[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
PROMOTING INCLUSION: EXAMINING THE
NEED FOR DIVERSITY PRACTICES FOR
AMERICA'S CHANGING WORKFORCE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 17, 2019
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services
Serial No. 116-59
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
42-362 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
MAXINE WATERS, California, Chairwoman
CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York PATRICK McHENRY, North Carolina,
NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ, New York Ranking Member
BRAD SHERMAN, California ANN WAGNER, Missouri
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York PETER T. KING, New York
WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia BILL POSEY, Florida
AL GREEN, Texas BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri
EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado STEVE STIVERS, Ohio
JIM A. HIMES, Connecticut ANDY BARR, Kentucky
BILL FOSTER, Illinois SCOTT TIPTON, Colorado
JOYCE BEATTY, Ohio ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
DENNY HECK, Washington FRENCH HILL, Arkansas
JUAN VARGAS, California TOM EMMER, Minnesota
JOSH GOTTHEIMER, New Jersey LEE M. ZELDIN, New York
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
AL LAWSON, Florida ALEXANDER X. MOONEY, West Virginia
MICHAEL SAN NICOLAS, Guam WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio
RASHIDA TLAIB, Michigan TED BUDD, North Carolina
KATIE PORTER, California DAVID KUSTOFF, Tennessee
CINDY AXNE, Iowa TREY HOLLINGSWORTH, Indiana
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
AYANNA PRESSLEY, Massachusetts JOHN ROSE, Tennessee
BEN McADAMS, Utah BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, New York LANCE GOODEN, Texas
JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia DENVER RIGGLEMAN, Virginia
STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts WILLIAM TIMMONS, South Carolina
TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
ALMA ADAMS, North Carolina
MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
JESUS ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois
SYLVIA GARCIA, Texas
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
Charla Ouertatani, Staff Director
Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion
JOYCE BEATTY, Ohio, Chairwoman
WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri ANN WAGNER, Missouri, Ranking
AL GREEN, Texas Member
JOSH GOTTHEIMER, New Jersey FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas ALEXANDER X. MOONEY, West Virginia
AL LAWSON, Florida TED BUDD, North Carolina
AYANNA PRESSLEY, Massachusetts DAVID KUSTOFF, Tennessee
TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii TREY HOLLINGSWORTH, Indiana
ALMA ADAMS, North Carolina ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio, Vice
MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania Ranking Member
SYLVIA GARCIA, Texas BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota LANCE GOODEN, Texas
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on:
October 17, 2019............................................. 1
Appendix:
October 17, 2019............................................. 27
WITNESSES
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Graves, Rod, Executive Director, Fritz Pollard Alliance
Foundation..................................................... 9
Guinyard, Bernard, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Goodwin.... 4
Mota, Patricia, President and CEO, Hispanic Alliance for Career
Enhancement.................................................... 7
Sherbin, Laura, Vice President, Culture@Work..................... 10
Tulshyan, Ruchika, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist and Author. 5
APPENDIX
Prepared statements:
Graves, Rod.................................................. 28
Guinyard, Bernard............................................ 33
Mota, Patricia............................................... 39
Sherbin, Laura............................................... 42
Tulshyan, Ruchika............................................ 45
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
Wagner, Hon. Ann:
Written statement of Diverse & Engaged....................... 48
Written report of McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org entitled,
``Women in the Workplace, 2019''........................... 51
PROMOTING INCLUSION: EXAMINING THE
NEED FOR DIVERSITY PRACTICES FOR
AMERICA'S CHANGING WORKFORCE
----------
Thursday, October 17, 2019
U.S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Diversity
and Inclusion,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:20 p.m., in
room 2128, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Joyce Beatty
[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Members present: Representatives Beatty, Green, Gottheimer,
Pressley, Adams, Dean, Garcia of Texas; Wagner, Lucas, Mooney,
Kustoff, Hollingsworth, Gonzalez of Ohio, and Gooden.
Ex officio present: Representatives Waters and McHenry.
Chairwoman Beatty. The Subcommittee on Diversity and
Inclusion will come to order. Without objection, the Chair is
authorized to declare a recess of the subcommittee at any time.
Also, without objection, members of the full Financial Services
Committee who are not members of this subcommittee are
authorized to participate in today's hearing.
Today's hearing is entitled, ``Promoting Inclusion:
Examining the Need for Diversity Practices for America's
Changing Workforce.''
I now recognize myself for 4 minutes to give an opening
statement. Today's hearing seeks to focus solely on retention
and promotion of diverse talent. We cannot just focus on
recruitment, which we already know is subpar sometimes. Too
often, organizations place such a heavy emphasis on pipeline
development that retention aspects to diversity and inclusion
practices are often neglected. Research shows that many
business leaders, primarily white heterosexual males,
underestimate the challenges that diverse employees face in
moving up the ladder in the workforce.
In 2019, we have ongoing evidence from the data of
diversity request that this subcommittee made to the top
megabanks of the country on the financial services industry
demonstrating that women and people of color are woefully
underrepresented and unrepresented in leadership positions.
Even more so in 2018, the women in the workplace survey
conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that for every 100 men
promoted to manager, only--I want you to hear this--only 60
Black women were promoted.
We know from our previous hearings on the business case for
diversity, that the lack of women and people of color in
leadership positions will reduce a company's ability to: one,
provide depth of consumer insight; two, capture new markets;
and three, yield greater financial returns, which will
eventually take a significant financial and competitive toll on
organizations. Strategy such as fair pathways to promotion
along with unconscious bias training and sponsorship programs
are tried-and-true resources for women to navigate advancement
barriers to their own career development.
According to the 2019 Boston Consulting Group report, when
companies were asked about diversity obstacles in the
workplace, nearly half of the companies responded that they
lacked the appropriate mechanism to track promotions and to
ensure that major project assignments are bias-free. As we
examine the diversity practices of America's workforce, it is
clear from our hearings and data collections that we can do
better. We need to identify, to discuss, and to implement
accountability metrics and strategic intervention so that
companies and government agencies deliver real results.
It is our hope that our expert witnesses today will share
best practices that, if implemented, could help organizations
retain diverse employees and promote them to the highest
organizational levels.
Due to the foreseeable changes in American society,
according to the United States Census Bureau, the population of
the United States will be majority/minority, meaning women and
minorities will comprise 47 percent and 27 percent of the
workforce respectively. Therefore, it will be incumbent on all
of our leaders to embrace the changing demographics by
establishing a culture that yields the best economic outcome
and the most competitive advantage.
With that, I would like to ask unanimous consent to add the
following report from PricewaterhouseCoopers entitled,
``Mending the Gender Gap: Advancing Tomorrow's Women Leaders in
Financial Services,'' into the record. Without objection, it is
so ordered.
I reserve the balance of my time for the Chair of the full
Financial Services Committee, Chairwoman Maxine Waters. The
Chair now recognizes the ranking member of the subcommittee,
the gentlewoman from Missouri, Mrs. Wagner, for 4 minutes for
an opening statement.
Mrs. Wagner. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. First of all, I
thank our witnesses for testifying before this subcommittee
today. And I look forward to hearing from all of you and
learning more about the most successful strategies for changing
workplace cultures within the financial services industry.
Over the past 9 months, this subcommittee has spent our
time seeking to ensure that the financial industry, along with
frankly many other sectors of the U.S. economy, is reaping the
benefits of our country's diversity. Research shows that
companies with more diverse workforces outperform their less
diverse competitors. Diversity builds collective intelligence
by helping teams remain more objective, process information
more carefully, and even price stocks more accurately.
In mid-August, Morgan Stanley issued a report demonstrating
that gender-diverse firms tend to outperform their less diverse
peers globally. Morgan Stanley's new study identified that
firms that prioritize equal representation receive a boost of
up to 2.8 percent in average returns annually, which translates
into a sizable sum if you are a firm as large as say, Walmart
or Apple. Diversity and inclusion are separate issues that must
be addressed.
In an article published in the Harvard Business Review
entitled, ``Diversity Doesn't Stick Without Inclusion,'' by one
of our witnesses today, Dr. Sherbin--and I look forward to your
testimony in a bit--she states that part of the problem is that
diversity and inclusion are so often lumped together that they
are assumed to be the same thing, but that is just not the
case. In the context of the workplace, diversity equals
representation, and without inclusion, the crucial connections
that attract diverse talent, foster innovation, and lead to the
kind of business growth that I was outlining won't happen.
Dr. Sherbin, I could not agree more with your sentiment. It
is one thing to hire diverse talent, but in order to reap the
benefits of a diverse workforce, there must be inclusion. We
have heard from previous witnesses in the subcommittee about
best practices that foster inclusion such as sponsorship and
mentorship, employees' resource groups, and diversity councils.
I look forward to discovering more today.
Although a company may be able to increase recruitment, it
is equally as important to focus efforts on making sure the
environment is inclusive for retention. More can be done in
both areas, but it is encouraging to see corporations
throughout the industry proactively taking on the mission to
improve diversity and inclusion for their workforces. The
progress has been slow, and more can always be done, but good
work is being accomplished.
The best practices that we are going to hear about today
can be held up as examples throughout the sector and used as
starting blocks for others in the industry to increase
diversity and inclusion.
I thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for this hearing today, and
I would like to reserve the balance of my time for the ranking
member of the Full Committee, Mr. McHenry, when he arrives.
Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Today, we welcome the testimony of a
very diverse and distinguished panel of five witnesses. Thank
you all for being here.
First, we welcome the testimony of Bernard Guinyard, the
director of diversity and inclusion at Goodwin. He implements
programs that embed diversity and inclusion practices into the
fabric of the firm's culture, systems, and processes, which
positively impacts the employees' experiences. He is also a
board member of the Association of Law Firm Diversity
Professionals.
Second, Ruchika Tulshyan is a leading diversity and
inclusion strategist, and founder of Candour. She writes
regularly for publications including the Harvard Business
Review, Forbes, and the Seattle Times. Her articles have
appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Bloomberg. She
is also the inaugural distinguished professional-in-residence
for the Communication Department at Seattle University.
Third, Patricia Mota is the president and CEO of the
Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement. She has a strong
history of serving the Latino community, as reflected by her
service on various not-for-profit boards and committees, most
recently serving as a board member on the Illinois Treasurer
Latino Advisory Council and the Indiana University Latino
Alumni Association Board.
Fourth, Rod Graves is the executive director of the Fritz
Pollard Alliance Foundation. His experience spans over 37
years, including as senior vice president of football
administration for the New York Jets of the National Football
League, and as general manager of the Arizona Cardinals.
And finally, Dr. Laura Sherbin is the vice president of
Culture@Work. She is an economist who specializes in the
creation of advantage through inclusion and diversity. Most
recently, she was co-president at the Center for Talent
Innovation in New York City, a premier think tank and content
provider that studies global workplace diversity.
The witnesses are reminded that their oral testimony will
be limited to 5 minutes. And without objection, your written
statements will be made a part of the record.
The witnesses are also reminded to turn their microphones
on and to abide by the three lights in front of you: green
means go; yellow means wrap it up; and red means stop.
Mr. Guinyard, you are now recognized for 5 minutes to give
an oral presentation of your testimony.
STATEMENT OF BERNARD GUINYARD, DIRECTOR, DIVERSITY AND
INCLUSION, GOODWIN
Mr. Guinyard. Thank you, Chairwoman Beatty. At Goodwin, we
are committed to promoting diversity within our firm and in the
legal profession, and also fostering an inclusive environment
in which each attorney and professional can excel and thrive.
Diversity and inclusion are our core values at Goodwin and we
believe that makes us stronger as a firm, as a provider of
legal services, and as an employer. It is also a matter of
justice for us. We believe that equity demands a diverse
workforce in the legal profession, and we have a lengthy track
record of enabling equal access to legal systems through our
pro bono efforts and our broad non-discrimination policies.
Inclusion@Goodwin, which was established in 2014 and is led
by our firm's Chairman Emeritus David Hashmall, drives the
firm's diversity and inclusion strategic initiatives. Some of
our core efforts include bias disruption campaigns, inclusive
leadership training and upward feedback for our leaders,
sponsorship initiatives, and also practice group action plans.
These strategies are complemented by the robust engagement of
our affinity groups, which include our Committee on Racial and
Ethnic Diversity, our Pride Initiative, and our Women's
Initiative, all of which promote connectivity, networking, and
advancement within our firm.
At Goodwin, we recognize that despite significant
commitment and our hard work, we need to work even smarter and
faster on our diversity goals, focusing on development,
retention, advancement, and leadership. To demonstrate our
leadership in this area and our willingness to disrupt the
status quo, we have elected to sign onto bold initiatives led
by Diversity Lab. The first, the Mansfield Rule, is a law firm
slate diversity initiative launched in 2017.
The second, the Move The Needle Fund, is a collaborative
effort designed and funded with $5 million to test innovative
initiatives to create a more diverse and inclusive legal
profession. Under the Mansfield Rule, law firms who are
participating are expected to consider a diverse slate of
candidates for influential and leadership roles within our
organizations. We are also encouraged to create and post
descriptions of these leadership roles to ensure that the
processes and election and or appointment to these roles are
transparent and accessible to all lawyers.
As an example of the Mansfield Rule in action, if a firm's
management committee has identified a short list of five
candidates for an opening on its executive committee, under the
Rule, at least two candidates must be a woman, an attorney of
color, or LGBTQ+. Firms that consider diverse attorneys for 70
percent or more of their leadership committees qualify for
Mansfield certification.
After successfully achieving Mansfield certification last
year, the firm recently achieved Mansfield certification for a
second time, and Diversity Lab also named us as Mansfield
Certified Plus, being recognized for achievement of at least 30
percent in our leadership ranks. Currently, Goodwin's most
senior leadership committees are 35 percent diverse, which is a
significant achievement for the firm and signals the progress
we have been making ever since implementing the Rule.
The second initiative, which has recently been launched, is
a trailblazing effort which brings five law firms together to
partner with Diversity Lab in a joint venture, which allows us
to actually collaborate with each other but at the same time
partner with 25 general counsels at influential companies to
pursue bold, public, metric-based goals to be achieved within 5
years.
For us, we have chosen the following goals based on
specific challenges we at Goodwin are trying to address. By
January 2025, the diversity of the Goodwin senior associate
population and its population of partners and equity partners
elevated in the preceding 5 years will match or exceed its
entry level associate diversity, which will be consistent with
or greater than the diversity of graduating law student classes
by gender, race, ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ identity.
Additionally, the collective composition of all firm
leadership committees will be at least 40 percent diverse. To
achieve our goals, we are not only investing $1.25 million, but
we will be testing out various initiatives. The benefits of
signing up for such bold initiatives allows us to set bold
goals, create transparency and accountability, garner
significant investments, fuel innovation, and perhaps most
importantly, enable opportunities for collaboration. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Guinyard can be found on
page 33 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. Next, Ms. Tulshyan, you are
now recognized for 5 minutes to give an oral presentation of
your testimony.
STATEMENT OF RUCHIKA TULSHYAN, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
STRATEGIST AND AUTHOR
Ms. Tulshyan. Good afternoon. A special thank you to
Chairwoman Beatty and the members of the subcommittee for
inviting me to talk about this important issue of promoting
inclusion in the workplace. I come here representing my views
and mine alone as an immigrant woman of color and a working
mother. I would like to focus on four key areas today where
women--and I am centering on women of color in my testimony--
face barriers to retention and advancement at work with data
backed to propose solutions.
Multiple studies show women are graduating college at
higher rates than men but remain severely underrepresented in
leadership roles in America. We are forced to navigate
workplaces designed without us in mind, despite ample evidence
highlighting why harnessing diversity and inclusion in the
workplace is key to American competitiveness, prosperity, and
innovation.
For women of color, the situation is dire. White women hold
19 percent of C-suite positions, but women of color hold only 4
percent. Research finds women of color face harmful stereotypes
about our professional competence, leadership ability, and
behavior. This data is extremely significant because by 2060,
the majority of all women in the United States will be women of
color.
A Washington Post headline last month stated that for the
first time, most new working-age hires in the United States are
people of color. We simply cannot turn away from designing an
equitable workforce. The demographics are changing in front of
our very eyes. The first barrier is the challenge of working
motherhood. It is a travesty that one in four American women go
back to work within 10 days of giving birth. We are the only
developed country in the world that does not guarantee paid
maternity leave, so too many women have to make the
heartbreaking choice between a paycheck and giving birth at
work.
At work, we face the motherhood penalty, where we are
penalized by lower-paying job opportunities and even perceived
competence for having children. And guess what, when men become
dads, they receive a fatherhood bonus. No wonder 43 percent of
working mothers leave the workforce in America. One research-
backed solution is to federally mandate paid family leave, not
only for when a woman gives birth, but also for time off when a
family member is sick, and offer it to mothers and fathers, so
not only women are responsible for childcare.
By the way, a study found that businesses save $19 billion
annually by retaining female employees when they offer 16 weeks
of fully-paid maternity leave. It is literally a win-win for
businesses, families, and our society.
Second, women need sponsors, we do not need more mentors.
In fact, research shows we have more casual mentors at work
than men. Sponsorship means having more leaders personally
invested in our success who offer us the top jobs, the high-
visibility projects, and the insider knowledge that men often
get informal access to on the golf course or at dinners that
women are not invited to. Early pilots of sponsorship programs
in some innovative companies have yielded positive results in
the advancement of women.
Third, we need office housework to be distributed
equitably. ``Office housework'' refers to the unglamorous
work--the meeting notes; ordering of lunches; mentoring of
interns, etc.--that does not get recognized or lead to
promotion. Office housework is disproportionately assigned to
women and people of color. One study found that women do 30
percent more of it than white men. We must ensure women don't
get saddled with these tasks because they have a real and
recognizable impact on their career advancement. In short,
equitably distribute office housework.
Fourth and most importantly, leaders must address their own
personal biases and also actively champion equity. In writing
my book, I found that across industries, organization size, and
geography, companies that exhibited more gender equality than
their peers all had only one trait in common: leadership buy-in
for diversity. We must ensure our leaders of corporations and
governments alike understand the unique barriers faced by
professional women and people of color, and work actively to
dismantle them.
Advocacy efforts must be backed by well-resourced chief
diversity offices, prioritizing inclusion so women can safely
report harassment or bias without retaliation. Members of
Congress, there is no issue we are facing today that doesn't
impact underrepresented communities more acutely--climate
change, immigration, violence, poverty, access to healthcare;
the list is long, and you are well familiar with it.
What type of innovative solutions could be designed if more
women, especially women of color, were in leadership roles to
tackle them? It is absolutely crucial for the future of the
American democracy to prioritize championing women. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Tulshyan can be found on
page 45 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. Next, we have Ms. Patricia
Mota. Ms. Mota, you are now recognized for 5 minutes to give an
oral presentation of your testimony.
STATEMENT OF PATRICIA MOTA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HISPANIC
ALLIANCE FOR CAREER ENHANCEMENT
Ms. Mota. Chairwoman Beatty, Ranking Member Wagner, and
members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
share my testimony, and thank you to you and your staffs for
your dedication to building a more inclusive workforce and
society. I serve as an advocate for access and equity,
personally fulfilling my mission to close the education and
career gaps that I have personally faced and that many in our
Black and Brown communities face.
I serve as president and CEO for the Hispanic Alliance for
Career Enhancement or HACE, a national nonprofit dedicated to
the employment, development, and advancement of current and
aspiring Latino professionals. Our mission is to positively
impact the American workplace by cultivating the pipeline of
talent and providing professionals the insight, access, and
support to be successful in their careers.
Since 1982, and with a network of over 64,000 members and
90 corporate partners across the country, HACE works with
employers to remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic
economy by helping them attract, retain, and develop Latino
talent. We carry out our mission through three core areas: one,
talent acquisition programs, services, and opportunities where
we actively connect talent with employers; two, pipeline and
leadership development programs that cultivate, build, and
develop the pipeline of Latino talent from high school level to
the C-suite; and three, through leadership and branding events,
roundtable discussions on diversity and inclusion best
practices, and professional and employer's success stories and
impact.
HACE's vision to see a world where Latinos reach their full
potential for themselves and for our communities that we serve
feels a bit closer to reality when I witness our year-round
programs and events. Yet, we are disproportionately
underrepresented in highly-compensated professional and
leadership roles across corporate America and other sectors. We
are part of the youngest and the fastest-growing population
group in the United States, and with an older and more diverse
workforce, Latino's access to education, meaningful jobs, and
advancement is critical for the economic progress of our
country.
Statistics show that impact of Latinos on the economy today
and in the future. U.S. Latinos are the current and future
workforce. In 2018, Latinos made up 29 million workers in the
U.S., and by 2020, U.S. Latinos will make up 74 percent of the
growth in new workers. U.S. Latinos are creating jobs. Within
the last decade, 86 percent of all new businesses in the U.S.
were launched by Latinos, with Latinas, women, creating
businesses 6 times faster than any other group.
U.S. Latinos are educated. More students are completing
high school and college than ever before. High school dropout
rates decreased from 34 percent in 1996 to 10 percent in 2016,
and college enrollment increased from 35 percent to 47 percent
in the same timeframe. Employers must focus on the promotion
and retention of diverse talents in order to build a more
inclusive workforce.
At a former employer, I was told that I was not promoted to
the next position, not because of my qualifications, but
because the selection committee felt more comfortable with the
other candidate. The other candidate was an older white male.
The selection committee was all white. While this case was
blatant, this is not uncommon where biases against race,
gender, or age hinder someone's opportunity for career
progression.
My top three recommendations of many are first, to require
bias-inclusive diversity training. Formal training can help
identify some of the conscious and unconscious biases that
reduce the negative effects in the workplace. Also, provide
access to these trainings.
Second, require a diverse slate of candidates for all
positions, including top-level positions. Diverse leadership
teams boost innovation and profits. According to the Boston
Consulting Group, diverse leadership teams account for 45
percent innovation growth versus 26 percent with below average
diversity scores and 45 percent market share growth. Engaging
and essentially partnering with organizations like HACE grants
employers access to diverse talent.
And third, supporting employee participation in affinity
groups and leadership programs. Programs like HACE's women's
leadership program, Mujeres de HACE, which empowers Latina
professionals to succeed professionally and thrive personally,
are key to moving the needle.
The program is a cohort model, a safe space of 24 hours of
culturally relevant training, coaching, leadership assessments,
engagement of successful Latina role models and mentors, and
sponsors who have effectively catapulted the careers of our
alumnae: 40 percent have seen a promotion within less than 6
months, and an additional 30 percent within less than 12
months.
In order to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce,
today's employers must consistently, intentionally invest in
these and several other practices over the long term. Thank
you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Mota can be found on page 39
of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you very much. Next, we have Mr.
Rod Graves. Mr. Graves, you are now recognized for 5 minutes to
give an oral presentation on your testimony.
STATEMENT OF ROD GRAVES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRITZ POLLARD
ALLIANCE FOUNDATION
Mr. Graves. Chairwoman Beatty, thank you, and to the
members, thank you for your work, and I certainly appreciate
the opportunity to address you today. My name is Rod Graves,
and I am the executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance
(FPA). I joined the FPA in June of 2019 after serving 35 years
in the National Football League. I also worked for 2 years in
the United States Football League before joining the NFL. I
have served in a number of executive and leadership roles.
My career has been influenced by great personnel men like
John Wooten, Tank Younger, Milt Davis, Charles Garcia, Bill
Nunn, Dick Daniels, and Bill Tobin. Fritz Pollard is an
advocacy group. We were co-founded in 2003 by the late Johnnie
L. Cochran, Jr., and civil rights attorney Cyrus Mehri of Mehri
& Skalet in Washington D.C. For the past 15 years, the group
has been led by John Wooten, a former NFL player and team
executive.
Mr. Wooten's dedication to diversity and equal opportunity
set the foundation for our organization. He retired in the
spring of this year. Our members include coaches, scouts, front
office personnel, and gameday officials. Our primary focus is
on the men and women of color within the National Football
League. Our mission is to champion diversity in the NFL through
education, and to provide our members with resources that will
help them to succeed at every level of the game.
Our vision is to see diversity of leadership in the
business plan of every sports team. We believe that diversity
is good for the game. The Rooney Rule originated with the Fritz
Pollard Alliance. The Rule, named after the late Dan Rooney,
owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, requires NFL teams in search
of a head coach and general manager to interview multiple
diverse candidates. Enforcement rests with the NFL
Commissioner.
The efforts behind the Rooney Rule have been extremely
successful. The Rule has produced a record number of minority
head coaches and general managers, and that has built up
pipelines of talent around the league. We have also seen the
Rule adopted by corporations such as Xerox, Intel, Facebook,
Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and others. The Rooney Rule has
impacted both my personal and professional success. In 2004,
Bill Bidwill, owner of the Arizona Cardinals, hired Dennis
Green as the organization's first African-American head coach,
and made me general manager. We were the first Black GM/head
coach combination in NFL history.
As a team executive, I participated in the hiring of
several head coaches, coordinators, and other football
executives. The exposure that my organization and I gained to
diverse candidates as a result of the Rooney Rule was
invaluable. The Rooney Rule benefits diverse candidates as
well. The exposure gained by the diverse candidates during an
interview process helps them to be better-prepared, and to be
more informed about the industry and the organizations that
they are seeking to join.
What we have learned over the years about the Rooney Rule
and the other equal opportunity initiatives developed in the
NFL is that alone, they do not guarantee positive outcomes for
diversity. Sustained success requires a commitment by those
making the decisions. We have seen that commitment by a number
of NFL teams. It is most apparent which teams have shown a
commitment to diversity of leadership and have created a D&I
strategy for their entire organization. Our goal is to work
with the NFL to expand this approach and to embrace diversity
as good and right for the game. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Graves can be found on page
28 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you very much. Dr. Sherbin, you
are now recognized for 5 minutes to give an oral presentation
of your testimony.
STATEMENT OF LAURA SHERBIN, VICE PRESIDENT, CULTURE@WORK
Ms. Sherbin. Thank you, Chairwoman Beatty, Ranking Member
Wagner, and members of the subcommittee, not just for the
invitation to come today, but also for your time and attention
to this very important agenda. Time is our scarcest resource,
and it is reflective of the importance of the mission that we
all come here today to solve, that we are all taking the time.
As you may know, I have done a great deal of research on
this topic, and have had the opportunity to partner with many
companies to help them achieve the goal that we are talking
about today. I believe it is a core responsibility of leading
companies and also of government to ensure that one of the
nation's greatest assets, our talent pool, is fully engaged to
its greatest potential for the benefit of individuals, the
benefit of companies, and the benefit of our collective Union.
Even as women are achieving degrees in record numbers, as
we all know, there are no women running major financial
services companies. Fewer than one in five have these roles,
according to the recent McKinsey & Company report. The concrete
ceiling remains firmly in place. And I know it is not for lack
of effort. I have been on the front lines with many of these
companies. Financial services companies were among the first to
embrace the cultivation of greater gender diversity, and 90
percent of them today say they are committed to it.
Despite decades of effort, the financial services sector's
gender equality movement has not made the necessary gains. Why?
Diversity focus tactics, as we have discussed, don't work
without an effort to create a truly inclusive culture that not
only attracts women but makes them feel valued and welcomed.
Diversity is being asked to attend the party. Inclusion is
being asked to dance. To truly change the ratios of women and
other marginalized groups in power, it is important to first
look at the factors that cause the gap and then devise
solutions to overcome them.
The first very critical factor is the value proposition of
the industry. Financial services careers are known for offering
lucrative salaries and benefits packages in exchange for high-
demand careers, but long hours, extensive travel, and personal
sacrifices make these roles often unsustainable not just for
women with children, but also to anyone with caregiving
responsibilities.
Relationship capital is the second area. This goes beyond
just mentors and sponsors. Relationships make or break a
career. It takes a village to raise a family, we all know that,
but it takes a village to advance your career in any industry
and to advance your personal agenda. According to Working
Mother Media research, women are considerably less likely than
men to receive advice on how to advance and to be invited to
the very critical tables. We also find that there are hidden
off-ramps within, especially, the financial services sectors.
Because the networks are notoriously closed, many women don't
get the critical opportunities to position themselves for
success. This includes P&L experience, but it stretches all the
way to development opportunities that ultimately lead to
promotions and pay raises.
And we all know that bias still undercuts opportunity in
this industry. What it will take is a secure commitment and
modeling from leaders. Any culture shift needs to start with
the support and participation of leadership. Leaders need to be
visible in their participation to make sure it happens, and to
articulate its importance. Diversity, I believe, is a business
problem, and needs to be treated as such. We also need to
ensure that we are measuring what matters and focusing on
accountability, conducting regular pay equity audits, and
ensuring that employees are being paid fairly for equal work.
Track not just the lagging indicators of diversity, the
representation, the level, and turnover, but also the leading
indicators of inclusion leader behaviors, candidate access to
stretch and development opportunities, and perception of bias
within the system, because when it comes to bias, perception is
reality. By treating diversity and inclusion like the business
problem it is, companies in the financial services industry can
make impressive strides towards a better future for the
industry overall. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Sherbin can be found on page
42 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you so very much. I thank all of
the witnesses for their powerful testimony and also for the
information that you provided for us. And now, I will recognize
myself for 5 minutes for a series of questions. Let me start by
saying that I like to be invited to the dance, and I certainly
like to dance, so I thank you for that. I am so glad, Mr.
Graves, that you talked about Dan Rooney, so I won't have to go
through what I have here.
His son visited me a couple of weeks ago, and he was so
intrigued with my Beatty Rule, which was patterned after the
Rooney Rule with the Federal Reserve, because what we found is
that in a hundred-year history, there had not been a person of
color, an African American, as one of the Presidents. And along
with a lot of other things, the very qualified Raphael Bostic,
in 2017, was made the President of the Federal Reserve out of
Atlanta.
But my question is based on what you talked about with the
NFL and all of your successes. What would you say to your
colleagues sitting here that we should do to make sure that we
get more minorities and women and people from Appalachia and
Veterans? How do we make this happen? If we don't have a Dan
Rooney and a Joyce Beatty, let's say, how do we make that
happen?
Mr. Graves. Thank you. I believe at his core that all of
the work and commitment, the great work that all of us do is
only a part of what is required for sustainable success behind
D&I. I believe that without an actual commitment by those who
are making the decisions, that foundation is at least wobbly if
not insecure. And what I found through my work with great
owners like Ed McCaskey of the Chicago Bears and Bill Bidwill
of the Arizona Cardinals is that diversity has to be
intentional, and it has to be an effort and a commitment by
those from the very top to make it happen.
And so, with all of the preparation programs that are
created, if you don't have a commitment by those who are making
the decisions, then our chances for success are just that,
chance.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. My time is running out, so I
am going to ask a series of questions and ask everyone to
respond to the same question. We are here with the ranking
member and colleagues on both sides of the aisle, because at
the end of our time here, we want to be able to say we made a
difference. So, tell me, what would be the number one thing you
would advise us to do as we are on this diversity and inclusion
journey? We will start with you, Ms. Sherbin.
Ms. Sherbin. The number one thing is measuring the leading
indicators of inclusion and diversity, creating transparency
around them, and holding ourselves and each other accountable
for reaching them.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. Ms. Mota?
Ms. Mota. What I would say to add to that is just being
aware of our own individual biases and our own capabilities
because I think the more that we are aware of ourselves and our
organizations, the more familiar and aware we become of others,
and helping that bridge of understanding.
Chairwoman Beatty. Ms. Tulshyan?
Ms. Tulshyan. I would really focus on the most
underrepresented voices. Whose voice is really not being heard
and go there and find out what are the institutional, and what
are the barriers that are holding that person and those
communities back and start from there.
Chairwoman Beatty. Mr. Guinyard?
Mr. Guinyard. I would say communication, being able to
ensure that we are sharing our goals and what our destinations
will be so that we are engaging everyone to participate in
initiatives. The other piece is pushing it down into the
organization so that everyone feels that they are accountable,
and it is not just stratified at the top.
Chairwoman Beatty. Mr. Graves?
Mr. Graves. I would encourage you to focus on a grassroots
program that grows diversity from the very bottom up through
organizations.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. Let me just wrap up quickly,
because I only have 5 seconds. What I also heard from all of
you was pay equity access, adjusting the interview process,
culture change, childcare, and equity in education. This was
very helpful to us, and I want to again thank you for being
here.
Now, I recognize my friend, the ranking member of the
subcommittee, Mrs. Wagner, for 5 minutes for questions.
Mrs. Wagner. I thank the chairwoman, always. Let me start
by asking unanimous consent that Ranking Member McHenry's
remarks be entered into the record.
Chairwoman Beatty. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. Wagner. Thank you. According to Mercer's When Women
Thrive report, women hold 26 percent of senior management
positions and only 15 percent of executive positions in the
finance industry. These figures have stayed relatively flat
over the past decade, sadly. Dr. Sherbin, why are we not seeing
more gains with respect to women and women of color in senior
management positions in the financial services industry?
Ms. Sherbin. The critical piece to understand is that while
the industry has done a lot of initiatives and programming on
this front, they have not changed core concentrations of where
access to power is in these industries.
They have not changed the work norms in the way work is
done in the same way honestly that some other sectors have.
Asking the very critical questions, do I need to travel? Do I
need to spend long hours in the office? Must I truly be
available 24/7? And should I come back 10 days after having a
child? These are all very critical questions to ask in terms of
how work is done, and then access to power in terms of
relationships and how you can advance in your career.
Mrs. Wagner. And you have been advising companies in this
regard, is that correct?
Ms. Sherbin. Absolutely.
Mrs. Wagner. Great. I would like to submit for the record,
Madam Chairwoman, the fifth annual women in the workplace study
conducted by Lean In and McKinsey & Company.
Chairwoman Beatty. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. Wagner. This study comprises data from 329 companies.
We have been talking about data, and Ms. Tulshyan, I
appreciated your comments about data being delivered and driven
by that--389 companies with a collective 13 million people on
their payrolls and shows that while real progress has been made
at the C-suite level, there is still much more progress to be
made for women trying to grasp that first rung of the
management ladder.
The study found that three main areas where companies
should focus their efforts to create a more inclusive office
that reaps the economic benefits we know come with a diverse
workforce, companies should focus on better understanding the
corporate pipeline, focusing on the culture of work and we have
talked a little bit about that, and turning commitment to
diversity into real action. And some of you are on the front
lines of doing that.
Dr. Sherbin, your research has concluded that mandates do
not work when trying to maintain a diverse workplace.
Diversifying the workforce is only one piece of that puzzle.
And the more crucial component to me is maintaining that
diversity. Can you talk us through how companies can do that?
Ms. Sherbin. Absolutely. Mandates, in the same way as
recruitment, they get people in a chair. They get them in the
seat. They don't ensure that their voice is heard, that they
are valued, that they are able to contribute. In fact, you will
find that most of the gains that we talked about in terms of
financial gains and innovation gains from having diversity, a
necessary condition is inclusion to ensure that people are able
to contribute to their full potential. It also ensures that
they will stay, and they will advance. Without inclusion,
diversity becomes a revolving door.
Mrs. Wagner. That is absolutely correct. And we have talked
a lot on this committee about the differences between diversity
and inclusion, about unconscious biases, about how we make a
workforce culture that doesn't have that revolving door, and I
am very concerned about those at the bottom rung and then being
able to maintain as they try and move up the ladder. Ms.
Tulshyan, do you have any comments in this regard, especially
when it comes to the inclusion side of things?
Ms. Tulshyan. Absolutely, and I actually want to take this
wonderful definition of diversity being invited to the party,
and inclusion being asked to dance. Verna Myers from Netflix
coined that, and added that equity is very central to this, and
equity is being part of the planning committee.
Understanding what are some of the institutional historical
barriers that have kept women and women of color out of these
very highly coveted roles and really seeking to eliminate those
barriers. And without that, we are not going to.
Mrs. Wagner. You are absolutely correct. And I wish I had
more time, but I do not. I will have to yield back, but I can
say that we also had discussions about the Rooney Rule not just
applying to the candidates but to those interviewing, and that
is absolutely key, I think, to what we are trying to sustain
here. I thank you all, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentlewoman from North Carolina, Ms. Adams for 5 minutes.
Ms. Adams. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and let me thank
all of you who are witnesses for being here today. We certainly
appreciate you taking the time and sharing your testimony. As
many of you have outlined, making an investment in diversity,
inclusion, and equity is not only the right thing to do, the
data show us that it makes good business sense. Companies and
organizations function more effectively, and experience
increased productivity and greater profitability.
In order to effectively create a culture of inclusion it
requires, as you said, intentionality and leadership. For far
too long, leaders of corporations that pay lip service to the
importance of diversity, and I am grateful that in this
subcommittee, led by our most capable chairwoman, we are
focused on identifying solutions and efforts that can will
disrupt the status quo.
When I first came to Congress, I was concerned about the
lack of focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs), so I launched the Congressional bipartisan HBCU
Caucus. I am a two-time graduate. I spent 40 years on the
campus of Bennett College at an HBCU in Greensboro. So, the
Caucus is focused on raising national awareness, educating
Members of Congress, and increasing Federal investments in
HBCUs. And every year, these schools produce more than 40
percent of Black engineers, healthcare professionals, and
lawyers, just to name a few.
When I meet with companies and financial institutions, I
always tell them that if HBCUs are not a part of the industry's
diversity and inclusion strategies, you are not doing it right.
HBCUs are a critical pipeline of talent, and cultivating strong
partnerships and relationships with the schools can provide
industries with an opportunity to diversify their workplaces.
I look forward to hearing more about the research and the
work that can be done, but let me ask this question. To
increase the diversity in law firms, and of course the legal
profession, some firms have implemented the Mansfield Rule,
where the firm considers in a new study at least 30 percent of
women, racial ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+
community.
Mr. Guinyard, your firm, Goodwin, is considered a leader
when it comes to diversity. So, can you share whether the
Mansfield Rule is working at Goodwin and other firms in
increasing the diversity and leadership?
Mr. Guinyard. Yes. At Goodwin, it has definitely had an
impact. As I stated earlier, we have increased our
representation on our most senior leadership committees to 35
percent diversity. In addition to that, it has also elevated
the visibility of focusing on ensuring that there are diverse
slates. There is research that states that the more you
increase the final slate of panelists for positions, you
increase the likelihood of offering an opportunity or elevating
someone to a position who has a certain kind of diversity,
whether it is race, gender, ethnicity, or LGBTQ+.
I wanted to go back to your earlier question around HBCUs.
One initiative that we are partnering with as we talked about
earlier is the Move the Needle Initiative. One of the things
that we will be doing with these other firms and also these
general counsels is exploring additional schools, law schools
that often tend to get overlooked to find that top talent. We
tend to kind of fish in the same ponds, the same talent, and so
our approach is to really find diverse talent and to add in,
create, or expand the pool in really exploring different
universities where we can find racial and ethnic diversity.
Ms. Adams. How does public disclosure help law firms and
other organizations be accountable more for improving diversity
and inclusion?
Mr. Guinyard. First, the Mansfield Rule, in the first
iteration of it, we had roughly 40 firms sign on, and it has
increased to roughly 60 or 70 firms as a result of the
recognition, of being certified. But public disclosure creates
a level of accountability. And if you are familiar with law
firms, we don't want to put numbers out there because we don't
want to really have targets or quotas, or the assumption
thereof.
Ms. Adams. Okay. Let me move on if I can. I hate to disrupt
you. I wanted to ask Ms. Tulshyan a question. What steps can we
take to help industry shed their implicit and explicit biases?
Ms. Tulshyan. Thank you.
Ms. Adams. We have 24 seconds.
Ms. Tulshyan. That's a loaded question for 24 seconds.
Really quickly, it has to come from the education and personal
awareness building around personal biases. And what we find is
a lot of leaders, they operate from good intentions, they want
to do the right thing, they want to engage more with women and
people of color, they just don't sit down and think about how
their actions are contributing to systemic bias. And fishing
from the same pond, hiring people who look like them.
Ms. Adams. Thank you very much, and I will probably send
you some questions in writing for the record. Thank you very
much. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I yield back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Kustoff, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Kustoff. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for convening
today's hearing, and thanks to the witnesses for appearing this
afternoon. Mr. Graves, if I could, you have had a long and
distinguished career in the NFL, and you have talked about the
importance of the Rooney Rule. Out of curiosity, does the NFL
have a Rooney-type rule as it relates to ownership of the
teams?
Mr. Graves. Not that I am aware of, but I can check into
it.
Mr. Kustoff. It does seem like if the ownership were more
reflective of the executives or vice versa, that in theory--I
don't want to put you on the spot because you worked with the
NFL--that could put some pressure on the NFL to further
increase diversity among its coaching and executive ranks. Is
that a fair statement?
Mr. Graves. I would assume that it is fair.
Mr. Kustoff. Dr. Sherbin, in the opening statements that
were made by the witnesses, at least two of you talked about
mentoring, and maybe also, a couple of you talked about
networking. Can you talk about, as it relates to your study,
the importance of networking and mentoring as it relates to
growing diversity--which you have talked about in the financial
services world, so I thought I would ask you whether it relates
to financial services or other industries, if you could?
Ms. Sherbin. Absolutely. Mentoring and networking, and in
particular sponsorship, extends far beyond the financial
services industry. It is very simply the way power is
transferred in our society. You see these relationships
everywhere. It is about seeing someone junior than you,
believing in them, investing in their success, and putting them
up for a promotion. As we all know, promotions happen in rooms
that we are not privy to, so what we need is someone in that
room to say our name, and that is a member of our network,
ideally our sponsor.
Mr. Kustoff. Is there a way to increase the mentoring and
the networking? Are there ways?
Ms. Sherbin. There are very key ways in which companies
have made great strides. One is exposure and opportunity, and
truly ensuring that leaders see talent not just that they would
naturally see. Also, training and proactive education. To teach
and coach not just leaders as potential sponsors, but also
potential proteges.
The right way to cultivate these relationships across
differences. The fact of the matter is we live in a very
segregated society and this means that we are often asking
employees and companies to create relationships across
differences when they have not done it in their personal lives.
And we need to provide education so that they are successful.
Mr. Kustoff. Thank you. If I could, Dr. Sherbin, there was
a 2017 GAO study that found that overall representation and
management in financial firms has slowly increased over the
last decade. And if I could, as it relates specifically to
financial firms, can you address the cultural changes to
increase inclusion for both women and minorities?
Ms. Sherbin. In order to really address inclusion for women
and minorities, it is around reading of the bias, teaching
individuals to work across differences, and holding individuals
accountable for not just diversity but also inclusion, which I
will tell you, while it is harder to measure than diversity, it
is absolutely possible. Financial services industries can
measure anything. I assure you that they can measure inclusion.
Mr. Kustoff. And if I could, along those lines, can you
compare how financial services firms are doing compared with
other industries?
Ms. Sherbin. In many other industries, they are ahead of
financial services firms in terms of representation, and we
have seen it in many, many reports and through many data
sources.
Mr. Kustoff. Thank you. I yield back the balance of my
time.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, Ms. Dean, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Madam Chairwoman, she stepped away.
Chairwoman Beatty. Then, the Chair would like to recognize
you, the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Garcia of Texas.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Thank you so much, and I am sure if
she were here, she would have yielded to me anyway.
Chairwoman Beatty. Yes.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Thank you. And thank you again, Madam
Chairwoman, for putting this hearing together. I think you are
absolutely right, you can have a seat at the table, but if you
are not given a voice or are not part of the conversation, you
may not really be there. And certainly, when I go to a dance, I
sure do want to dance, but I would rather dance rock-and-roll
than the waltz.
So, what the dance is all about is important, too. And it
takes commitment, doesn't it? Mr. Graves, I really liked what
you said. No matter what we do, it comes from actual commitment
to whatever program, or whatever initiative, or whatever plan
we want to put in place. And it is something quite frankly that
we cannot legislate, or can we? Do you have any ideas of what
we should do to kind of ensure that some of these companies
demonstrate actual commitment, whether it is through an
incentive or a penalty or a bonus of some sort? Do you have any
thoughts on that? What can we do to get a commitment from
people?
Mr. Graves. I think you are referring to a matter of the
heart. I think with all the data that we have about the
positive effects of diversity, I think it still comes down to
individuals making a decision about what they believe is not
only good for society but right. And I think you have to have
more of those type of people at the table in the room where the
decisions are made, and I think that is the first step to
really changing our culture.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Okay. Dr. Sherbin, do you have any
thoughts on that?
Ms. Sherbin. I am going to offer something that might be a
little counterintuitive. We spend a lot of time in these
studies asking individuals who are not able to rise up in
organizations why they believe they are not achieving the
success that they need. We should also ask the majority
individuals within companies what is not working for them in
terms of including those who are different than themselves.
Many industries will talk about the frozen middle or middle
managers.
These managers, traditionally for large companies, are the
hardest portion of the organization to budge. They are the ones
who have serious day-to-day pressures and don't always have the
time to do something differently. And intervening with that
group at that level to hear from them why they are not able to
champion and support and do something different, as you have
said, every day, and then addressing their challenges could be
a very powerful step in truly changing behavior.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Ms. Mota, you mentioned engagement
with affinity groups and groups other than themselves. Have you
seen that work anywhere? Is there a lesson learned in something
that you have seen, or wherever you have been exposed to
companies with certain organizations, certain networks that
then they can see the value of inclusion and diversity and has
it changed behavior?
Ms. Mota. Absolutely. I think it is also known as a best
practice, and in terms of whether it is employee resource
groups or business resource groups that are there. There is
Latino, African American, Women, LGBTQ+, but one of the values
with our partnership and working with those affinity groups is
that it is bringing in an executive level, whether it is
Latino, Latina, or executive-level women, executive-level
African Americans, it is bringing visibility to those folks
through those affinity networks that they may not see on a day-
to-day basis at their own companies.
And there is a study done by the Center for Talent
Innovation specifically on Latinos at work, and the study says
that 76 percent of Latinos in corporate America repress some
portion of their identity, they cover, and those who do repress
are the ones who are being promoted because when they look at
the executive presence, they do not see themselves reflected,
and in part of the study and the research, it says that they
feel they have to be someone else in order to get to those
higher-level ranks within their organizations.
And so, affinity groups provide that outlet not only to
share the challenges but also to be able to connect with
executive-level folks who represent the same affinity that they
can aspire to and get advice from through those networks.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. Okay. Thank you. And since I am sure
Representative Dean yielded her time to me, can I have another
5 minutes for myself?
[laughter]
Chairwoman Beatty. The Chair will give you another minute
to ask another question.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. I just want to quickly ask Mr. Graves,
it is a simple yes or no, unless you feel like you have to
elaborate, is your Mansfield Rule also possible to apply to
making partner, because that is a tougher nut to crack?
Mr. Graves. Yes.
Ms. Garcia of Texas. It is? Very good. Thank you. I yield
back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Gonzalez, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and
thank you everybody for being here and for all the work that
you do on this important issue, and for all the attention that
you have taken with us here today. As I say most times I am in
this subcommittee, I have been so proud of the work that we
have done thus far shining a light on a very important area
that is very difficult to solve. And I think we have made great
strides in gathering information and best practices across
different industries, not just the financial services sector,
but I'm really excited to have you all here. Mr. Graves, I want
to start with you.
Like you, I come from the NFL. I was a player at one point,
and I want to thank you for being here and sharing how the
Rooney Rule has positively impacted your experience working in
the NFL. The effect of the Rooney Rule discussed in your
testimony is astounding, and I think it shows how effective the
Rule has been in the NFL. I, for one, certainly have benefited
from it.
I played for Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell, two African-
American coaches, and two people I consider to be incredible
leaders, and whom I am just blessed to call friends, frankly.
And as you may know, Chairwoman Beatty has a great bill similar
to the Rooney Rule, H.R. 281, the Beatty Rule, which would
require that in making the appointment of a bank president, the
Federal Reserve Bank must interview at least one diverse
candidate. I was glad to support this bill as a co-sponsor and
vote in favor of the bill's final passage. I know that the NFL
continues to tweak the Rooney Rule and kind of look for ways to
make it more effective and better, and I was hoping you could
maybe give us an update so we might be able to think through
what--we just voted on it, but what might be next for us? Where
is the NFL going in this regard?
Mr. Graves. Thank you, Congressman. One thing I think it is
imperative to point out is that our work in this area is
evolutionary; it is not stagnant. And since the Rule was
conceived and implemented back in 2003, I think it was, we have
done things to enhance the Rule. Initially, it was a
requirement to the teams to interview one minority or diverse
candidate.
Now, the Rule requires that you interview multiple
candidates. We also asked owners or decision-makers to keep
notes that can be requested by the commissioner. We also ask
that the final decision-maker be involved throughout the
process and not at intermittent points. These are the types of
things that we are doing to ensure that the Rule becomes
stronger and that we move toward the results that we are
looking for.
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio. Some more documentation and then more
candidates, generally.
Mr. Graves. That is correct.
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio. Thank you. Ms. Mota, turning to you,
connecting diverse talent pools to companies that would greatly
benefit from more diversity can often be a challenge from what
we hear. In your work at the Hispanic Alliance for Career
Enhancement, you focus on talent acquisition and ensuring
diverse individuals have access to programs that help to
develop leadership skills, specifically. I think that makes a
ton of sense, and I commend you for that. Can you discuss how
these programs have helped to positively impact the young
professionals you have worked with and the companies they have
gone on to work for?
Ms. Mota. Sir, absolutely. Many of the folks that we are
working with are, like me, the first generation to obtain a
college education in their families, and the first generation
going into a professional workforce, and so with the various
programs that we offer, we have been able to develop a strong
multi-generational support network where folks more senior in
their careers are able to mentor and really give advice to
those who are starting off in their careers.
Because many of us are the first ones going into this
professional landscape and understanding what are the nuances,
what are the things that you do, how do you build strategic
networks, those strategic relationships. And so, having those
through our programs' candid conversations have really
catapulted the careers of individuals where they are going back
a lot more confident, but also know that they have a place with
our organization to ask those questions where perhaps may not
feel as comfortable in their place of work.
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio. Awesome. Thank you for your answers,
and for all that you have all been doing on this topic. And
with that, I will yield back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Gottheimer, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Gottheimer. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and thank you
to all the witnesses for being here today. According to a study
conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, moms,
especially those with young children, are being left behind in
the labor force in America. That is why I have co-sponsored
several bills including the Healthy Families Act and the
promoting Affordable Childcare for Everyone Act that would give
greater flexibility to working families and help drive up the
inclusion of all parents in the workforce.
We want to make sure that all moms who want to work can
work. Dr. Sherbin, what are some examples of flexible work
arrangements that can help increase the retention and promotion
of working mothers, in your opinion?
Ms. Sherbin. Overall, in terms of flexible working
programs, one thing that we always counsel is that they should
be one-size-fits-one, not one-size-fits-all. The way that one
working mother will choose to work is incredibly different from
someone else and it is simply what works in their family. They
might be the sole breadwinner. They might be the primary
breadwinner. They may just be working to advance their personal
mission. So, it would be one-size-fits-all.
Another very critical success factor that we found working
with a lot of companies across industries on this is that
flexible work arrangements not be positioned as accommodations
for working moms. This immediately reinforces the stereotypes
that moms can't work as hard as their colleagues or their
counterparts. I have four children, and I can assure you that I
work very hard.
But when flexible work arrangements are positioned as ways
that we can all do our work more efficiently and effectively,
it benefits not just moms, who arguably need them the most, but
everyone at our companies to recognize our lives outside of
work and the sustainability of the 35-year careers that we want
our employees to have.
Mr. Gottheimer. Thank you. I agree, and that is incredible.
My wife is also a superhero and I don't know how she does it.
She also works full time. It is just incredible. In my
remaining time, I would like to talk about how we can create a
larger slate of diverse candidates in top positions. As many of
you know, the National Football League adopted the Rooney Rule,
which requires League teams to interview minority candidates
for head coaching and senior football operations positions, in
order to address a lack of diversity among head coaches and
executives.
Mr. Graves, I noticed that you used to work as a general
manager for the Arizona Cardinals, as we were just talking
about, and as a lifelong New York Giants fans, I am sorry. I am
proud to support a team that utilized the Rooney Rule when
Jerry Reese was brought on as general manager, and led the
Giants to two titles, as you probably remember. What data is
there, Mr. Graves, available about the increase in the number
of diverse executives and coaches at the NFL since the
implementation of the Rooney Rule? Do you believe the Rooney
Rule has been effective?
Mr. Graves. Yes, I do. Since the implementation of the
Rule--let me just say that prior to the implementation of the
Rule, there were six ethnically diverse candidates who had
served in the role of head coach, and since the implementation
of the Rule, we have seen, I believe, 19, and a good number of
those have had successful runs with Super Bowl representation,
people like Tony Dungy and others who have been there.
We have seen the Rule extend to successful general
managers, just like you mentioned Jerry Reese, and I had the
privilege of working with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2008
Super Bowl during that time. So, it has been very successful in
the terms of getting candidates to the table and being exposed.
But obviously, we have work to do to sustain those numbers.
We are not at those levels that we used to be and obviously
we are working to get back to those levels and beyond. But I
think the Rule is imperative to the sustained success that we
would like to achieve.
Mr. Gottheimer. Did you learn things you think other
industries can follow?
Mr. Graves. I am sure I have quite a bit to share with
respect to the benefits of the Rule, and I would certainly
extend conversations on that some other time.
Mr. Gottheimer. I would love to spend time with you on
that. Thank you so much. I only have a little time left, so I
will yield back. I know Mr. Green has some questions.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the
gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, who is also the Chair of our
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And I thank the
witnesses for appearing, and I thank my colleague for the offer
of time. How much of the lack of inclusivity is due to
unconscious bias versus conscious bias?
Ms. Tulshyan. I guess I will try to address that.
Statistically, it is very hard to measure that because this is
one of those things where I believe it will just be very hard
to pull the data. I have been looking at academic research
around affinity bias where essentially, it is not that you are
trying to discriminate against a certain group, but you have a
more favorable opinion of a group that you belong to so it
could be by race, by gender, by education, by background, by
favorite football team, etc.
And so, a lot of the work I do with my clients is to
identify how those affinity biases show up, especially because
largely I think it is very hard to deny the research on why
diversity and inclusion makes business sense. I meet a lot of
people who really want to do the right thing, they just don't
know how, and so I do think that there is a lot of this that is
unconscious and people wanting to do the right thing just not
knowing how to. I wish I could have a statistic for you.
Mr. Green. Candidly speaking, I did not expect you to have
statistical information. Dear friends, I have great
appreciation for the Rooney Rule, and the Mansfield Rule, but I
would like to visit with you very tersely about the money rule.
Is there anything better than indexing the CEOs salary,
bonuses, golden parachute, indexing it to money? You produce
for me. I am not a Board Chair, I am speaking to the CEO. You
produce for me a diverse workforce and I will double your
salary.
Is there anything that tops the love of money? The money
rule? On prior occasions--thank you, your silence speaks
volumes. I appreciate it. On prior occasions, we have visited
this issue. This is not the first time, Madam Chairwoman, and I
must compliment you on the subject matter, but on at least one
other occasion, we had someone who explained that fixing
bonuses and indexing pay raises engender success. I don't know
how we can get to the point where we can require this, but it
just seems that the will to do this is what is required at the
top.
In my office, we have diversity. The calls, I will it. I
desired it. It must be and it happens. And by the way,
everybody is capable, competent, and qualified. There is no
shortage of women who are qualified, no shortage of people of
color who are qualified, or LGBTQ+, just a shortage of people
with the will to make it happen. I yield back the balance of my
time.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you very much. The Chair now
recognizes the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, Ms. Dean, for 5
minutes.
Ms. Dean. Forgive me, Chairwoman Beatty and subcommittee
members, I did have to step out to a Financial Services
Committee hearing, so I apologize for doing that zigzag. But I
am pleased to be here with you, Madam Chairwoman. And thank you
to all the witnesses for raising your voices on this important
issue. I was so delighted to be appointed to this new standing
subcommittee, and I took the chairwoman's command to heart.
During the district work weeks in the summer time, we held
roundtables on diversity and inclusion.
We held three different ones, one on color, one on LGBTQ,
and one on disability, and they were very enlightening from
folks whether it is industry or government who thought that
they were doing things in a diverse way. Sometimes, they look
around, and to Mr. Green's point, just look around and say,
``We are not being intentional at all.''
We thought we were, but as I look around here, it is not
happening. Some of the things, some of the takeaways that we
found, whether it was business leaders, government leaders,
advocacy groups, one of the most precious stories came from the
superintendent of a local school district. He mentioned that
when analyzing their hiring data, the district had a highly
diverse initial slate of candidates that would dramatically dip
after the first rounds of interviews.
They are attracting a diverse base, and when they reviewed
the data, what they realized was the reviewing panel itself was
the problem, and some of you have spoken to this. The majority
white panels tended to pick people who look like them. So, all
of these diverse candidates, but many of them fell by the
wayside through unintentional bias, I would suggest. Ms. Mota,
you describe similar outcomes in your own personal work history
in your testimony. Can you describe successful hiring practices
that can limit unintentional biases?
Ms. Mota. Yes. One would be with the selection committee.
It is ensuring that there is a diverse representation on the
hiring committee. There is research by McKinsey that talks
about how leadership teams that are able to build more of an
innovative organization and boost profits represent diversity
from four core areas: country of origin; in terms of their
industry background, as a point of diversity; as we discussed,
gender; and being from a career pathway.
They labeled these four in the McKinsey report as being the
top key factors when having not only a diverse candidate pool,
but also diverse in terms of a selection committee to be able
to help eliminate some of the barriers or the biases that may
occur. And then, of course, in addition to that is ensuring
that there are several tools out there, and there are; there
are implicit bias tools free online, various trainings and
resources to be able to ensure that perhaps before the hiring
takes place, each of the individuals have to be required to
take that assessment.
Ms. Dean. Anybody else want to add to that? And then, I
wanted to shift to diversity by way of disability. And I am
wondering if any of you can speak to that? We had a terrific
roundtable about disability, and I guess the shocking thing is
the high percentage of folks with various disabilities who are
underemployed or unemployed. And I am struggling just trying to
help constituents match up to employment and employers who are
actively intentionally seeking to be inclusive in that way. Do
you have any best practices in any of your organizations or you
have come across in your own research?
Ms. Sherbin. I was grateful enough to have the opportunity
to partner with organizations that work on this front and
conduct a piece of research. We found that there is not only
significant underemployment of individuals with disabilities,
but also a significant portion of the workforce who does
currently have a disability. It may be an invisible disability.
They do not feel comfortable disclosing it, and as a result
they do not have the accommodations they need to truly be
successful.
We often talk about women and people of color working 2 or
4 times harder than their peers. These are individuals working
30 times harder than their peers. They are not disclosing that
they cannot hear in meetings or see properly to read slides or
to read that, and they are not able to ask for accommodations.
And companies by proactively soliciting information,
signaling inclusion around this front, and addressing
accommodations in a very respectful way, have made a lot of
strides.
Ms. Dean. That is really terrific, and maybe you would
share that research product with our committee?
Ms. Sherbin. I would be delighted to.
Ms. Dean. That's very valuable. Thank you very much. Thank
you, Madam Chairwoman. I yield back.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. I was going to give you
another 30 seconds since your colleague probably did not tell
you that she asked for some of your time.
[laughter]
But the Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from
Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Pressley. I am an only child. I do not share anything.
I am kidding.
Thank you, Chairwoman Beatty, and I want to thank
Chairwoman Waters for her good wisdom and leadership in
creating this standing subcommittee in the first place, which
provides us the forum to address these critical issues.
I am wearing two hats here. One is as a proud member
appointed to this pioneering subcommittee, but I am also the
Vice Chair of the newly re-launched Task Force on Aging and
Families. I know we were speaking about those efforts critical
to retaining a younger workforce like providing childcare, and
that is important.
Ageism certainly exists on both sides, but there is a
growing trend of discrimination and barriers to employment for
our aging workforce. You know, thank God, due to medical
advances, we are living longer, but people are also working
longer, and not just doing that for enrichment; they are doing
it because they have to. Many older Americans are living below
the poverty line.
And in fact, since 2011, 10,000 people in the United States
have turned 65-years-old every day, a trend that will continue
through 2030. In 2012, only 12.5 percent of those over 65 were
working. In 2016, this share jumped to nearly 20 percent. And
these projections are expected to continue to grow.
So, I wonder if you could offer when it comes to our aging
population both living and working longer than ever before,
when we talk about diversity and inclusion in the workforce,
what can we do to make sure that we are not forgetting our
seniors?
Dr. Sherbin, companies often provide incentives and
competitive benefits packages to recruit and retain younger
employees. What are some of the incentives you think could
attract and retain members of our aging community who have life
experience and great wisdom and skills to offer?
Ms. Sherbin. Indeed, it is the ability to capitalize on
that wisdom and skill. In research that I have done, when you
ask individuals who are relatively young in their career, at
just the age of 50, a considerable number of them will say that
they don't believe they have any more trajectory to advance in
their career. And it is an incredibly disengaging moment to
think there is nowhere more senior that I can rise because I am
seen as too old in my position. So, it truly is halfway to the
top at all ages. That is incredibly critical to keeping this
talent cohort.
This talent cohort also intersects with the last
conversation that we had. They are living much, much longer,
but they are also more likely to be working with a disability.
And figuring out the right accommodations to ensure that they
can do their jobs in the extraordinary ways that they can
deliver is a very critical piece of ensuring that they can
deliver.
Ms. Pressley. Would anyone else like to contribute to that
before I move on?
Ms. Tulshyan. Really quickly, I just want to say that there
is incredible research to show that intersection between,
accommodations and policies that would work really well for
working moms like flexible work arrangements, paid family, and
family leave, not just as soon as you give birth, etc. and
there is a really good now, I think, intersection that show
that it works for anybody. Millennials want a workforce where
they can avail themselves of parental leave, for example. The
aging population would certainly benefit from having paid time
off to ensure that they are able to take care of their health.
So, we really see a win-win across various sectors, and I
think that is very key in trying to address this.
Ms. Pressley. Thank you. You actually read my mind. You
answered my next question, which had been around examples of
flexible work arrangements that could support our aging
workforce. I thank you for getting ahead of me on that one. The
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects
applicants and employees ages 40 and older from discrimination
on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, and
compensation.
What are some additional protections we should be
considering to better protect our aging population from
discrimination in the workforce? Any thoughts? I know this is
not the subject matter, but there is an intersectionality in
these issues.
Ms. Sherbin. I can add something, if you would like. Not
just the protection but also increased avenues for reporting,
and reporting in very safe ways. I have done a lot of work
around sexual harassment and areas of explicit bias, and these
are incredibly underreported. All issues of discrimination are
incredibly underreported and as a result are not addressed.
Ms. Pressley. And I love the accountability point, that
what gets measured, gets done. So, thank you. Thank you, Madam
Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Beatty. Thank you. I would like to ask unanimous
consent to add the following articles and reports to the
record: Women in the Workplace 2019 by McKinsey & Company, Wall
Street Journal, Where Women Fall Behind At Work, the First Step
Into Management, and the Women of Color Invisible, Excluded,
and Constantly On guard. I would also like to submit an article
by Sheryl Sandberg and Rachel Thomas entitled, ``The Gender Gap
Just Isn't Fair, It Is Bad for Business.'' And lastly, I would
like to enter into the record, ``Women in the Workplace, the
First Step is the Steepest.'' Without objection, it is so
ordered.
I would like to thank all of our witnesses for their
testimony today and for giving us so much of your time.
The Chair notes that some Members may have additional
questions for this panel, which they may wish to submit in
writing. Without objection, the hearing record will remain open
for 5 legislative days for Members to submit written questions
to these witnesses and to place their responses in the record.
Also, without objection, Members will have 5 legislative days
to submit extraneous materials to the Chair for inclusion in
the record.
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