WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced April 30 that Stuart Ishimaru has been selected to head the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), which was just established last January.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose), CAPAC chair emeritus, had high praise for the appointee.
“I am thrilled at the selection of Stuart Ishimaru to head the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion,” said Chu. “From his experiences leading the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to his work in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and the Commission on Civil Rights, Mr. Ishimaru has an impressive track record of shaping policies that foster diversity and inclusion.
“He has long been a leader in both the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and the broader civil rights community, and I look forward to continue working with him to ensure that workforce diversity and inclusion are promoted at all levels.”
“I applaud the CFPB for selecting well-renowned civil rights leader and my good friend, Stuart Ishimaru, as head of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion,” Honda added. “Stuart’s lifelong experience fostering equal opportunities for underrepresented communities will serve him well in promoting diversity not only within the CFPB itself, but throughout the financial services industry as a whole.
“As CAPAC chair emeritus, I look forward to working with Stuart in ensuring that the values of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion are prioritized within all sectors of government and the workplace.”
Ishimaru comes to the CFPB from the EEOC. He was nominated by President George W. Bush, on the recommendation of then-Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), to be one of the five members of the commission in 2003. In 2009, President Barack Obama named Ishimaru acting chairman of the commission. At the EEOC, Ishimaru was responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability and genetic information.