“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our answers to this question are based on what we see around us — the jobs our family and friends have, characters we see on television, and role models we learn about in school. Being taught by teachers and role models who look like you, or exposed to literature and media that reflect your lived experience, is powerful. Representation matters. It’s hard to aspire to a career for which you have no role models. In many fields, including financial services, people from diverse backgrounds are underrepresented. This is especially true for Black and Hispanic employees in finance.
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) is committed to actively increasing diversity in the financial services industry. While a 2022 study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Federal Home Loan Banks had greater diversity than the financial sector as a whole (especially in leadership positions), there is still work to be done. For the past two years, employees of FHLBank San Francisco have been sharing their time and resources to close the representation gap. One way they do this is through the Day of Service, in partnership with Avanade.
During this event, students from underrepresented groups learned about careers in the financial services industry and met with industry leaders. Kwame Fields Sr. serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer, and Chief Diversity Officer at the bank. Mr. Fields says of the event, “We wanted to address the significant lack of representation in finance and inspire students to pursue careers they may not have considered. We wanted to show them how working inside a financial institution, especially one like our bank, can help those outside, in the community.” High school students from Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland , college students from Merritt College Cyber Security Program, and current interns from one of the bank’s diverse Broker-Dealers, Great Pacific Securities, got an insider’s view of working at the bank.
Students toured the bank and Avanade, met with employees from different departments, and learned about the latest financial services trends, including the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance. Students also had the opportunity to get feedback on their résumés and practice delivering an elevator pitch.
Employees from the bank guided the students every step of the way. DaShawn Lortz directs many initiatives like this at the bank. When asked if the bank faced any obstacles organizing the Day of Service, Mr. Lortz said, “The only obstacle we faced was that we had more volunteers than we needed. We couldn’t fit everyone who wanted to help in the same room! This showed us that next year we can potentially invite more students to attend.” In 2023, 10 students participated. In 2024, it grew to 25 participants. As the bank continues to strengthen its ties to the local community, it expects the event to grow.
The Day of Service showed students something simple, but powerful: people, including industry leaders, who look like them, going about their workday. One of those leaders was Demontre Buckson. He currently works as a trading analyst but started his career at the bank as a business and marketing intern. Mr. Buckson spoke to students about his time at Howard University, a historically Black research university in Washington, D.C., and how he prepared for a career in finance.
According to Mr. Buckson, “It was cool to show them what I do at my desk every day, such as trading interest rate swaps and data analysis. But more than that, I wanted them to see me and feel more confident, like, ‘here is a Black man in finance. It can be done. There’s a path for me.’”
The bank is actively working to pave the path to success for students in their community. The Day of Service is rooted in the bank’s commitment to fostering inclusion in all they do: “For FHLBank San Francisco, it’s a business imperative and a cultural priority to ensure that our workplace reflects the communities we serve every day.”