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Editor's Letter

Diversity & Inclusion Are Matters of Business Success or Failure

People discuss diversity and inclusion efforts as if they're checklist items. But underneath that, there's still a huge problem.

Diversity and inclusion up for discussion (Image: Shutterstock).

A few weeks ago, I attended a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion at the $1.3 billion Unitus Community Credit Union in Portland, Ore. With those two words seemingly on the tips of everyone’s tongues these days, the event was unsurprisingly well-attended. Audience members listened intently as panelists from three different Portland area credit unions –Rivermark Community Credit Union, Point West Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union – calmly discussed their strategies for making employees and members of all races, ethnicities, lifestyles, physical abilities, gender orientations and religions feel welcome and included.

The mood in the room shifted during the event’s Q&A portion, when an audience member, who said they use the pronouns “they/them” to identify themselves, stood up to passionately – and somewhat angrily – ask the panel how they manage to get 100% buy-in on their diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout their credit unions, when the current political climate suggests that isn’t possible.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.

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