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Fannie Mae has been recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN, receiving a top score of 100 on the 2023 Disability Equality Index (DEI). In addition, Fannie Mae was included on Black Enterprise’s “2023 Best Companies for DEI” list for its efforts to foster a more inclusive workplace.
“We’re honored to be recognized again as a ‘Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion’ by the 2023 Disability Equality Index and named a ‘Best Company for DEI’ by Black Enterprise,” said Sharifa A. Anderson, SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Officer for Fannie Mae. "At Fannie Mae, D&I is a strategic imperative that every employee has a stake in. We are intentional about creating an inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. We know that when our employees feel respected, valued, and comfortable being their authentic selves, we do our best work to help advance our mission.”
The Disability Equality Index is an annual benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions to achieve disability inclusion and equality. The 2023 Index measured characteristics such as:
- Culture and leadership;
- Enterprise-wide access;
- Employment practices, such as benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention, advancement, and accommodations;
- Community engagement; and
- Supplier diversity
Other companies recognized for their efforts as part of the 2023 DEI include: Walmart, State Farm, T-Mobile USA, Lyft, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, and Cintas, among others.
Black Enterprise selects companies for its “Best Companies for DEI” list that have demonstrated best practices to support and foster diverse representation among their employee base, senior management ranks, corporate boards, and supply chain. Companies are honored for creating corporate cultures that value and promote inclusion.
Fannie Mae is committed to promoting D&I opportunities for its workforce, suppliers, business partners, and the U.S. housing sector. Fannie Mae’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) is dedicated to diversity and inclusion programming, engagement, strategic planning, metrics, and reporting. Providing a meaningful and consistent model supporting D&I efforts is key to a successful program and an integral part of Fannie Mae. Additional ongoing internal and external efforts by the GSE include:
- Supporting employee resource groups (ERG), which are employee-initiated and employee-led groups that advance cultural awareness and understanding of the diverse communities within Fannie Mae, provide allyship for colleagues, celebrate diverse cultures and perspectives, encourage learning, and career development, and help further the company’s business objectives.
- Partnering with external inclusion organizations, including DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit and member-owned organization that partners to promote workforce diversity across the nation; and Disability:IN, the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion that facilitates best and evolving practices among a network of corporations.
- Forming the Employee Inclusive Culture Council, a representative collective of more than 40 employee-volunteers committed to championing D&I and assisting the enterprise in cultivating a more inclusive workplace.
- Inviting employees to join Courageous Conversations, safe space sessions where participants engage in candid dialogue on sensitive topics and other learning opportunities.
- Providing the opportunity for employees to confidentially self-report demographic information and certain social recognition preferences, facilitating our understanding of the diversity and composition of our workforce, and helping us better understand how we can make sure all employees feel valued and supported.
- Implementing the Equitable Housing Finance Plan, which outlines actions Fannie Mae is pursuing to knock down barriers that contribute to disparities in homeownership and access to affordable rental housing for people who have historically been underserved, ignored, or excluded by our country’s housing and mortgage finance systems by virtue of their race, ethnicity, or protected class.
- Sponsoring the Future Housing Leaders program, which connects college students with diverse backgrounds to paid internship and entry-level job opportunities in the housing industry offered by top employers who are actively engaged in promoting diversity in their workforce.
