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36 62 THE HISPANIC- AMERICAN DREAM Hispanic homeownership has not yet bounced back from the Great Recession, according to new data. Using data from Zillow and the July 2019 Census data, eMarketer found that U.S. Hispanic homeownership rate has yet to regain the 50.1% peak it reached in 2007. "Hispanics consistently indicate aspirational goals toward homeownership," said David Acosta, 2019 President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). "At a median age of 29, Hispanics are younger than the overall median U.S. age and are [coming] into their prime homebuying years. With time, opportunity, and information, more Hispanics will seek out homeownership as a key opportunity for improving their overall quality of life." According to Acosta, multigenerational households influences Hispanics approach to homeownership. "Hispanics are more likely than non- Hispanics to live in multigenerational households or to otherwise experience homeownership as part of an extended family," Acosta said. "Culturally, this factor means that saving for a down payment can be a family affair, which means multiple adults in a household contribute to the household expenses." Hispanics are largely a suburban group, and 59% of Hispanics in large metro areas living in the suburbs. A September 2018 report on the New Geography website said just 17.4% of Hispanics lived in the "urban core." Hispanic net worth still remains below the national average, in part due to historically inherited wealth. "Intergenerational wealth transfer plays a large part in increasing household wealth, and while Hispanics have less inherited wealth overall than non-Hispanic white households, this too is changing," Acosta said, adding that "the appetite and enthusiasm for homeownership remains strong." "Marketing engagement of companies targeting Hispanic home buyers continues to be an area of opportunity...because the content tends to lack cultural context," Acosta said. "Marketers often mistake Spanish language proficiency for preference— spending resources on a Spanish-language strategy instead of on a market-specific, segmented Hispanic engagement strategy. Companies that address consumers in- culture, as opposed to defaulting to in- language, will win with Hispanic home buyers." HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE DISCUSSES D&I IN THE WORKFORCE e House Financial Subcommittee held a meeting to discuss ways financial institutions, as well as other sectors, can provide more avenues for a diverse and inclusive workforce. "Too often organizations place such a heavy emphasis on pipeline development that retention aspects to diversity and inclusion practices are often neglected," said Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Chair of the Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee. e committee heard testimony from several diverse witnesses: Bernard Guinyard, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Goodwin; Ruchika Tulshyan, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist and author; Patricia Mota, President and CEO of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement; Rod GRaves, Executive Director of Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation; and Laura Sherbin, Managing Director of Culture@Work. Beatty added that often business leaders, more specifically white males, underestimate the challenges that diverse employees face. A study from 2019 shows that women and people of color are "woefully underrepresented and unrepresented" in leadership positions. She added that the evidence showed that for every 100 men promoted to managerial positions, only 60 black women were promoted. "e lack of women and people of color in leadership positions will reduce a company's ability, to one, provide depth of consumer insight, two, capture new markets, and three, yield greater financial returns, which will eventually take a significant financial and competitive toll on organizations," Beatty said. Congressman Ann Wagner, Vice Ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said the group has worked to ensure the financial industry, and all sectors, are "reaping the benefits of our country's diversity." "Diversity builds collective intelligence by helping teams remain more objective, process information more carefully and even price stocks more accurately," Wagner said. Guinyard said diversity and inclusion are core values at Goodwin. Inclusion at Goodwin, established in 2014, drives diversity and inclusion initiatives, including bias disruption campaigns, leadership training, sponsorship initiatives, and practice group action plans. "We need to work even smarter and faster," he said. Among the items that Goodwin is promoting to help diversity and inclusion— along with investing $1.25 million—is the enacted of the Mansfield Rule. Guinyard said that participating law firms are expected to interview diverse candidates for influential and leadership roles in their organization. Additionally, the composition of all firm leadership position will be made up of at least 40% diverse employees.

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