In 2021, the Brookings Institution reported on the need for the Federal Reserve System to diversify its leadership. At that time—and presently—there is only one Black Federal Reserve Bank president: Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic.
In January, a step toward diversifying the ranks of Federal Reserve leadership was taken when San Francisco’s Federal Reserve Board of Governors named David P. White the chair of that city’s Federal Reserve Bank.
As Variety reported, White was one of the key players in the merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He also was instrumental in reorganizing the entity by creating local and national boards to better address issues the union needed to take on.
In 2021, White told Variety, “Restructuring, reorganizing, and rationalizing our operational structure is something that I’m tremendously proud of. It was important work that is rarely seen by people outside of our union.”
According to a press release from 3CG Ventures, White’s leadership development firm, he will be working directly with San Francisco Bank President Mary Daly as well as members of the bank’s board on monetary policy.
In addition to those duties, White will represent the bank during the Conference of Chairs of the Federal Reserve Banks, which is responsible for addressing issues with senior leaders from the Board of Governors as well as the Federal Reserve System.
As Brookings l
aid out, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been vocal about the Fed’s responsibility to diversify its ranks since at least 2020. During a regular Federal Open Market Committee press conference, in what appeared to be a reaction from the Fed to the murder of George Floyd, he said, “I speak for my colleagues throughout the Federal Reserve System when I say that there is no place at the Federal Reserve for racism.” Powell continued: “These principles [of non-discrimination] guide us in all we do, from monetary policy to our focus on diversity and inclusion in our workplace, and to our work to ensure fair access to credit across the country.”Powell’s comments may also have been spurred by a public letter from economist Claudia Sahm emphasizing the poor track record of the economics field regarding diversity in general and the Fed specifically.
In her letter, Sahm criticized the lack of Black and Indigenous economists, writing, “Do you know how many Native American women are economists? Very few. Do you know how many Black economists work at the Fed? One out of 406. Economics is a disgrace.”
Time will tell if White’s appointment will lead to more diversity in the Fed, including bringing more women into its leadership, which Daly strongly advocates.
Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution closed its 2021 report on a hopeful note.
“Fortunately, there is great hope that the past will, in this case, remain in the past. Directors in each class essentially all serve for a limit of six years. In relatively short order, then, each of the twelve Reserve Bank boards of directors can be remade. This means progress can be made quickly if prioritized.”
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