SEC Office of Minority and Women Inclusion Releases 2022 Annual Report

The Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) released its 2022 Annual Report to Congress summarizing the Commission’s actions in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). As background, under Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC established OMWI in July 2011 and assigned the office responsibility for all matters related to diversity in its management, employment, and business activities. Goals of the OMWI’s program include increasing opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses and using DEIA as a tool to increase mission effectiveness. The report notes that inside the Commission, OMWI rolled out a pilot of its DEIA Assessment program and initiated an Employee Affinity Group which included a virtual leadership summit. The Commission continues to work with a network of “Diversity Partners” which includes many women and minority-focused professional associations and educational organizations.

Additionally, OMWI launched the DEIA Resource Portal, a collaborative agency-wide website that includes “educational material with recommended reading, training, and videos on DEIA topics; resources on how to get involved in promoting DEIA at the SEC; materials for considering minority- and women-owned businesses in acquisition requirements; and resources for supervisors and managers on hiring and effective DEIA practices.” OMWI also created specialized training courses for managers and employees to “enhance the SEC’s continued commitment to furthering DEIA knowledge,” courses include: Language of Inclusion; Gender Inclusive Language: What it Means and Why Your Use of Pronouns Matters; and Understanding and Mitigating Microaggressions in the Workplace.

The SEC also engaged with regulated entities on DEIA issues. OMWI hosted lunch-and-learn events featuring influential speakers and the SEC released the first ever “2020 Diversity Assessment Report,” that details “the SEC’s 2020 diversity assessment process, quantified the results of five diversity and inclusion indicators in the SEC Diversity Assessment Report Forms submitted by respondents, and shared diversity practices highlighted by respondents.”

Click here to view the Commission’s OMWI annual report.