Thomas P. DiNapoli, the comptroller for the state of New York, is challenging the portfolio companies of the New York State Common Retirement Fund on several diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) fronts via a series of shareholder proposals and related initiatives. The New York State Common Retirement Fund (the Fund) was valued at $242.3 billion… Read More >>
BNP Paribas to Add 1,000 More Women in IT
On International Women’s Rights Day, March 8, a banking giant made a surprising announcement, and challenged itself to do better: “The BNP Paribas Group has set itself an ambitious target: to have 1,000 more women in our IT professions by the end of 2024, through both internal and external recruitment.” While the Women’s Rights Day… Read More >>
CFTC’s First Chief Diversity Officer & More Briefs
CFTC Appointee Has 20 Years of Diversity Experience Tanisha Cole Edmonds has been appointed the CFTC’s first chief diversity officer and has been tasked with helping the agency advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) at all levels, officials say. Edmonds, who reports to Rostin Behnam, chairman of the CFTC, will oversee the Office of… Read More >>
NYSDFS to Probe Diversity at Financial Services Firms
Linda A. Lacewell, superintendent of financial services for the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS), is acting to “promote diversity, equity and inclusion” by making financial services firms provide data about the diversity of their corporate boards and managers. NYSDFS officials say the data “will be collected in the fall of 2021 and… Read More >>
BlackRock Embraces ESG & Climate Change Reforms
Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock, is making the case to his shareholders and fellow corporate executives that major steps forward need to be taken to advance environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) goals in financial services and beyond, and, particularly, to combat the impacts of global warming. The… Read More >>
Citi’s First Woman CEO Breaks a Glass Ceiling
The top spot at a top Wall Street bank is no longer a boys-only club. And that is because Jane Fraser will succeed Citi CEO Michael Corbat following his retirement in February 2021. Fraser will join the multinational bank’s board of directors immediately, Citi says in a statement. Her appointment was hailed on Wall Street,… Read More >>
Congress Asks 37 Banks to Quantify Their Diversity
The diversity question is hitting home for 37 major financial services firms in the U.S. in a new way. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, recently sent out letters asking these firms to quantify… Read More >>
White Men Still Rule Asset Management Ownership: Study
The hoary proposition that Wall Street is an old boys’ club for white men has just been bolstered with new supporting data. According to a study commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, firms owned by women and minorities manage only 1.1 percent of the total assets under management in the $71.4… Read More >>
Glass Ceiling Still Holds for Women in Financial Services
Unfortunately, the glass ceiling for women in executive positions in the financial services industry is still holding despite some positive fractures to the barriers to advancement, according to a report from management consultant Oliver Wyman. The findings of the annual report, “Women in Financial Services,” are based on a review of the 150 largest financial… Read More >>
Why Networking is Important for Women
Toronto-based Rose Ritchie, an associate partner at global IT advisory firm Citihub Consulting, had a revelation with a friend of hers when they were discussing the women they have helped over the years. “It stems from the fact that a former colleague of mine and I remained in touch,” says Ritchie, who has more than… Read More >>
