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Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO TIAA
Thasunda Brown-Duckett
President and CEO

“Diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging are at the center of TIAA’s culture and how we do business. I’m encouraged by our track record and progress, but I know there is more we can do to lead the way in addressing systemic issues of equity and representation in the workplace. We have our work cut out for us, but our team is all in, motivated by a shared vision of a company that not only does the right thing for our clients but for one another.

Claire Borelli, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at TIAA
Claire Borelli
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer

At TIAA, we believe our business is only as strong as our team, and the best team is one that is as diverse as the clients we serve. We continually refine our strategy and approach to inclusion, diversity and equity, powered by our team’s diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, recognizing that it’s less about the destination and perfection, but about the journey of realizing a workplace in which we all feel we belong.

From The Company

In 2022 we expanded TIAA’s People Equity Index (TPEX) to reach 263 people leaders across the company in 2022 (up from 86 people leaders during the inaugural year of the index). The TPEX brings together six key employee experience measures to analyze the level of equity of experience delivered to associates within each line of business. In addition to new insight into gender and racial/ethnic equity, the TPEX coaches leaders from reflection to the critical next step of taking appropriate action to support equitable outcomes for all. In 2023, we will automate the production of the TPEX to provide more frequent and recent updates to leaders on a self-service basis. We will also be expanding the TPEX to include a view of equity for veteran associates, associates with disabilities and LGBTQ+ associates, where possible.

TIAA understands that to make a real impact in the world, we must also include the communities where our clients and associates live and work. Through our Future500 ID&E client engagement program, we are sharing the best practices and content we have developed over our years of ID&E practice to help client institutions implement and advance their own ID&E plans. In 2022, we supported the work of more than a dozen institutions and expect to exceed that number in 2023.

Our Self ID program was expanded this year to include associates outside of the US. This effort will enable us to better understand our associate population and to advance our ID&E strategy globally, particularly in countries where ID&E is a newer concept. In EMEA and APAC regions, we recently launched a self-ID campaign in select countries to track certain demographic data for the first time. In the U.S., we also added a new self-ID field that looks at regional ancestry (ex. Southeast Asia, Northern Africa) in the hopes of better understanding the composition of associates at a deeper level than the standard race and ethnicity groups tracked in the U.S.

TIAA also launched gender inclusion guidance and training to our National Contact Center associates to better support associates and clients who are transgender or gender non-conforming or in same-sex relationships. This guidance and training included education around the gender spectrum, gender-neutral language and more. We look forward to expanding and building on this training in 2023.

TIAA’s #RetireInequality external campaign continues to grow and reach more people. In 2023, Wave 3 of TIAA’s #RetireInequality campaign focuses on how retirement inequality disproportionately impacts Black Americans by sharing the statistic that 54% of Black Americans won’t have enough savings to retire. By addressing retirement inequality as it affects Black Americans and by making our services accessible to all, TIAA aims to help all Americans achieve a secure retirement.

Internally, we continue our fight for financial equality by carrying into 2023 the “Bridging the Gap” webinar series focused on specific financial needs of all Business Resource Groups (BRG) identities, including women. Bridging the Gap was started in 2022 and focused on the impacts of the wealth gap and how access to money influences life and legacy. Each BRG hosts a discussion throughout the year featuring a guest and a TIAA Financial Advisor to discuss retirement paths.