For Teachers Credit Union (TCU), its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion has been a part of the credit union’s framework for over a decade. In 2008, a TCU Diversity Council was created to provide diversity training and promote awareness The council later dissolved in 2016 after eight years of important work that paved the way for TCU to be a more diverse and inclusive company. 13 years after the formation of the council, the credit union created the DEI Task Force, a 12-member team that works with the new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Jacqueline Burns Rucker, to continue its push for not only education, but also action.
Rucker was appointed DEI director, TCU’s first, in October of 2020, a few months after protests around the country sparked ongoing and important discussions of race, identity, and lived experience. With her experience in strategic consulting for diversity and leadership development, Rucker has continued to develop and define TCU’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Early on when I started, we had a conversation about equality versus equity,” Rucker said. “We use this picture in diversity training that shows three children, all of varying heights, trying to watch a baseball game from behind a fence. Every child is given one block, which symbolizes equality. But the tallest child doesn’t need a block because he can see over the fence without it. Then there’s the little girl who needs two blocks in order to see, while the third child is in a wheelchair and actually needs a ramp to see. Equality is providing everyone with the exact same thing, whereas equity is making sure people get what they need.”
When she began her new position, she was immediately struck by TCU and the committee’s action to address these issues. When discussing inclusion, the idea of belonging and having a voice became a main focus.
“One of the things the executive team said is that they wanted our team members to have the opportunity to share their voice and feel like they belong here and that they’re valued,” Rucker said. “They can come to work, voice their ideas and concerns, and be their authentic selves. In doing so, TCU continues to develop a culture where these difficult conversations can take place. It comes through building relationships and inviting team members to the table to have a voice in how the organization functions.”
Some of the many goals Rucker and TCU have for further establishing the credit union’s inclusive and diverse culture include looking at recruitment and implementing trainings and workshops, including some that institute conversations about bias.
“We are looking at our recruitment, making sure that we have a diverse workforce, and we're looking at the marketplace for people who have the skill sets that are necessary,” Rucker said. “We also have asked ourselves, ‘What do the communities we serve look like?’ When I started, I didn’t realize how large TCU was. I didn’t realize that we have branches stretching into Michigan and around Indiana. Within all of those communities we are in, each one is unique and beautifully diverse, and we want our branches to reflect that. So, for example, if a member is going to a branch in Whiting, we try to make sure that we have Spanish-speaking employees there for our Spanish-speaking members, since Whiting has a large population of Spanish-speaking individuals.”
“And when discussing bias in our trainings and workshops, we wanted it to be a conversation, not a lecture,” she continued. “It’s important to have that conversation about it so that people can be comfortable talking about the biases that they have —that we all have. When you bring up bias, people can get defensive, which isn’t what we want. We want people to understand that everyone has biases—some are good, some are bad. It’s what we do with that implicit bias, when you’re not thinking, it’s just something in your subconscious that you act on. Getting to the point where we understand that is important so that we can have further conversations where we are talking about specific types of issues that affect people, all so we can have a workplace full of respect and dignity.”
Rucker has seen an incredible amount of support from the DEI Task Force and remembers one meeting that solidified the fact that TCU was all about action.
“I was in a meeting and mentioned that I thought there used to be a website on diversity and inclusion that I wasn’t sure was active or not,” Rucker said. “Before the meeting was even over, I had a call from someone who was on the website committee for the task force, and he had already scheduled a meeting with me to talk about the website and had already scheduled a meeting with marketing to get it up and running.”
“I come from an industry where things move a lot slower, so I was so happy to see how quickly this moved,” she continued. “As a result of that meeting, we now have a dedicated webpage and linked from TCU’s homepage for members and non-members to see some of the things we are doing and how they impact members and the community. We also have an extensive internal DEI site for our team members which is getting a lot of traffic. About half of our team members engage with the site monthly.”
For Rucker, who is currently the president of the Indiana Association of Blacks in Higher Education, having an open conversation and an ongoing educational dialogue is vital to moving any workplace forward.
“When people feel defensive, you can’t have positive conversations about issues. You can’t make any headway if no one wants to talk about it,” Rucker said. “Once we have these conversations, the dialogue will increase. This will allow us to find common ground and our team will feel comfortable enough to bring up more difficult issues they face. This way, we are working together towards a common goal.”
For more information about Teachers Credit Union, visit the website at https://www.tcunet.com/.
