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Credit unions seeking assistance with crafting and implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program now have the option of receiving guidance from CUNA Mutual Group.
The Madison, Wis.-based company announced on Tuesday the launch of its DEI Services, which gives credit unions the opportunity to work directly with CUNA Mutual Group's DEI staff and advisors to assess current DEI efforts and guide a plan – tailored to the credit union's specific needs and resources – to activate or accelerate them, according to the announcement.
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CUNA Mutual Group said its DEI Services teach credit unions how to successfully develop DEI efforts in these three focus areas:
- Workforce: Creating an inclusive and equitable experience for staff to thrive, and viewing business operations through a DEI lens.
- Marketplace: Understanding the financial needs of the credit union's existing membership and identifying opportunities to better serve members and potential members through an informed multicultural business strategy.
- Community: Building on the shared credit union mission to improve financial well-being for all through community engagement and investment.
"We believe DEI is central to who we are and critically important for our industry," Angela Russell, chief diversity officer for CUNA Mutual Group, stated. "The credit union system is built on the idea of 'people helping people,' and we cannot make that founding principle true for all without DEI at the forefront. We are excited for the opportunity to work with more credit unions and our partners in the credit union movement to advance DEI. The number of multicultural consumers is increasing, and member needs are changing. Credit unions who are proactively addressing those shifts will be better suited to serve existing members, grow with new ones and improve our financial system for all."
Opal Tomashevska, director of CUNA Mutual Group's Multicultural Center of Expertise, which the company launched in 2017 to better understand, better serve and identify business opportunities with multicultural consumers, stated, "We are excited to extend the insights we've gained to credit unions in new ways and accelerate their ability to grow financially and empower the community to achieve a brighter financial future."
According to 2021 research from CUNA Mutual Group, 61% of new credit union growth comes from multicultural consumers.
CUNA Mutual Group recently completed a pilot program for its DEI Services, which included participation from the $1.2 billion, Salem, Ore.-based Maps Credit Union. Speaking about the program in Tuesday's news release, Maps Chief People Officer Scott Sadler stated, "We learned about ourselves and ultimately humanity as a whole. Maps Credit Union is moving forward utilizing this experience to inform day-to-day conversations with our teams, and member and community engagement, and we have embedded what we have learned into our core values."
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
