Join Our Conversation
Join the SFA I&D Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee will work closely with SFA leadership and will serve an active role in shaping the goals, objectives, and priorities of SFA’s I&D 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.
Join SFA’s I&D Membership
SFA’s I&D 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.
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.
Conversation Starters
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.
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.
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.
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
SFA I&D Job Board
I&D Support
SFA’s I&D initiative is a collaborative effort between SFA’s Board of Directors, membership, executive leadership, and the broader industry. Associated programming is funded through annual SFA membership dues, and the I&D Advisory Committee works with SFA to create and curate educational content and networking opportunities.
If you are interested in getting involved, please email [email protected].
