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Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity
ODEIO is instrumental to our diversity and inclusion progress, from monitoring the efficacy of our current efforts to implementing new initiatives that help us better reach our goals.
Areas of focus
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed in 2010, requires under Section 342 each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). The Cleveland OMWI is housed within the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity and supports matters relating to workforce diversity, supplier diversity, and financial literacy.
As part of our mission and the Bank’s involvement in our communities, we value the diversity of our Bank directors. Please visit the Board of Governors website for detailed information about the demographic characteristics of Reserve Bank main office and branch directors.
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Our culture of inclusion is apparent in all we do. It’s one of our core values, demonstrated in when and how we collaborate across our organization to achieve better outcomes, how we communicate with others to gain input and garner support, and how we generate ideas to advance our mission. Organizations that have a diverse workforce are more effective, not only at the nation’s central bank, but also across all industries and sectors of the economy.
At the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the diversity of our workforce and equity in our policies and practices are foundational to our culture of inclusion and to providing opportunity for all. It is vital to the Bank’s mission to encourage economic growth and financial stability. We continually strive for greater positive impact in our service to the public and the communities in which we work and live.
View our latest Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Survey Report (EEO-1).
Each day, we see how diverse perspectives, informed by different backgrounds, experiences and thought processes, yield more creative approaches and tangible outcomes for everyone. To attract the most talented and diverse candidate pools, the Bank attends college fairs, posts positions with minority-affiliated professional organizations, joins networking events, and collaborates with professional organizations. We recognize that we must be active in the organizations and communities from which we recruit our job candidates. As one example, we nurture relationships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that go well beyond today’s recruitment, looking ahead to future generations of new hires. Learn more about our careers and our available internships.
Economist and Research Analyst Diversity
The information below shows the racial and ethnic and gender makeup of the Bank's PhD economists and research analysts (RAs). The Federal Reserve System employs economists across a wide range of expertise. RAs are generally hired directly after undergraduate study and work alongside economists. They are usually in their positions for a few years and leave the role well-suited to pursue graduate degrees, often in economics.
2024 Cleveland Fed PhD Economist and Research Analyst Demographic Information
View a pdf
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A strong regional economy makes space for the full participation of minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses to provide products and services to corporations and organizations across the region and the nation. The Cleveland Fed is committed to providing opportunities for these businesses to partner with the Bank on our projects, including
- Accounting and financial services
- Building materials and furnishings
- Human resources training
- Management consulting
- Technology and software
In support of this effort, we invite suppliers to meet with Bank representatives, and we attend matchmaker events that offer small-business owners the opportunity to meet with our procurement specialists. To increase our efforts and our impact, we call on the Bank’s larger suppliers and contractors to include minority- and women-owned and small businesses in their subcontracting arrangements when partnering with the Bank on projects. Beyond the Bank, too, we recognize that large corporations may need to review how to increase supplier diversity in their business inclusion opportunities and ensure equitable practices are in place and reviewed periodically.
Our strategic business partnerships include
- National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)
- Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (OMSDC), our regional affiliate
- Women's Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley (WBEC ORV)
- Plexus LGBT and Allied Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Inclusion Marketplace
To make it easier to do business with the Bank, we’ve simplified the procurement process by using SAP Ariba as our standard procurement sourcing and contract management application. If you don’t have a profile yet, it’s simple to set one up at service.ariba.com. Creating a profile will enable the Cleveland Fed and other Reserve Banks to invite you to bidding events. Your profile also will be visible to all SAP Ariba users. You can also send the Bank a cover letter and your company's capability statement by emailing CLEV.X.Purchasing@CLEV.frb.org.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve System provides a development program for minority-owned institutions, Partnership for Progress.
Want to learn more or work with us? Contact our supplier diversity team.
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The Financial Literacy and Career Readiness branch facilitates and cultivates relationships with the future generation of the workforce through strategic efforts aligned to Office of Minority and Women Inclusion initiatives. Utilizing direct-to-audience program services, our team leverages community impact to increase public favorability of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland through programming and collaborative partnerships with community organizations providing underrepresented minority students – from kindergarten to university – the opportunity to build a trusting relationship with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland at the earliest stages of their educational process.
Economic empowerment has historically been an unequitable experience for many Americans from underrepresented minority communities beginning with educational and career exposures at an early age. As the world continues to progress and innovate, opportunities to incorporate more diverse perspectives as well as unbiased professional environments are becoming essential tools for organizations. Bypassing, as well as not developing, talent in the communities at the center of metropolitan cities which tend to be underrepresented populations in professional fields, has become a common scenario leading to brilliant minds being unable to contribute to economic wellbeing of their own communities. The team aims to provide equitable opportunities to underrepresented minority students through strategic initiatives to begin bridging the gap between the financial worlds and the ever-changing global economy in the present as well as the future.
Bankwide inclusion
At the Cleveland Fed, we are dedicated to sustaining an environment in which diversity is valued and viewed as a strength, and our plans and actions are designed to best use the opportunities that diversity presents. Our efforts involve data collection and analysis, including participating in regional and national benchmarking surveys, to measure inclusion progress toward our strategic business objectives. On a regular basis, we review processes and reporting to identify trends related to diversity in our daily processes such as talent acquisition, talent retention, and employee movement throughout the organization. When upward or downward trends are discovered, ODEIO researches the causes and provides recommendations for actions to address them and bring about positive responses.
Our data and information are also used to benchmark our efforts against leading industry practices regarding executive involvement, talent development, employee benefits, supplier and subcontractor good faith efforts, and social responsibility, among other things, with respect to diverse and inclusive operations.
We gauge our effectiveness in diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity by participating in regional and national benchmarking surveys annually. We use the information we receive to identify what we can change for the better and how we can strengthen our engagement with communities and leaders in our region.
- The Greater Cleveland Partnership – Organizational Assessment: We are a Hall of Fame recipient for supplier diversity and a 2022 Best in Class awardee for board diversity and workforce diversity
- DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity: Named to Top Regional Companies list in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2021
- Diversity Best Practices: Recognized in the 2020 Inclusion Index
- Diversity MBA: Ranked sixth on the 2023 Best Companies for Women & Diverse Managers to Work List
- Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index: Earned the top score for nine consecutive years (2015-2023). In 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland was a designated recipient of the Equality 100 Award.
Employee Resource Groups
At the Cleveland Fed, we strive to ensure our employees feel supported and valued. Our employee resource groups (ERGs) are one example of support we provide for our employees to thrive. From an inclusive leadership perspective, ERGs provide an opportunity for employees who share a common purpose or background to come together in support of each other and of the Bank’s recruitment and onboarding and retention processes and strategic initiatives. Our groups promote a welcoming work environment—open to all employees—that embraces differences and creates value in all that we do.
Internal Council
The Bank’s internal Diversity Council meets bimonthly to advise the Bank in its work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity. The council’s membership is cross-functional, with representation from numerous areas of the Bank, including several of the Bank’s ERGs. This team supports and informs the work of ODEIO.
Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity Team
Diana C. Starks
Alfie Chatman-Walter
Talia Seals
Elaine Suarez
Veronica Ruiz Petraitis
Rocio Hudecek
Financial Literacy and Career Readiness Team
Khaz Finley
Lakisha Higgins
Samantha Tyler
Elle Benak-Dammarell
Davonta Milbry
Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) annual reports
The OMWI Annual Report to Congress provides an overview of the Bank’s successes, challenges, and next steps in fulfilling the expectations of Section 342 of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Report contains data about gender, race, and ethnicity by job grouping to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
| Year | OMWI Annual Report to Congress | EEO-1 Employer Information Report |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Download | |
| 2022 | Download | Download |
| 2021 | Download | Download |
| 2020 | Download | Download |
| 2019 | Download | Download |
| 2018 | Download | Download |
| 2017 | Download | Download |
| 2016 | Download | Download |
| 2015 | Download | Download |
| 2014 | Download | Download |
| 2013 | Download | Download |
| 2012 | Download | Download |
| 2011 | Download | Download |
| 2010 | Congressional requirements for OMWI reporting began in 2011 | Download |
