This week’s news about financial advisor Eileen Cure allegedly refusing to hire Black employees has shocked the industry. But it doesn’t come as a surprise to me, nor to other Black financial professionals. We have direct experience with these attitudes from employers, colleagues, prospects and sometimes even clients. If the story came as a shock to you, that may mean you haven’t heard about the experiences of your Black colleagues, and that may very well be because you don’t work with any. If that’s the case, ask yourself what would lead our industry to largely exclude 13% of the U.S. population.
I saw a sign recently that said "Racism isn't getting worse. It's getting filmed." Technology and social media are simply making transparent what Black folks have known all along.
Let me explain what I mean.
First, let’s start with the broader picture. When it comes to police violence in the Black community, Black people know that the unjust policing system in the U.S. kills, harms and disproportionately incarcerates Black people. This violence is the direct lineage of Jim Crow laws, which in turn grew from the exploitation of Black bodies under slavery. This violence and exploitation has always been true, though it has only recently been believed with the proliferation of technology and social media to record and share videos of these violent incidents. For those who didn't believe the data or stories from Black people about policing, technology now enables them to see it firsthand, which makes it seem undeniable.
Similarly in finance, Black professionals’ direct ancestors had their lives and labor stolen to build significant wealth in the U.S., and currently Black people are grossly underrepresented in the financial services industry that manages U.S. wealth. Through slavery, and its many economic legacies, Black bodies were (and are still) used to generate significant wealth, which is primarily held by white people in the U.S., but Black people are largely not allowed to manage or direct that wealth. Again, this has always been true. For those who didn't believe the data or stories from Black people about what it's like to work in finance, technology now enables them to see it firsthand, which makes it seem undeniable.
So what can you do?
Advisor who allegedly said ‘no Blacks’ is fired from LPL
Read: Know the history of race and finance in the U.S. Last year, amid the national reckoning with anti-Black racism, our team put together a primer on the way this racism impacts the financial services industry. The introductory article gives a good overview.
Invest: Bring in Black money managers. Traditional due-diligence and risk-assessment frameworks in the asset management industry have led to a system in which white, male asset managers control 98.7% of the investment industry’s $69 trillion in assets under management. Are Black managers not making it through your firm’s due diligence process? Maybe it’s time to consider whether that process is actually contributing to the problem. This due diligence commitment framework can help.
Hire: Recruit and retain Black talent. Not sure how to cast a broader net in hiring? I talk about Adasina’s hiring practices in this podcast (at about minute 58) and if you want hands-on help, you can hire a consultant.
Talk: Call out racism when you see it, educate your colleagues and be the voice that speaks up when something isn’t right.
Listen: When Black colleagues and friends share their experiences with you, listen, learn and don’t wait until you see a viral video to believe them.
