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Minorities among the NCUA’s workforce increased slightly last year, according to a report to Congress it released Monday.

The agency said it employed 359 minorities at the end of 2021, accounting for 31.2% of its 1,152 employees. That was up from 350 minorities, or 30.5% of its 1,149 employees, in 2020. Women accounted for 43% of employees in both years.

Todd Harper, who became the NCUA’s chair last year, wrote in the report’s introduction that the NCUA is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in credit unions.

“At their core, diversity, equity and inclusion are far more than policies and principles,” Harper wrote. “They are foundational practices and behaviors that must be acted upon. They are necessary for the success of the credit union system and are vital to strategy, sustainable growth, innovation, talent acquisition and employee retention in the industry.”

The numbers of minority employees in 2021 included:

• 183 Black (accounting for 15.9% of total employees), up from 175 (15.3%) in 2020;
• 88 Asian American or Pacific Islander (7.6%), up from 86 (7.5%) in 2020;
• 74 Hispanic, 6.4%, down from 75 (6.5%) in 2020;
• Seven Native American, 0.6%, unchanged from 2020; and
• Seven Multiracial, 0.6%, unchanged from 2020

The 62-page report to Congress showed minority representation has been gaining gradually since 2017, when 319 minorities accounted for 28% of the agency’s 1,139 employees.

Among senior staff, minority representation rose from 15.7% in 2017 to peak at 25% in 2019. It then declined in each of the next two years.

Last year, minorities accounted 11 of the 25 members of senior staff (21.3%), down from 11 of 25 (22%) in 2020. One departure early last year was Monica Davy, a Black woman who was director of the NCUA’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

Credit union examiners were the principal occupation at the NCUA, accounting for 780 employees, or two-thirds of the agency’s workforce last year. Minorities accounted for 26.2% of examiners in 2021, up from 25.8% in 2020. Women accounted for 38.3% of examiners in 2021, up from 37.7% in 2020.

“Compared with the total workforce, the examiner series has lower representation across most minority groups, although only the Black/African American group is statistically significant due to small numbers of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Hispanics,” the report said.

The agency had 92 hires and 95 separations last year.

Among the new hires, 53 (57.8%) were non-Hispanic white, 22 (23.9%) were Black and 17 (18.5%) were other minorities.

Among separations, 61 (64.2%) were non-Hispanic white, 15 (15.8%) were Black and 19 (20%) were other minorities.