A new report quantifies the current state of women’s and minority representation on credit union boards, spotlighting the extent to which there are (or aren’t) links between those two demographics and key measurements of member-centric performance and financial performance.

Published by CU Collaborate and Humanidei + O'Rourke using National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) call-report data from the nine years between 2012 - 2021, figures for California and Nevada are provided in the report. (You can download the full report for all U.S. figures and analysis here)

Among the report's key findings are that minority and women’s representation on credit union boards of directors can contribute to greater lending inclusion and asset growth. However, both of these demographic groups remain underrepresented among directors across the industry, the report states.

In California (279 locally headquartered credit unions representing $278 billion in assets), by 2021 there were:

• 2,074 board directors (703 females and 642 minorities — whether the same individual or separate).
• Board size is 9.8 directors (versus 8.9 nationwide).
• Women representation on boards is 37.6 (versus 32.3 nationwide).
• White/Caucasian representation on boards is 75.8 percent (versus 85.8 percent nationwide. Hispanic/Latino are 11.8 percent (versus 5.2 percent nationwide); Asian/Pacific Islander is 7.5 percent (versus 2.2 percent nationwide); and Black/African-American is 4.6 percent (versus 5.2 percent nationwide).
• Share of minorities in credit union communities is 62.3 percent (versus 42 percent nationwide).
  
  

In Nevada (15 locally headquartered credit unions representing $7.6 billion in assets), by 2021 there were:

• 97 board directors (32 females and 1 minority — whether the same individual or separate).
• Board size is 7.6 directors (versus 8.9 nationwide).
• Women representation on boards is 37.1 (versus 32.3 nationwide).
• White/Caucasian representation on boards is 99.2 percent (versus 85.8 percent nationwide); Multi-Racial/Another Race is 0.8 percent (versus 0.2 percent nationwide); and Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American/Native Alaskan were all 0 percent.
• Share of minorities in credit union communities is 44.4 percent (versus 42 percent nationwide).
  
  

In the United States:

• With 36,543 directors at 5,044 credit unions, boards averaged 7.2 directors in 2021.
• Having more members, larger credit unions have larger boards. For instance, credit unions with under $10 million in assets average 6.4 board directors, and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets average 10.3 board directors.
• The average credit union member is served by a board with 8.9 directors.
• The analysis does not find a strong link between board size and most key measures of member-centric or financial performance.
• With 12,758 women among 36,543 directors, there were 2.5 women per board, accounting for 35 percent of boards. This is somewhat above average for corporations in the Russell 3000 stock/equity company index (27 percent), but substantially below the percentage of female members of credit unions.
• A large fraction of credit unions (29 percent) has boards that are close to gender parity (women's representation between 40 - 60 percent). However, credit unions with less representation are far more common (56 percent) than those with more (15 percent).
• During 2012 - 2021, women's representation on boards increased substantially from 26 to 32 percent.
• While women are often reported to be more risk-averse in financial decision-making, credit unions with more women's representation to have slightly more inclusive (riskier) lending and somewhat higher asset growth rates.
• With 5,006 minorities among 36,543 directors, there were 1.0 minorities per board, accounting for 14 percent of boards. This is similar to the average for corporations in the Russell 3000 stock/equity company index (13 percent), but far below minorities' share in the communities that credit unions serve (42 percent).
• Most credit unions (60 percent) have no minority representation. Only small fractions (7 percent each) have boards with: 1) between 40 - 60 percent minority representation; or 2) more than 60 percent minority representation.
• During 2012 - 2021, minority representation on boards increased modestly from 12.6 to 14.2 percent, but far below the increase in the minority share within the U.S. population, which grew from 37 to 42 percent.
• Credit unions with more minority representation in their boards have substantially more inclusive lending, and this difference is driven by more purposeful decision-making rather than by differences in the borrowing pool.
  
  

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