How mortgage firms stack up on diversity, equity and inclusion

Mortgage employees have a more positive impression about their company's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts than workers in other verticals, a report from Arizent, parent company of National Mortgage News, found.

More than half said their company was healthy or extremely healthy when it comes to DEI. But for the sample as a whole, it only totaled 41%.

Yet when it comes to inclusivity, many in the industry feel more can be done. A good sign is that the mortgage business had the highest share of white, non-Hispanic women participating, at 39%, with another 13% being BIPOC/Hispanic women. White, non-Hispanic males were just 28% of the sample.

But is this perception reality? Many in the business would say progress has been made since the October 2014 diatribe at the Mortgage Bankers Association convention by Maurice Jourdain-Earl, a managing director at ComplianceTech. But much more work needs to be done, some note.

It was seven years ago that the MBA started mPower, "before a lot of the gender equality conversations were coming to the forefront," noted founder Marcia Davies, who is the organization's chief operating officer.

"And so I do believe that we have made a lot of headway with gender equity and inclusion as far as what it means for organization, how expanding not only women, but people of color into more senior roles help all organizations," she continued.

That included making a concerted effort to get members of these groups even more engaged with the group and the industry.

The late Regina Lowrie was a trailblazer, becoming its first woman chair in 2005. Since then a number of women have held the title, including Kristy Fercho, its immediate past chair; and working up the leadership ladder are Laura Escobar, the current vice chair, and Christine Chandler, who takes over that position in October.

"A lot of the organizations, lenders and service providers for mortgage banking, have started their own networking groups, women's groups, DE&I efforts," Davies said, and have also signed the MBA's Home for All Pledge.

Across the entire sample, 65% of respondents worked in teams that have members of four or more demographic groups, for the mortgage business that holds at 64%.

But 20% said their team included 8 or more demographic groups, versus 13% for all of the businesses the Arizent survey covered.

Diversity on the leadership level is a different story for the mortgage business. Just 42% of respondents said their bosses came from four or more demographic groups, although that beat the 37% for the entire survey.

And many mortgage workers want their companies to practice what they preach. They were asked "how important is it to you that your employer evaluate and/or address a lack of diversity, equity, or inclusion in your workplace?"

Approximately 40% said it was highly important, with another 15% calling it somewhat important.

But Davies noted the occasional "broken rung" of the ladder still exists. Across all corporations it is evident women advance to a certain point, but to move even higher it takes them longer. But that is starting to change and women are moving into those senior roles.

Lowrie had her own path to the top, owning Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage; later she would head up the cyber security firm Dytrix.

The Arizent survey determined that mortgage company employees are more likely to strongly agree that they are valued by management and their leadership creates a sense of belonging. They see their curiosity is being encouraged, plus honesty and integrity are demonstrated at all levels.

"Yes, we're making progress, but there's so much more progress that needs to be made," said Davies. The Home for All pledge "is a real effort to bring diversity into not only our organizations but bringing them up the ranks.

"So it's not just recruiting. It's providing opportunities and having inclusion within your organization," said Davies.