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The Network of Latino Credit Union Professionals and the African-American Credit Union Coalition will announce a new initiative, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Partnership, during a networking event Tuesday evening at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference.
Through the DEI partnership, the AACUC and NLCUP will be focusing their combined efforts to provide actionable strategies and counsel to credit union organizations to implement diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout the industry.
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"Too often organizations set up a task force that has individuals doing a lot of talking, however, the needle doesn't move to affect change," the DEI Partnership said in a prepared statement. "AACUC and NLCUP will hold their organizations accountable and continue to ask the hard questions that will help to move the credit union movement forward."
The industry has little data on statistics of people of color in leadership positions at credit unions in the board room or in the executive suite, according to the DEI Partnership.
The absence of research documenting the numbers of minorities in positions of authority is an opportunity for credit union leaders and decision makers to come together to embrace and adopt the 8th Cooperative principle – diversity, equity and inclusion, which was penned by Maurice R. Smith, CEO of the $2.2 billion Local Government Federal Credit Union and the $42 million Civic Federal Credit Union, both based in Raleigh, N.C., the DEI Partnership said.
Smith, an AACUC board member, served as the first African American to chair CUNA's board of directors in 2018.
Inclusiv, (formerly known as the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions) is supporting NLCUP and AACUC in this new partnership.
For more information on how credit unions and other organizations can join this effort, send an email to [email protected].
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
