Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
1 of 6
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
- njbiz.com
News
Events
Special Editions
Lists
Photos
Opinion
Power Lists
Executive Spotlights
Subscribe
Government
By Anjalee Khemlani, October 24, 2016 at 3:00 AM
The economic downturn of 2008 — or what was known as the financial meltdown on Wall Street — spurred
a lot of change in the financial services industry as it grappled with why it happened and how to prevent it
from ever happening again.
Here’s one thing you may not have thought of: More diversity in key leadership roles could have changed
11/2/2016 10:59 AM
Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
2 of 6
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
the course of events.
Diversity? Yes, diversity. Of all kinds.
At least, that’s what David Wilcox said at a recent conference on improving diversity in the financial sector at
Rutgers University-Newark.
“One has to wonder what the financial world would have looked like during the financial crisis if the decisionmakers — both in government and in the private sector — would have been more diverse,” said Wilcox,
director of research and statistics of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
“Economics is a tricky business, and even very smart people get it wrong. Our commitment is: Diverse
teams include an atmosphere where it’s … encouraged to speak up and say, ‘Have you thought about X?’
and it is not seen as an act of challenging (a senior official).”
Wilcox was one of more than two dozen panelists who spoke to a room of more than 200 at the conference.
Panelists ranged from Rutgers faculty to representatives from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, as
well as various Fed officials from around the country.
To achieve the new goal of diversifying boards in places where that isn’t already the case, firms are actively
pursuing younger and younger potential employees.
The financial services
industry is reaching out as
early as high school,
panelists said, to find a more
varied population of recruits.
The industry is trying to find
new and creative ways to
speak to the future, from
directly presenting to students
to engaging them through live
tweets from corporate interns.
One way of increasing the
talent pool is that these big
financial firms are no longer
looking solely at Ivy League
schools, said Thomas
11/2/2016 10:59 AM
Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
3 of 6
Hopkins, assistant dean and
director of Rutgers-Newark’s
Career Development Center.
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
Newark mayor Ras Baraka.
In fact, one of the biggest focuses of human resources at these companies is finding new pipelines to tap
into, to greater diversify their workforce.
Panelists also discussed the business argument for diversity, and why there are still so few minorities and
women in the executive suite.
Nancy DiTomaso, a distinguished professor at the Rutgers Business School, said organizations that are only
focused on reducing discrimination or focused on implicit bias will not be successful in the diversity space.
Some panelists also pointed out that there are many executives who will say the right things to the press or
on surveys — that they want more women and minorities — but take no action to do so.
DiTomaso also pointed out that there is no such thing as a diverse person, and by talking about individuals
or groups of ethnically different people, it makes white men the normative group.
George Walker, chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman, before speaking at the panel, said sponsorship is
a tremendous challenge.
The difference between
sponsorship and mentorship
was also highlighted at the
panels, with speakers noting
that, while many minorities
and women did receive
mentorship, including advice,
very few were sponsored to
rise through the ranks
through direct advocacy.
That “leakage” can be seen in
the numbers, according to
Janice Ellig, co-CEO of
Chadick Ellig.
At least 75 percent of CEOs
say gender diversity is on
11/2/2016 10:59 AM
Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
4 of 6
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
Robert Falzon, center, of Prudential speaking at the event.
their Top 10 priority list, but
the numbers show that,
because white men are at the
top, there is a tendency to sponsor those “you identify with.”
That idea was validated by one of Rutgers’ own students, who recently had an internship at Goldman Sachs
and has accepted a job with Disney.
Ellig shared a recent McKinsey & Company report that showed white men make up 71 percent of the
C-suite, even though they started off as only 35 percent of the entry staff population.
Men of color start at 16 percent, but are only 10 percent of the C-suite. Women start as 32 percent but make
up 10 percent of the C-suite, while minority women comprise 17 percent of the entry-level force, only to end
up at 3 percent of the C-suite.
“I think things are changing. I think it’s generational,” Walker said. “A lot of success we’ve had hasn’t been
necessarily because we’re trying to make the place more diverse, but it’s resulted in us being able to attract
and retain extraordinary diversity.”
He said the key was engagement and making sure employees felt like they were a part of the company’s
future.
Several panelists echoed a similar sentiment, adding that, by creating a diverse executive team, it
automatically attracts more diversity, creating a cycle.
E-mail to: [email protected]
11/2/2016 10:59 AM
Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
5 of 6
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
• Large companies continue to fuel U.S. job growth, ADP says
•
SMG feels cancer center is model for future
• Christie, Guadagno split on gas tax ballot question
• Christie, others praise Kyrillos for nearly 30 years in Legislature
Anjalee Khemlani
Follow @AnjKhem
Anjalee Khemlani covers health care. You can contact her at
[email protected].
11/2/2016 10:59 AM
Diversity and the financial sector: Would different opinions produce different results? | NJBIZ
6 of 6
http://www.njbiz.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161024/NJBIZ01/161029965/diversity-and...
+ Leave a Comment
0 Comments
11/2/2016 10:59 AM