(l to r) Marc Womack, President and CEO, TD Auto Finance, TD Bank and Senta Taylor, Head of TD’s US Credit Cards Operations, TD Bank
As the Black community and its allies protested for racial justice around the globe this summer, TD Bank’s top leaders knew bold action was necessary to answer the call. That’s why the bank made public its commitment to help fight systemic and individual racism.
One of the most important first steps at TD Bank happened in July when the U.S. Black Employee Network (BEN) was founded. The goal of the BEN is to engage and inform colleagues about initiatives involving the Black experience and combat anti-Black racism both inside and outside the walls of TD.
BEN is part of the bank’s efforts to help increase Black representation in leadership roles. Bharat Masrani, Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group, has committed to double the representation of Black executives by the end of 2022. The bank has also established a new enterprise-wide Black Experience area of focus within its Diversity and Inclusion program and initiated enhanced bank-wide training programs.
TD will report annually on its progress, highlighting challenges and provide additional detail on programs to colleagues and customers.
These ambitious goals will require an all-Bank – One TD – effort. It starts with formal career planning and development for TD colleagues to maximize their career potential. It extends to education and training across the bank to remove biases and barriers, including an increase in anti-racism and anti-discrimination education and new inclusion-focused programs.
There will be an emphasis on greater recruitment diversity and retention, not just of executives, but also of interns, talented professionals and experienced managers to build a robust and healthy leadership pipeline to deliver sustained progress.
“We need to ensure we have greater diversity across all levels of our organization,” said Greg Braca, President and CEO of TD Bank in the U.S. “No question, we must make more progress and at a faster pace. I recognize that these issues can seem challenging, but this undertaking starts with a clear vision, and a strategy to deliver on that vision which includes well-defined deliverables and accountability across the organization. As we develop our strategy, strong, purpose-driven leadership is essential to our success.”
The new U.S. BEN will be led by co-chairs Senta Taylor, Head of TD’s US Credit Cards Operations and Marc Womack, President and CEO, TD Auto Finance. They have recruited a task force of executives, managers, and allies who are joining forces to achieve the goal of increasing Black representation at all levels.
Building on years of D&I advocacy, support and representation work championed by TD’s African American and Caribbean Leadership (AACL) Business Resource group, the efforts of the BEN are concentrated in three pillars – aligned to our organizational focus:
- Colleague – Early Talent, Executive Ready and Executive representation
- Customer – Customer and supplier strategy
- Community – Financial literacy engagement across impacted communities
“We will provide opportunities to stand by those who need guidance, give them a voice, and watch them succeed. “We want every employee to strive to become better allies by educating themselves, families, and friends,” Womack said.
By taking these actions, Womack noted that the bank will be able to build a “sustainable infrastructure that supports diverse colleagues while fostering a culture of inclusion.”
BEN will help facilitate conversations that may be uncomfortable but are critical to helping colleagues better understand the perspective and experiences of Black colleagues. These conversations will ultimately help the bank get closer to the important goal for the workforce.
“When new employees are hired, did you ensure your slate represents the communities and markets that we do business in,” Taylor said.
It won’t be easy to achieve the goals that TD has set for full inclusion at every level and for the bank to become the employer of choice for the Black community, according to Womack and Taylor. They are willing to take on this challenge and share an optimism that their colleagues will join them.
“We can create a new future, a better future for TD and all colleagues if we can build a fully diversified and inclusive business,” Taylor said. “The only way to do that is to have everyone involved in this effort, to make sure all voices are welcome, heard, respected and valued. It takes a strong commitment. But the outcome is so worth the hard work, and one I believe that will make the world a better place.”
