Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Role of CUs


In a recent CUNA News Podcast and in remarks made earlier this week by National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Rodney E. Hood, credit unions are encouraged to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at their institutions and in their communities.

CUNA News Podcast: How CUs Can Serve Members of the LGBTQ Community

In this CUNA News Podcast, Linda Bodie, CEO of Element Federal Credit Union in Charleston, West Virginia and one of the co-founders of CU Pride, discusses what credit unions can do to effectively serve LGBTQ members.

Bodie talks about how credit unions can find that “secret sauce” and serve members of the LGBTQ community and what Element Federal Credit Union does. She also discussed CU Pride, an organization that advocates for the LGBTQ community in the credit union movement.

You can listen and subscribe to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple’s iTunes StoreSpotifyGoogle Play, and Stitcher Radio.

Hood Calls for Greater Diversity, Inclusion

NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood delivered a keynote speech at the 43rd Credit Union Leadership Convention calling for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“For credit unions, in particular, these events have taken on added significance because they highlight inequities that have long existed within the communities they serve throughout the United States,” Chairman Hood said. “The industry’s mantra of People Helping People can also serve as a useful moral guidepost for how we can transform today’s challenges into an opportunity for understanding, inclusion, and healing.”

His remarks, which were delivered virtually, are available on the NCUA’s website.

“Unfortunately, organizations and executive leaders far too often treat diversity as simply a ‘human resources’ issue,” Hood noted. “To be truly effective though, diversity requires a commitment to cultural change at every level and must extend throughout the organization. It cannot simply be a matter of “checking the boxes” to show that you’ve got the right proportional representation of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people in the C-suite or on a corporate board.”