2021, Inequality, Discrimination, and the Financial System Panel: "Inequality, Discrimination, and the Financial Services Sector"

There are substantial disparities across racial and ethnic groups in net worth of households, homeownership rates, and indicators of financial distress such as bankruptcy and low credit ratings. Women and individuals from minority groups are also under-represented in the financial services workforce. Three panelists at a recent NBER conference, organized in collaboration with The Review of Financial Studies, discussed a range of business practices at financial institutions that may affect wealth inequality, as well as strategies for increasing workforce diversity in this sector. Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago and NBER, Raphael Bostic of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and Sean Woodroffe of TIAA explored these issues in a conversation moderated by Amit Seru of Stanford University and NBER.