Upload
others
View
2
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MINUTES
Meeting of the Diversity Committee
of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System
Friday, March 12, 2021, 9:00 a.m. State Universities Retirement System
Via remote access only due to COVID-19 statewide restrictions
The meeting of the Diversity Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System convened on Mar. 12, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. via zoom (video conference) based on the Executive Order that temporarily amended the Open Meetings Act to allow public meetings to be conducted via phone or video conference. The following trustees were present: Trustee Jamie-Clare Flaherty, chair; Trustee Aaron Ammons; Trustee John Atkinson; Trustee Richard Figueroa; Trustee John Lyons; Trustee Fred Giertz; Trustee Scott Hendrie; Trustee Steven Rock; Trustee Collin Van Meter; Trustee Antonio Vasquez; and Trustee Mitchell Vogel. Others present: Suzanne Mayer, Interim Executive Director and Interim Secretary; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Mr. Doug Wesley, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Ellen Hung, Deputy CIO; Mr. Joe Duncan and Mr. Shane Willoughby, Sr. Investment Officers; Mr. Alex Ramos and Mr. Brian DeLoriea, Investment Officers; Ms. Kelly Valle and Mr. Akshay Patel, Investment Analysts; Ms. Tracy Bennett, Compliance Analyst; Ms. Heather Kimmons, Associate General Counsel; Mr. Albert Lee, Associate General Counsel; Ms. Anna Dempsey, Investment Counsel; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Technology Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Ms. Brenda Dunn, Chief Human Resources Officer; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley; Ms. Linda Brookhart of SUAA, Ms. Rena Henderson Mason and Ms. Emma Tamplin of BoldAgenda. Diversity Committee roll call was taken: Trustee Ammons, present; Trustee Atkinson, present; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Flaherty, present; Trustee Lyons, present. Trustee Figueroa joined the meeting at 9:09 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Trustee Flaherty presented the minutes from the Diversity Committee meeting of January 28, 2021.
Trustee Ammons made the following motion:
• That the minutes from the January 28, 2021 Diversity Committee meeting be approved as presented.
Trustee Lyons seconded and was followed by a roll call vote.
Trustee Ammons - aye Trustee Atkinson - aye Trustee Figueroa - absent Trustee Flaherty - aye Trustee Lyons - aye
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
Trustee Flaherty reported that the search for the Chief Diversity officer has come to a temporary pause due to the current internal administrative transition. Trustee Flaherty stated that diversity training sessions will continue at the board level.
DIVERSITY EDUCATION SESSION
Ms. Henderson presented educational training regarding cultural competency tools. The educational session lasted for one hour and fifty-six minutes and concluded at 11:05 a.m. at the end of the presentation. A copy of the presentation titled “Cultural Competency Tools Workshop” is incorporated as part of these minutes as Exhibit 1 as well as a 2021 Diversity and Inclusion article titled “Investors Want Transparency on Diversity” by Amanda White as Exhibit 2.
PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments presented to the Diversity Committee. There was no further business brought before the committee and Trustee Atkinson moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Trustee Figueroa and carried with all trustees present voting in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Ms. Suzanne M. Mayer
Interim Secretary, Board of Trustees SMM:cm
Agenda
Finding Your Optimal Service Value₣
Becoming An Effective Leader
• The Case for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Your Story
• Structural Racism
• Unconscious Bias
• Next Steps and Recap
Exhibit 1
Workshop 1 Making the Case
for Equity, Diversity and
Inclusion
Workshop 2Cultural Competency
Tools (Part 1) -Structural Racism and
Unconscious Bias
Assessment Equity, Diversity
and Inclusion
Workshop 3 Cultural
Competency Tools (Part 2) - Privilege
and Power Analysis
Workshop 4 Board Action
Planning
Board Equity, Diversity And Inclusion Project
AwarenessAnalysis
ActionAccountability /Allyship
We are here
January 2021 Winter/Spring 2021 Summer/Fall 2021
Exhibit 1
EDI Work Is A Major Change Initiative
Organizational Commitment
Establish plan and ongoing measurement & improvement
for EDI work
Culture & Readiness
Composition & Diversity
Alignment & Accountability
Establish common language and begin personal reflection
Introduce framework & make case for EDI
Contextualize organization, stakeholder demographics, and
opportunities for impact
Category Objectives
EDI Initiative is publicly shared, properly resourced, and fully
integrated throughout organization.
Clear priorities, expectations, and metrics for the EDI initiative. Goals
are aligned with strategy and budget. Processes are in place to
evaluate progress.
EDI commitment & context define the board’s diversity and inclusion goals,
which reflect and support the diversity needed to appropriately represent the
members, organization, and sector.
The board is prepared to undertake the work needed to undergo
organizational change centered around equity, diversity and inclusion.
Exhibit 1
Group Agreements - Creating a Brave SpaceMove Up/Move Back● Be mindful of your “air time” - allow space for others to contribute● Raise your hand - either on camera or in Zoom participant icon ● Let everyone complete thoughts
Respect for New or Difficult Ideas● No judgment about responses● Listen to understand● Assume positive intent; assume responsibility for impact ● Ask questions any time
Enter the Brave Zone● Speak your truth ● Encourage team members to stretch themselves● Embrace ambiguity● We are all co-learners● Have grace with yourself and others
Exhibit 1
7
Results - For better decision-making -to drive performance and impact
Market - For new ideas, thinking, and creativity - to remain competitive
● Results is the central argument - we can’t centralize anything other than returns
● Needs to be viewed within paramount duty to guarantee returns and needs to fit within this criteria
● Data shows diversity and inclusion is fully consistent with this.
● Data shows diversifying is very important ● Investment team could be more diverse ● Staff and leadership champions are ready,
but need to be equipped
Making the Case
How/where can diversity and inclusion improve decision making and increase performance?
How/where can diversity and inclusion improve decision making and increase innovation?
Exhibit 1
8
Moral - For your mission, because of the membership you serve or to expand your
reach
Economic - For spreading wealth more equitably, strengthening the tax base for
funding public higher education
● Data shows economic benefit brought in by retirees. If the pension fund is healthier, the state will be better
● Health and wealth directly tied to diversity and redistribution of the wealth created.
● White gatekeeping: SURS et al are white led and white operated, money has stayed in those circles/groups.
● BIPOC should have access to same pool of money and opportunity
● Need for results is a given, but also need to think about creating opportunity.
Making the Case
Why don’t we and others invest in programs to build with good money (ie housing, hungry, etc)?
What are the ways you can invest that will really help your members in terms of longevity and numbers associated with employment?
Exhibit 1
Quick Assessment Results
❑ Strategic❑ Leadership❑ Culture❑ Structure and Processes❑ Implementation❑ Resources❑ All of the above
Our organization’s challenges with diversity and inclusion are:
Exhibit 1
11
Your Story
● When was the first time that you learned and/or experienced the impacts of wealth inequality?
● How have you seen wealth inequality linked to race?
Exhibit 1
12
RacismRacism is as an example of how oppression works to produce and reproduce inequality on a structural level. Here are three definitions:
● Racism is a system in which one race maintains supremacy over another race through a set of attitudes, behaviors, social structures, and institutional power.
● Racism is a marriage of racist policies and racist ideas that produces and normalizes racial inequities.
● A person of any race can have prejudices about people of other races, but only members of the dominant social group can exhibit racism because racism is prejudice plus the institutional power to enforce it.
Structural RacismAn array of dynamics
that systematically disadvantage people of
color and includes history, culture, and
institutions.
Exhibit 1
Structural Racism
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM
ORGANIZATIONALRACISM
INTERPERSONALRACISM
Lack of diversity in investment consulting
The Demand Problem - Only 8 firms [of 16] have written policies
to interview women or ethnic minorities.
Proprietary Databases don’t seem to help find diverse managers.
Many investment consulting firmsDon’t Track incoming inquiries
from asset managers, diverse or otherwise.
[from: DAMI Investment Consultant Survey, 2020]
“Firms owned by women and minorities manage just 1.3 percent of
assets in the $69 trillion asset management industry, though their
performance is not statistically different from the industry as a whole
…
In fact, it found that funds managed by diverse-owned firms were overrepresented in the top-
performing quartile”
[2019 updated report]
Implicit Biases among decision-makers
While the sector is reacting to the disparity and making changes for greater diversity, “there are still many people
and organisations throughout the investment chain who are unconvinced
and believe a focus on diversity compromises financial performance”
[ Executive Summary from: Report: Diversity from an Investor’s Perspective (New Financial)]
An array of dynamics that systematically disadvantage people of color and includes history, culture,
and institutions
Exhibit 1
Structural Racism INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
ORGANIZATIONALRACISM
INTERPERSONALRACISM
Structural RacismAn array of dynamics
that systematically disadvantage people of
color and includes history, culture, and
institutions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxn2QV1cJw
Exhibit 1
Structural Racism in Asset Management INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
ORGANIZATIONALRACISM
INTERPERSONALRACISM
Structural RacismFiduciary duty states that the best managers should be selected as a reflection of the best interests of the asset owners they serve... Reasons this is happening:
● failure to hire the best firms despite better performance
● the lack of diversity in investment consulting
● implicit racial bias among decision-makers
Source: Diversifying Investments, 2017 (updated 2019) [slides here]
Exhibit 1
Racism – Four Types TypesINDIVIDUAL – LEVEL RACISM
INTERNALIZED RACISM lies within individuals. These are our private beliefs and biases about race and racism including:• Racial prejudice towards other people of different race• Internalized oppression – negative beliefs about
oneself by people of color• Internalized privilege – beliefs about superiority or
entitlement by white people
INTERPERSONAL RACISM occurs between individual. These are biases that occur when individuals interact with others and their private racial beliefs affect their public interactions such as:• Racial slurs• Bigotry• Hate crimes• Racial violence
SYSTEMIC – LEVEL RACISM
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM occurs within institutions and systems of power. It is the unfair policies and discriminatory practices of particular institutions that routinely produce racially inequitable outcomes for people of color and advantages for white people. An example includes:
• A school system that concentrates people of color in the most overcrowded, low-performing, under-resourced schools, resulting in higher dropout and disciplinary rates compared with that of white students.
STRUCTURAL RACISM is racial bias among institutions and across society. It involves the cumulative and compounding effects of any array of societal factors including the history culture, ideology and interactions of institutions and policies that systematically privilege white people and disadvantage people of color. An example is:• An overwhelming number of depictions of people of
color as criminals in mainstream media, which can influence how various institutions and individuals treat people of color with suspicion when they are going about their daily lives, resulting in discriminatory treatment and unequal outcomes.
Source: Four Types of Racism, Oppression Monitor Daily, January 31, 2014
Exhibit 1
● Prejudice or unsupported judgments in favor of or against one thing, person, or group as compared to another, in a way that is usually considered unfair
● Occurs automatically based on past experiences and background
● May be reflected in institutional arrangements and reinforced by their outcomes
● Implicit biases are:○ Pervasive – everyone has them○ May not necessarily align with our stated beliefs○ Malleable – they can be unlearned
Unconscious or Implicit Bias
Exhibit 1
19
Unconscious Bias Impact ● Which asset managers/vendors should we use? How
do we we hire them?● How do we recruit, evaluate and retain our staff?● Who is in the room and how do we make decisions?● How do we work together?● How do we relate and serve our members?
Exhibit 1
20
Unconscious Bias - Examples
Affinity Bias
The tendency to warm up to people like ourselves. We favor those who have something in common with us.
An prospective employee shares the same alma mater, work experience and/or interests as those who are making the hiring decision so they prefer this person over someone who has nothing in common with them.
Halo Bias
The tendency to think everything about a person is good because our first impression of them was good.
An asset manager was highlighted on a major financial news show so the investment team invites them to present over other asset managers with less visibility.
Perception BiasThe tendency to form stereotypes and assumptions about certain groups ... difficult to make an objective judgment about individual members of those groups.
Perception that people who are older are less willing to change so the technology team decides not to include an older manager on a major change initiative team.
How to Counter: Instead of “culture fit” look for “culture add”
Use standardized criteria and process to evaluate the talent pool
How to Counter:
Review and rank all the data, especially around investment performance
Eliminate the one glowing attribute
How to Counter: Ask, is my perception based upon fact?Understand what unique skills and experiences people may bring to a team
Exhibit 1
21
Unconscious Bias-Examples
Confirmation Bias
Seeking out evidence that confirms our initial perceptions, ignoring contrary information. It's a little like a debate.
Only asking questions or seeking information about an investment manager that confirms that they are a leader in their asset class.
GroupthinkThe bandwagon effect, or groupthink, occurs when individuals try too hard to fit into a group, by agreeing with the majority, or by stifling opinions that may differ from the group.
Several senior executives prefer a particular benefits vendor so a few of the recently hired staff don’t speak up about their concerns in order to avoid conflict with their boss.
How to Counter: Ask standardized, skills-based questions that provide each prospective firm with a fair chance to stand out.
How to Counter: Have someone provide the counter viewpoint in any evaluation process. Person with most authority shares views last.
Exhibit 1
22
Unconscious Bias Exercise
● List the ten people you trust the most outside of your immediate family
● Who are they?● What would you say about your circle of trust?
More broadly ask yourself:• Who do you trust? • Who do you fear? • Who do you accept without question? • Who do you scrutinize carefully?• How many authentic relationships do you have with people
who are different than you?
Exhibit 1
23
Unconscious Bias & Structural Racism● In addition to advertently and inadvertently
perpetuating stereotypes, unconscious biases play an important role in perpetuating structural oppression. Biases reproduce power structures by
○ Failing to promote/enable equity for those who do not look like people already in power
○ Reaffirming (and hiding behind) Dominant Ideology
○ Justifying inequalities without acknowledging power & privilege
● Consider the impact of unconscious bias in structural racism by asking:
○ Who’s biases are making decisions? What biases have history and influence?
○ For example, consider in light of decision making demographic in asset management.. →
○ Apply to Board specifically: Who is encouraged and supported for Board member candidacy?
Exhibit 1
24
● Biases can be conscious and they can be hateful, but often biases are unconscious and take the form of covert interactions.
● Unconscious biases root themselves in taken-for-granted assumptions that often go uncontested in social settings, especially when they are held and enforced by decision-makers.
● Though they are stubborn because rooted in culture and often people are not aware of them, biases can be unlearned by continuously acknowledging power and privilege.
Unconscious Bias - How it Relates to Structural Oppression and Inequality
Exhibit 1
Next Steps
• Assessment • Cultural Competency Workshop II• Action Planning Workshop• Personal Work
• Reflection • Learning• Observation – Self and Others
25
Exhibit 1
EDI Work...
Organizational Commitment
Establish plan and ongoing measurement & improvement
for EDI work
Workshop 1 Making the Case for Equity, Diversity and
Inclusion
Workshop 2 & 3Cultural Competency
Tools - Structural Inequality, Privilege &
Power
Assessment of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Workshop 4 Action Planning
Culture & Readiness
Composition & Diversity
Alignment & Accountability
Establish common language and begin personal reflection
Introduce framework & make case for EDI
Contextualize organization, stakeholder demographics, and
opportunities for impact
Category Objectives
Exhibit 1
What Does It Take?
Transactional• Returns• Ad hoc
Transformational• Mission• Culture• Training• Budget
Accountable• Leadership• Strategy• Outcomes• Evaluation• Investment
Source: “How To Get From Transactional To Accountable On Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion”, Kristina Gawrgy Campbell, Equity In The Center, ProInspire
Exhibit 1
• Mission-Driven, Strategic• Strong Leadership• Major Change Initiative• Impact• Journey
Summary
Exhibit 1
Rena Henderson [email protected]
Follow me on:www.linkedin/in/renahendersonmasonwww.twitter.com/boldagendawww.facebook.com/boldagenda
29
Exhibit 1
���
�������� ����������� ��� ����������������� ����� ��! ���"#����$%����%�#
&'()*+,�-�./'01
Exhibit 2
����������� �������������� ���
������������������������� !�"#�����$�%&'()*%�+,-.�/.01-�23�4056107689�:�2;.<4296=>�/..5.=6=>�6=.?@ AABAACDEBFGH I JKL
MNOPQRS�T�UVNWX
Exhibit 2
���
������������ ������������ ������������� �!"#��"$%&��'"( !���$%�)*+,-.*/0�*1�2-*+3/,�43-5,/�43136,-.7"8�!���&$�&�� 9,�*42:-/31;,�:<�/9,�-*69/�=,1;943-57"����'����'>%�?@��A/A3?�BA2,-CA1@�:1��D)�31@��BEF���:./�@*.;?:.A-,�@*./:-/.�-,3?*/0
GHIJKLM�N�OPHQR
Exhibit 2
���
���������� ����������������� ��� � ���� ��������������������� ��������������� ������ ��� �����
�� !"#$�%�&'�()
Exhibit 2