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M Report: Bank of America Makes a Business Case for Inclusion
Published June 8, 2018
From providing its 6,000th mortgage-free home in April and most recently launching a $20 million lending program for U.S. military veteran entrepreneurs, Bank of America has been strengthening its business case for inclusion this year. The latest being an announcement on Friday to hire 10,000 people from low- and moderate-income communities by partnering with nonprofits to fuel its talent pipeline.
The bank’s consumer and small business division targets to achieve this goal over the next five years through its Pathways Program. Through this program, Bank of America is working with nonprofits to build a pipeline of local talent to connect to sustainable jobs. Some of its nonprofit partners include organizations such as Year Up and Unidos US, that empower career-ready individuals to gain an entry point to full-time employment. Other partners such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Urban Alliance, provide opportunities for younger individuals to gain valuable skills for a future career.
“The bank supports these nonprofit partners in recruiting candidates for the Pathways program, which provides a defined onboarding plan, education for required skills, on-the-job training, and a roadmap to full-time employment and future career opportunities,” Bank of America said in a statement.
According to Dean Athanasia, President and Co-head of Consumer and Small Business at the bank, by hiring from communities that the bank serves and “helping our teammates develop their careers at the bank, we are helping our clients, and their employees, lead better financial lives.”
In fact, many banks and mortgage lenders are opening up to the benefits of Diversity and Inclusion to their business strategies and looking at recruiting as well as retention practices that stress on inclusion of a diverse set of employees. In MReport’s June issue, we turn the spotlight on Diversity and make a case of how initiatives in this field are helping organizations enhance and fulfill their goals and strategies in our cover story titled “Measuring Change.”