VRM University (VRMU), the training division of VRM Mortgage Services that provides nationwide training, certification and continuing education for the mortgage and real estate industries, has launched a new Diversity & Inclusion Self-Assessment Tool Kit.
The tool kit provides a free alternative for financial service businesses to benchmark, document and assess their compliance against the standards of Section 342 in the Dodd Frank Act. Supported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), this confidential resource includes a workbook and online assessment that maintains user anonymity.
The Diversity & Inclusion Self-Assessment Tool Kit measures four key areas that enable the company to prioritize actions and drive any necessary change. Performance is ranked on a scale of one to five in the following categories:
- Organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion;
- Workforce profile and employment practices;
- Procurement and business practices – supplier diversity; and
- Transparency and communication.
The tool kit also generates an overall diversity and inclusion self-assessment score to provide an overarching organizational assessment.
‘Increased diversity brings increased perspective and additional ability to recognize business opportunities,’ says Cheryl Travis-Johnson, founder and executive vice president of VRMU. ‘We're excited to launch this important tool and appreciate the support and input from the Mortgage Bankers Association on an issue that is not just of regulatory importance, but strategic importance to our industry. America is becoming increasingly diverse, and our industry needs to reflect the public we service to remain relevant.’
Section 342 of the Dodd Frank Act calls for self-assessment and public disclosure of diversity and inclusion policies:
‘A model assessment process would include a quantitative and qualitative self-evaluation of the entities' diversity and inclusion policies and a voluntary report of the findings to the regulating agency. Further, the entity would include information regarding its efforts to comply with the proposed standards on its public website, annual reports and other disclosure documents.’
To access the tool kit, click here.
