[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 140 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 140


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2007

 Received and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 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.

Whereas the financial services industry is vitally important to the United 
        States economy;
Whereas in 2005, employment in the financial services industry was about 7 
        percent of total employment in the United States, with over 10,000,000 
        employees;
Whereas since 1995, the average hourly earnings of non-supervisory workers in 
        financial activities was

              

 above the private industry and increased from approximately $13 in 1997 to 
$18.80 in 2006;

Whereas minorities and women face various challenges in obtaining and 
        maintaining positions, especially upper-level positions, within the 
        financial services industry;
Whereas minorities and women often cite the lack of mentors and leadership 
        training as barriers to their advancement;
Whereas in 2005, about 14.9 percent of the board seats at the Fortune 100 
        companies were held by minorities, and women comprised about 16.9 
        percent of Fortune 100 company board seats in 2005;
Whereas in the financial services industry, the percentage of black employees 
        has slowly decreased from about 10.5 percent to 9.8 percent between 2000 
        to 2005;
Whereas in 2005, blacks were approximately 9.8 percent of those employed in the 
        financial services industry and about 7.4 percent of financial managers;
Whereas from 2000 to 2005, Hispanics have been an increasing percentage of the 
        United States workforce and the financial services industry;
Whereas in 2005, Hispanics comprised about 9.7 percent of those employed in the 
        financial services industry, just 6 percent of financial managers, and 
        less than 2 percent of the directors of Fortune 1,000 companies;
Whereas in 2004, Asians represented about 5.5 percent of the employees in the 
        financial services industry and about 6.3 percent of all financial 
        managers;
Whereas in 2004, the financial services industry ranked third in the percentage 
        of women employed in the workforce behind healthcare and education;
Whereas approximately half of financial managers are women and the percentage of 
        women financial managers was approximately 51.7 in 2005;
Whereas in a 2001 survey of 2,200 senior and pipeline level women and men 
        representing approximately 60 securities firms, 65 percent of women 
        reported that women have to work harder than men to get the same 
        rewards, and 51 percent of women report that women are paid less than 
        men for doing similar work;
Whereas a minority of women (32 percent) and men (43 percent) believe that 
        promotion decisions are made fairly in their firm;
Whereas the House-approved Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2005 
        directed each Federal banking agency to submit biennial reports to 
        Congress on the status of the employment by the agency of women and 
        minorities;
Whereas the Government Accountability Office found in its report ``Financial 
        Services Industry: Overall Trends in Management-Level Diversity and 
        Diversity Initiatives, 1993-2003'', issued in June 2006, that overall 
        diversity at the management level in the financial services industry did 
        not change substantially from 1993 to 2004; and
Whereas, although the Government Accountability Office acknowledged that 
        financial services firms have initiated programs to increase workforce 
        diversity, the Office found that these initiatives face challenges: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Financial Services Diversity 
Initiative''.

SEC. 2. FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVERSITY INITIATIVE.

    (a) Congressional Recognition.--The Congress--
            (1) recognizes that minorities and women still face unique 
        challenges entering into and obtaining upper level positions 
        within the financial services industry;
            (2) encourages financial institutions to partner with 
        organizations which are focused on developing opportunities for 
        minorities and women to place talented young minorities and 
        women in industry internships, summer employment, and full-time 
        positions;
            (3) encourages financial institutions to partner with 
        inner-city high schools, girls' high schools, and high schools 
        with majority minority populations to establish or enhance 
        financial literacy programs and provide mentoring;
            (4) encourages financial institutions, including Federal 
        and State financial institution regulatory agencies, to build 
        and retain a diverse staff through initiatives, including--
                    (A) providing financial support for minorities and 
                women undergraduate and graduate business programs;
                    (B) heavily recruiting at historically Black 
                colleges and universities, Hispanic serving 
                institutions, women's colleges, and colleges that 
                typically serve majority minority populations;
                    (C) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs in urban 
                communities; and
                    (D) placing job ads in newspapers and magazines 
                oriented toward people of color;
            (5) encourages financial institutions to appoint more 
        minorities and women as board members; and
            (6) encourages financial institutions, and public and 
        private pension funds to seek qualified minority and women 
        owned firms as investment managers, underwriters and other 
        business relationships.
    (b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) active measures should be taken by employers and 
        educational institutions to increase the demographic diversity 
        of the financial services industry; and
            (2) diversity within the financial services industry is 
        vitally important not only to promoting innovation and 
        creativity in the industry but to developing a more inclusive 
        workforce for a fair and just economy.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.