Recognizing the Low Presense of Minorities in the Financial Services Industry and Minorities and Women in Upper Level Positions of Management

Floor Speech

RECOGNIZING THE LOW PRESENCE OF MINORITIES IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY AND MINORITIES AND WOMEN IN UPPER LEVEL POSITIONS OF MANAGEMENT -- (House of Representatives - September 24, 2007)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 140) recognizing the low presence of minorities in the financial services industry and minorities and women in upper level positions of management, and expressing the sense of the Congress that active measures should be taken to increase the demographic diversity of the financial services industry, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.

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Mr. MEEKS of New York. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the leadership of this House for bringing this resolution to the floor. I'm an individual who has great concerns about America's ability to maintain its global advantage economically in the years to come.

Globalization is making the world a much smaller place. And although globalization has improved economic conditions in many parts of the world and has contributed greatly and mightily to the United States' prosperity, it also means that competition that was once domestic is now international. Young children today don't only have to compete with people of their town for work, now they compete with the people from their region. Businesses that once faced regional competition now face international competition. Not only can you now ship products all over the globe, but modern communications now allows you to contract professional services from anywhere in the world without needing a person and personal meetings. Capital now moves across the planet instantaneously at the push of a button.

What does all this have to do with my resolution, Mr. Speaker, the Financial Services Diversity Initiative? It has to do with the fact one of America's leading industries where we have the global advantage is, in fact, financial services.

As outlined in the resolution, financial services represents 7 percent of the total employment in the United States, and the industry is a key component of the U.S. trade surplus in services.

The service sector is the largest and most dynamic force in the U.S. economy. Services account for over 80 percent of the United States' GDP and employment. Financial services is a key component of our dominance in services, along with express delivery, telecommunications, information technology, audiovisual, energy, transportation and professional services.

In every single congressional district in the United States, the majority of the workforce is employed in the service sector. In no district is there fewer than 70 percent of the workforce employed in services, and in some districts that figure is as high as 92 percent. Moreover, the service sector is projected to account for virtually all new job growth in the United States over the next half decade. And States like New York, North Carolina, Florida and California that already have major financial services, financial services will be a major component of that growth.

Despite current conditions, our long-term dominance in this area is not inevitable. As the McKenzie Report indicated, our lead in financial services is being challenged all over the globe, particularly by London. In that study, the executives surveyed stated that one of the key factors in choosing a location from which to operate was an available and skilled workforce.

As a Member from New York, which is America's financial services capital, and a member of the Financial Services Committee, I have interacted and visited many financial services firms from the various sectors of this industry. I've been very supportive of the industry because it is of importance to America's competitive advantage and the financial health of my dear city, New York. However, the lack of diversity in the industry is glaring, particularly where African Americans and Latinos are concerned. Although women are more than 50 percent of the industry, their absence is much greater in the executive management and the boardrooms.

In a 2006 study conducted by the GAO that was requested by the Financial Services Committee, firm officials that were surveyed acknowledged that despite having problems, they still faced challenges in recruiting and retaining minority candidates. According to the report, ``Some officials also said that gaining employees' buy-in to diversity programs was a challenge, particularly among middle managers who were often responsible for implementing key aspects of such programs.''

To bring the issue closer to home, in New York State, the Department of Labor statistics shows that financial activities account for approximately 460,000 jobs. African Americans and Latinos together make up 53 percent of New York City's population. The same source states that nearly 40 percent of blacks and 35 percent of Latinos are unemployed. This is not to say that the financial services industry is responsible for the unemployment, but the fact of the matter is that if you are not able to place your majority population in the majority industries of your city, you're going to have a serious unemployment problem. And let's face it, whatever industry you're talking about, your greatest resource is going to be human resources.

In this resolution, I'm not asking for quotas or percentages, I'm asking for the government and the industry to take steps that are consistent with America's promise of fairness and opportunity toward increasing the diversity of the industry on all levels.

Years ago, this Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, and banks found out that doing business with a more diverse client base was very profitable. I believe the entire industry will find the same is true with a more diverse workforce.

I strongly encourage the Members of this House to pass this resolution, which simply says that we want the best opportunities for all Americans.

Let me take a moment to thank Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus for working in a bipartisan way in bringing this through the committee and to the floor. I also want to thank Jameel Johnson of my staff, Erika Jeffers and Jaime Lizarraga of Mr. Frank's staff, who happen to be two African Americans, one is a female and one is a Latino, showing how diversity works, and we are working together.

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