Addressing racism in a global pandemic environment

These are, without a doubt, unsettling times. As the weeks have unfolded, conversations around diversity and equality have come to our nation’s forefront in a way unseen since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

As a leader, there are two main questions I’ve been considering. First, what can one employer do to confront systemic racism during a global pandemic? And second, how can we help promote racial equality while supporting employees through the COVID-19 crisis? As it turns out, we can do quite a bit. In many ways, PSCU is uniquely positioned to make a difference as a leader in an industry that embraces the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.” As the protests against racial injustice play out across the country, I know that we can do better – as individuals, as a cooperative, as an industry, and as a society.

For our leadership team at PSCU, the first step was to recognize and understand that we don’t have all the answers for this emotional and deeply-rooted topic. What we do have is a team that recognizes that systemic racism exists and is fully committed to being part of the solution. Silence was not an option.

 

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