As a demographically homogeneous city, attracting and retaining diverse talent in the financial services industry was and is a challenge in Des Moines. To meet the challenge we launched a local cooperative called DiversifyDSM to tackle the problem together and to collaborate in elevating diverse representation in the financial services industry in Central Iowa.

• The Bank reached out to 18 local financial service firms. We now have 9 members actively engaged in this coalition.
• We've gained strong executive support for this initiative. Their voice and participation in this cooperative have allowed us to join together to drive change within our industry.
• Focused initial efforts on planning and research to understand the challenges our industry faces in attracting and retaining diverse talent. Focus groups were conducted by each member organization.
• To date, the DiversifyDSM members have:
  • Set tangible strategic goals to recruit and retain qualified individuals from diverse populations to strengthen our talent pipeline.
  • Connected with a broad group of community organizations and non-profits to help elevate the financial services story - not only in our community, but in our region by hosting a formal launch event. 
• Hosted monthly membership meetings and conference calls to focus on making an impact - not just within our individual organizations, but across Central Iowa.
• Hosted several successful, high profile community events with the help of local and regional partners to increase the visibility of the industry and Diversify DSM in the community.

FHLB Des Moines is actively recruiting members and partner organizations - educational institutions and non-profit organizations - that support our initiative mission and more importantly, our focus on career development to further our initiative efforts. Email [email protected] to learn more.

Deb Baldwin