A couple of days after brokerage firm Morgan Stanley agreed to a US$54-million settlement over allegations of gender discrimination, the U.S. securities industry trade association is out touting its diversity initiatives.

In testimony Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee, Securities Industry Association president Marc Lackritz outlined initiatives to increase the diversity of the securities industry’s workforce.

Lackritz discussed the SIA Diversity Committee’s efforts, including arranging teleconferences, which allow firms to share ideas about starting a diversity program and making a business case for diversity. The association’s biannual survey of firms’ diversity initiatives, he added, provides member-firms with benchmarking data and facilitates the sharing of “best practices.”

“I am proud of SIA’s efforts over the last decade to make the securities industry an inclusive, multicultural place to work,” Lackritz said in a release. “I am also proud of the progress our firms have made to develop diversity initiatives in the workplace and improve their marketing to diverse customers.

“While our efforts are clearly beginning to pay off, we recognize that more work needs to be done. We are seriously committed to creating a non-discriminatory workplace and an industry where anyone can succeed on his or her merits.”

Notwithstanding claims of progress, Lackritz also gave numbers that highlight the amount of work still to be done. Only 27% of employees categorized as “executive management” are either women or minorities, though this is up from 20% in 2001. Among branch managers, women or minorities remained consistent at just 15%; among managing directors, it increased slightly from 17% to 20%.

Also, 33% of the investment bankers in large firms were women or minorities, a 9% from 2001; 27% of traders at the large firms participating in the survey were women or minorities, compared with 23% in 2001; and, they accounted for 22% of the brokers at the large firms (up slightly from 2001’s 20%).

He also lauded the efforts of firms such as Edward Jones and Quick & Reilly. These firms are the first two recipients of the SIA’s Leadership Award, which recognizes a firm that has demonstrated a commitment to building a strong diversity program that has been implemented proactively.