle managers are particularly important to the success of diversity initiatives because they are often responsible for implementing key aspects of such initiatives and for explaining them to other employees. However, some financial services industry officials said that middle managers may be focused on other aspects of their responsibilities, such as meeting financial performance targets, rather than the importance of implementing the organization’s diversity initiatives. Additionally, the officials said that implementing diversity initiatives represented a considerable cultural and organizational change for many middle managers and employees at all levels. An official from an investment bank told us that the bank had been reaching out to middle managers who oversaw minority and women employees by, for example, instituting an “inclusive manager program.”

In closing, with the implementation of a variety of diversity initiatives over the past 15 years, diversity at the management level in the financial services industry has improved but not changed substantially. Further, EEOC’s new EEO-1 data provide a clearer view of diversity within senior executive ranks, showing that diversity is lower than the overall industry management diversity statistics had indicated. Initiatives to promote management diversity at all levels within financial services firms face several key challenges, such as recruiting and retaining candidates and achieving the “buy-in” of middle managers. The impact of the recent financial crisis on diversity also warrants ongoing scrutiny. Without a sustained commitment to overcoming these challenges, management diversity in the financial services industry may continue to remain largely unchanged over time.

Mr. Chairman and Madam Chairwoman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you or other members of the subcommittees may have.

Contact and Acknowledgments

For further information about this testimony, please contact Orice M. Williams Brown on (202) 512-8678 or at williamso@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony include Wesley M. Phillips, Assistant Director; Emily Chalmers; William Chatlos; John Fisher; Simin Ho; Marc Molino; and Linda Rego.

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