Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Guiding Principles

Foster a deep appreciation among participants in the structured finance industry around the value of tangible, visible, and demonstrable diversity at our firms – at all levels, and particularly at the senior levels – and promote understanding of how such diversity increases the industry’s ability to serve the real economy.
Enhance access and long-term success in the structured finance industry for people of color, women, and LGBTQ+.
Establish and hold ourselves as an organization accountable for real change, including instituting key performance metrics and sharing these results broadly.
Create a community where industry participants share best practices, ideas, and challenges so that we can all learn from one another and make progress together.
Conduct regular research analyzing our industry’s impact on communities of color, and work to ensure that progress is made to close the inequality gap in credit access to these communities across the country.

Join Our Conversation

Join the SFA DEI Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will work closely with SFA leadership and will serve an active role in shaping the goals, objectives, and priorities of SFA’s DEI initiative. Key focus areas will include aggregating best practices, conceptualizing engagement opportunities, and ultimately designing our industry’s “network of networks.”

Email [email protected] to learn more.

Get Involved

Join SFA’s DEI Membership

SFA’s DEI membership is open to all industry participants, regardless of SFA membership status, and is complimentary to join. By signing up, you will be notified of the latest news, developments, and networking opportunities in conjunction with the initiative.

Email [email protected] to learn more.

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Conversation Starters

SFA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Survey

SFA is asking DEI leaders to complete a brief survey on their company’s current DEI policies and practices to give us valuable input as we shape our industrywide DEI initiative. If you are unable to access the survey, please email [email protected]

Complete Survey

We Need More Women and People of Color in Finance

Read SFA CEO Michael Bright’s February 2020 Op-Ed in Thrive Global about how more diversity in Wall Street’s C-suites could be a key ingredient in preventing the next financial crisis.

Diversity in Finance - Learning from the broader American experience

CNN’s W. Kamau Bell and SFA CEO Michael Bright discuss the importance of actively pursuing diversity in the workplace.

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The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap

Mehrsa Baradaran, UC Irvine Law professor and author of the above titled book, explores how a segregated economy limits access to capital in communities of color and perpetuates a cycle of poverty.

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A Conversation with CHCI on Diversity in our Industry

Marco A. Davis, President & CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), and SFA CEO Michael Bright discuss the impact on the Hispanic community of COVID-19, institutional bias, and the ongoing protests, as well as how our industry can help Latin youth gain access to jobs in finance.

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40th Anniversary of SEO Career

Since 1980, SEO Career has provided training and resources to over 7,000 underrepresented students nationwide, allowing them to secure positions of leadership across Wall Street and Corporate America. This video highlights the successes achieved by their alumni, as well as the progress being made toward creating a more equitable society and diverse

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Resources

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How The Advancement Of Black Women Will Build A Better Economy For All

Black women in America face several hurdles to success, particularly regarding educational and professional opportunities, with the white-Black wage gap for female professionals at $12,700 in 2019. These inequities also mean lost productivity and lost economic growth.

These 10 Black Bankers Are Reshaping Wall Street

A recent article by Bloomberg profiles the 10 black bankers that are reshaping wall street. Wall Street prizes innovators — people who think differently and change how business is done. We’ve identified 10 Black bankers, endorsed by their peers for being leaders who stand out in an industry that’s working to transform itself from one dominated by White men.

Without Change, Black Workers Won’t Reach Parity for 95 Years, Report Says

If there's no change in current promotion, attrition and external hiring rates, it may take about 95 years for Black private sector employees in the U.S. to reach parity in management positions — 12% representation overall, according to McKinsey & Company.

Only 1 in 3 Managers Check Their Black Female Employees’ Well-Being, New Study Shows

Just before the 2020 recession, Black female professionals were advancing in the workplace. But according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in January 2021, Black female professionals' unemployment rate continued to increase, reaching 9.0% from 7.7% in December 2020. Compare this percentage to white female professionals' unemployment rate, which held steady from December 2020 at 5.3%.

This Congress Is the Most Diverse Ever. But Hill Staffers Remain Overwhelmingly White.

Last month, when Michael J. Brewer became one of 10 communications directors of color out of roughly 100 in the U.S. Senate, he took it as a small sign of progress.

Professor Chris Brummer Calls for More Black Financial Regulators in SEC Black History Month Keynote

For Georgetown Law Professor Chris Brummer, the nation’s glaring lack of Black financial regulators is tied directly to the long history of economic injustice. In his keynote address at the Security and Exchange Commission’s Black History Month Celebration, Brummer challenged the agency to increase its Black representation

Black, Latina Women Disproportionately Lack Remote Work Options, Report Says

Black and Latina women continue to disproportionately struggle with the effects of the pandemic on the job market, according to a Feb. 10 study by WerkLabs, the data and insights division of The Mom Project. One-third of Black mothers and one-fourth of Latina mothers said they were unable to work remotely during the pandemic, compared to only one-tenth of both White and Asian mothers.

This Wall Street Veteran Is Working To Bring Diversity to Corporate America

When Dee C. Marshall worked on Wall Street, she was often the only Black woman in the room. These days, she is striving towards making corporate America more diverse. After the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last May, she’s seen a definite shift in attitude.

Structured Finance Association Statement on Nasdaq’s Proposed Diversity Rule

SFA, the leading trade group for the securitization industry, today released the following statement on a proposed rule from Nasdaq requiring public companies to adopt new diversity standards for their boards of directors.