Sustainability is the focus of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's [1] (FHFA's) Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) Strategic Plan [2], which outlines OMWI's plan for leading diversity and inclusion and equal employment opportunity efforts at the FHFA and diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts at Fannie Mae [3], Freddie Mac [4], and the Federal Home Loan Bank System [5], which includes 11 banks and the Office of Finance [6].
Over the past three years, the FHFA said, it has worked to develop the foundations on which it has built its present strategic plan for the period 2019-2021. During that time, Sharron P.A. Levine, Director OMWI said that FHFA had implemented a "comprehensive OMWI operational structure, launched government leading D&I examination program and developed clear diversity, inclusion, and equality standards."
"With these core building blocks in place we are focused on the next stage of FHFA's D&I evolution: ensuring that diversity, inclusion, and equality are integral parts of the cultural consciousness and the daily business, human capital, and cultural activities of FHFA and its regulated entities," Levine wrote in a message outlining the agency's strategic plan.
To ensure the sustainability of the plan, the FHFA said that it plans to focus on three goals over this three-year period:
- Strengthening the understanding of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity to drive cultural awareness
- Delivering meaningful diversity and inclusion communication
- Ensuring OMWI organizational sustainability
While the first goal is aimed at empowering a culture of diversity and inclusion at the FHFA and the entities under its conservatorship, the agency plans to engage stakeholders in its D&I mission and communicate the inherent benefits and opportunities in achieving the D&I objectives.
FHFA plans to develop strategic tools, policies, and services that support the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of its D&I mission to achieve its third goal.
The plan also revealed that the agency's annual operational plans would identify specific strategies and define both organizational and individual performance goals to accomplish the OMWI Strategic Plan, in alignment with the
strategic goals identified in FHFA’s Strategic Plan for FY 2015 – 2019.
The three goals are tied in to help the agency advance and achieve its strategy for 2018-2022, especially its strategy of ensuring Liquidity, Stability, and Access in Housing Finance.