The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in October hosted its annual “Banking and the Economy” forums, reaching a diverse audience across the country. The forums support women and people of color in the financial services industry by providing professional development tools, networking options, and opportunities to increase their awareness of the Federal Reserve’s mission and resources.
The series includes two annual forums—“Minorities in Banking” and “Women in Banking”—as well as ongoing webinars. Because of the successful virtual delivery of the forums in 2020, the events continued as virtual sessions in 2021.
“Technology made it easy for us to continue to reach a broader audience and connect with attendees from different regions throughout the country,” said Erin Davis, program manager for “Banking and the Economy.” “Through both programs, we reached around 1,100 people across 40 states.”
The sixth annual “Minorities in Banking” forum was co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and Minneapolis, with the support of the other 10 Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors.
Attendance grew by about 100 participants to around 800 for the most recent forum.
The seventh annual “Women in Banking” forum was hosted from the Kansas City Fed’s Denver Branch, in partnership with the Wyoming Bankers Association, Colorado Bankers Association, Independent Bankers of Colorado and the Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico. More than 300 individuals from at least 20 states took part in the forum.
The Federal Reserve also continued the webinar series it launched in 2020 to complement the “Banking and the Economy” forums.
“It’s critical for us to continue to engage this important audience and provide timely and relevant programming,” said Assistant Vice President Chris Constant, who oversees Tenth District stakeholder engagement programs.
Learn more about these forums and get registration details for future programs on our event calendar.