Being a diverse and inclusive workplace
At Bank of America, we value all our differences – in background, experience and viewpoints, including socioeconomic status, race, national origin, religion, age, gender, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disabilities and veteran status.
Working together to advance racial equality and economic opportunity
We firmly believe all employees should be treated with respect, live free of discrimination and be able to bring their whole selves to work. This is core to who we are as a company and how we drive responsible growth. We are committed to addressing inequality through a company-wide commitment to advancing economic opportunity across diverse communities. As an employer, we continue to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for our associates and their families, and work to expand our talent pool and work with diverse suppliers. As a bank, we know we can empower people in their personal and professional lives. We provide access to a wide range of products and services that are designed to meet the different needs of our diverse client base, including low-to-moderate income communities and clients looking to invest in responsible companies.
We view this work as key to our role in society. It’s fundamental to how we run our company, support our teammates and deliver for clients. We know these efforts are not enough to end the racial inequality that still impacts our communities today. But together, through partnerships that bring together leaders from business, government, and the nonprofit and academic worlds, we can continue to drive progress and create more opportunity for all.
Our commitment starts at the top
Creating an inclusive environment starts at the top and extends to all teammates. Our Board, its committees and our CEO play a key role in the oversight of our culture, holding management accountable for ethical and professional conduct and a commitment to being a great place to work.
- CEO: Since 2007, Brian Moynihan has chaired the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council — the chief governing body for our diversity and inclusion strategy.
- Management team members: The management team sets the diversity and inclusion goals of the company. Each management team member has action-oriented diversity goals, which are subject to our quarterly business review process, used as part of talent planning and included in scorecards reviewed by the Board. Management team members cascade goals to ensure commitment and accountability across the company, as well as support and drive an inclusive work environment.
- Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer: We have a senior Human Resources executive who partners with the CEO and management team to drive our diversity and inclusion strategy, programs, initiatives and policies.
- The Global Diversity & Inclusion Council (GDIC): The Council promotes diversity goal setting, which is embedded in our performance management process and occurs at all levels of the organization. The GDIC consists of senior executives from every group and has been in place for over 20 years. The Council sponsors and supports business, operating unit and regional diversity and inclusion councils to ensure alignment to enterprise diversity strategies and goals.
Our workforce must represent the communities we serve
Global workforce
We believe that achieving strong operating results — the right way — starts with our teammates, and we know we must reflect the diversity of the clients and communities we serve. Our diversity makes us stronger, and the value we deliver as a company is strengthened when we bring broad perspectives together to meet the needs of our diverse stakeholders.
We believe the routine disclosure of our workforce diversity metrics holds our management team accountable and ensures we are delivering on our commitment to increase representation.
Management levels
We have built robust analytics and put processes in place at all levels of the company to drive progress and accountability. We measure diversity progress across our top three management levels, composed of more than 1,300 people in senior roles who are part of our executive talent management process and who fuel the pipeline for our management team.
Managers
We hold our more than 20,000 managers accountable for driving progress in diversity within their teams. We also provide opportunities for managers to sponsor and support rising talent to continue building our diverse workforce.
Campus hires
We are focused on building a strong, diverse talent pipeline of future leaders. Through recruitment efforts and partnerships, we’re attracting some of the best and most diverse talent from around the world.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) categories
We benchmark against other firms and industry metrics to monitor and review representation across EEO categories. By disclosing our workforce data, we demonstrate the progress we are making — progress that is driven from the top down by leadership who embrace diversity and inclusion as integral to our business success. By maintaining this focus, we believe our company will be well-positioned to attract and retain diverse talent, better serve our clients and communities, and build meaningful connections among our teammates.
Promoting an inclusive workplace
To help drive a culture of inclusion, we have developed and provide employees access to a range of programs and resources focused on building understanding and driving progress in the workplace. This year, we have built on the work we have had underway for years and have broadened how we engage our teammates on the topics of race and inclusion.
Expanding our perspectives is a critical aspect of how we drive a culture of inclusion, and open dialogue can help our employees gain a greater understanding and appreciation for one another. Now more than ever, we need to be comfortable with uncomfortable conversations and deepen our understanding through self-education of people’s differences. This year, we’ve introduced new guides and toolkits, and are able to further drive conversations and help our employees be advocates and leaders during uncertain times.
Leadership councils, Employee Networks and external partnerships
Diversity leadership councils
We encourage peer-to-peer support through our diversity leadership councils. Our councils convene regularly to hear from our management team and external thought leaders, provide oversight of our diversity commitment, discuss strategies to improve advocacy, sponsorship and retention, address unique obstacles to career advancement and grow client relationships.
Employee Networks
Our leadership councils work closely with our 11 Employee Networks, comprised of 325+ chapters and more than 180,000 memberships worldwide. The Employee Networks help teammates develop leadership skills, build ties with local communities and advance diversity recruitment. Demonstrating the demand for connections, average attendance at their virtual events since the start of the coronavirus has been four times greater year-over-year.
External partnerships
In addition to our leadership councils and Employee Networks, we reinforce our commitment to diversity and expand our impact by partnering with other organizations focused on advancing and driving inclusion in the workplace, including:
- Black Enterprise: Premiere business, investing and wealth building resource for African-Americans committed to programs and initiatives to develop Black women
- Business in the Community: The largest U.K.-based business-led membership organization dedicated to responsible business, including supporting the creation of a skilled, inclusive workforce today and for the future
- Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility: An advocacy and leadership development organization designed to advance the inclusion of Hispanics in corporate America
- Institute for Veterans and Military Families: Higher education’s first interdisciplinary academic institute focused on advancing the lives of the nation’s military veterans and their families
- Latino Corporate Director Association: Dedicated to developing, supporting and increasing the number of U.S. Latinos on corporate boards
- National Association of Black Accountants: Dedicated to bridging the opportunity gap for Black professionals in the accounting, finance and related business professions
- Out & Equal: National organization focused on creating a culture of belonging for all through LGBTQ workplace equality
- The Hispanic Promise: Launched in 2019 by the We Are All Human Foundation with the goal of creating a more inclusive work environment for Hispanics
- Women in Finance Charter in the U.K.: Launched by the U.K. government in 2016, the Women in Finance Charter aims to improve gender diversity in U.K. financial services
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