The NCUA has acknowledged it falls short in employing Hispanicsat all levels and minorities at high pay grade levels.

The findings were released this week as part of a Dodd-FrankAct-required report to Congress from the NCUA's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

The NCUA's report didn't list specifics, but according to EEOC'sFY2010 report on NCUA, Hispanics represented only 4.15% of totalemployees, compared with 76.15% who classified themselves as white.Overall, the NCUA employs 46% women and 13% African Americans.

In senior pay levels, there was even less diversity at the agency.Only 2.44% of highly paid employees were Hispanic, and 2.44%African American. More than 90% were white, and nearly 76% weremen. Hispanics and African Americans represent 2.5% of senior levelmanagers; only 25% of NCUA senior level officials are women, anumber relatively unchanged since 2006.

Key barriers to more diversity the NCUA identified included thefact that the regulator is a small agency not well known to thegeneral public, the loss of hiring flexibility through the FederalCareer Intern Program, which was used to recruit new hires fromcollege campuses, and the nature of the government hiring processitself, which favors veterans.

The NCUA listed a number of strategies to improve diversity,including a shift in how open positions are advertised andincorporate diversity goals into its strategic plan and annualperformance budget.

As for diversity within the industry, credit unions with 100 employeesor more that are legally required to report diversity data to theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission say women make up 42% ofexecutive and senior level positions.

Additionally, women at large credit unions comprise 65% ofmid-level management positions, and make up 71% of the totalworkforce. Minorities did not fare as well: only 11% of executiveand senior positions were persons of color, with minoritiesrepresenting 31% of the total workforce.

Reporting credit unions represent 7.5% of all federally insuredcredit unions, but employ 25% of all industry workers. TheNCUA said in its report that “even though this data does notcapture the entire industry, it represents a substantial samplethat is consistent with NCUA's experience.”

The NCUA also said field of membership and geographic serviceareas may limit a credit union's ability to hire minorities. Somerural credit unions are in areas with few minority residents.Others are chartered to serve FOMs that reach only specific ethnicand racial groups.

“These factors could limit their ability to become diverse ifthey strive to hire employees and management that reflect themembers they are chartered to serve,” the report said.

The report can be found on the NCUA's website.