Former EEOC Commissioner to Head CFPB's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion

Stuart Ishimaru, who stepped down as a Commissioner with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 30, will now serve as the director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB is charged with, among other tasks, rule-making, supervision, and enforcement for federal consumer financial protection laws; promoting financial education; monitoring financial markets for new risks to consumers; and enforcing consumer finance non-discrimination laws. 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) signed into law on July 21, 2010, contains a provision that requires federal agencies that deal with financial firms, including the CFPB, to create an OMWI within their agency. This office will impose certain diversity requirements on businesses in the financial industry. Section 342 of Dodd-Frank stipulates that each director of an OMWI will develop and implement standards for ensuring “to the maximum extent possible, the fair inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-owned and women-owned businesses in all business and activities of the agency at all levels, including in procurement, insurance, and all types of contracts.”

Ishimaru was appointed to the EEOC in 2003 by former President Bush, and serviced as the Commission’s acting chair from January 20, 2009 until April 7, 2010. In a press release announcing Ishimaru’s new position with the CFBP, the agency explains that its OMWI will develop standards for:

  • Equal employment opportunity and the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of the workforce and senior management of the agency;
  • Increased participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the CFPB’s programs and contracts; and
  • Assessing the diversity policies and practices of the CFPB’s regulated entities.

Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.