A 3-D rendering of the COVID-19 virus. (Source: Shutterstock)
CUES in Madison, Wis., released a special report last week on credit union board effectiveness during the pandemic and diversity, equity and inclusion on credit union boards.
The 21-page report, "COVID-19 and DEI: Revolution & Evolution in the Credit Union Community, The State of Credit Union Governance 2021," drew on survey data collected from 182 leaders in the financial cooperatives sector. The majority of respondents were from credit unions located in the United States, representing those with both small and large assets. Participants primarily included board members, CEOs and senior staff.
One of the report's findings revealed that prior to the pandemic about 86% of credit union boards held a mix of in-person and virtual board meetings, and 90% of credit unions transitioned to only virtual board and committee meetings after the pandemic began.
Before the pandemic, about half of the survey's participants found it easy to add value to board discussions during virtual meetings. However, after the pandemic started, more than 75% of respondents indicated that they found it easy to add value to board discussions when everyone attended virtually, compared to before the pandemic when meetings included a mix of remote and in-person attendees, suggesting that board meetings are more effective when all participants attend either remotely or in person, according to the report.
Regarding DEI issues, the CUES report found credit union leaders were more comfortable and have more frequent conversations when their board had DEI policies in place.
However, seven out of the eight demographic groups are underrepresented on credit union boards, the CUES report found. The demographic groups included those under 65 years old, women, non-whites, persons under 40 years old, persons not born in the U.S. or Canada, veterans, persons with disabilities and Native Americans.
For example, women account for 51% of the U.S. population, but only 35% sit on credit union boards, while non-whites make up 37% of the American population but only 16% are on credit union boards. And while Americans under 40 years old account for 38% of the U.S. population, just 10% of young people serve on credit union boards.
The CUES report also found that veterans account for 7% of the American population and 9% serve on credit union boards, and while 79% of the American population is under 65 years old, 54% are serving on credit union boards.
CUES produced the report in partnership with Quantum Governance L3C, and the David and Sharon Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
"The credit union industry, like much of the world, was rocked by two significant events in 2020 and into 2021 – an unprecedented global pandemic and the re-emergence of a widespread movement dedicated to social justice," Michael Daigneault, CEO of Quantum Governance, L3C, said. "We set out to discover how these two issues are affecting credit union leaders today, and we were able to offer recommendations based on our results. By making this report available to everyone in the industry, our hope is that credit unions of all sizes can find value in our findings and implement our recommendations to strengthen their governance effectiveness."
The free report is available at cues.org/GovernanceReport2021.
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