Access Denied: Representation

The lack of Black representation in the financial services stems from two interconnected problems. Black professionals face significant hurdles once they break into the industry. And the presence of nearly 175,000 Black financial professionals displays that their widespread absence at the upper executive ranks isn’t a product of an insufficient talent pool.

Featured guests:

• Troy Prince, founder of Wall Street Bound
• (Second from right) Jina Etienne, founder of Etienne Consulting
• Keith Beverly, founder of Grid 202 Partners
• (Second from left) Valerie Rainford, CEO of Elloree Talent Strategies
• (Right) Salene Hitchcock-Gear, president of Prudential Individual Life Insurance
• (Left) George Nichols III, CEO of The American College of Financial Services

Suggestions for further reading/ways to get involved:

• Organizations: Executive Leadership Council, Association of African American Financial Advisors, National Association of Black Accountants, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, The National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America, National Bankers Association, National Association of Securities Professionals, Blacks on Wall Street, Annual Conference of African American Financial Professionals, dfree Financial Freedom Movement, CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning
• “Job Patterns For Minorities And Women In Private Industry,” Finance and insurance industries, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2018;
• “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019
• “Financial Services Industry: Trends in Management Representation of Minorities and Women and Diversity Practices, 2007-2015,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, December 2017
• “The Role of Signaling When Promoting Diversity and Inclusion at the Firm Level: A Financial Advisory Professional Case Study,” Advances in Business Research, 2019
• “What do the Data Reveal about (the Absence of Black) Financial Regulators?,” pre-printed academic study, August 2020
• “The Only One in the Room,” Bloomberg News, August 2020
• “Black Executives Are Sharing Their Experiences of Racism, Many for the First Time,” The Wall Street Journal, June 2020
• “She Spent 16 Years as Morgan Stanley’s Diversity Chief. Now She’s Suing,” The New York Times, June 2020
• “Wells Fargo CEO ruffles feathers with comments about diverse talent,” Reuters, September 2020
• “Fed wants banks to say what they’re doing to promote diversity,” American Banker, September 2020
• “Fed’s Top Ranks Dominated by White Men Despite Diversity Push,” Bloomberg News, July 2020
• “The Heat’s on Corporate America to Reveal Racial Diversity Data,” Reuters, July 2020
• “FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams on ‘Creating a Financial System of Inclusion and Belonging’” FDIC, August 2020
• “Serving the African-American Community,” National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, August 2020
• “AICPA Trends Report,” American Institute of CPAs, 2019
• Accounting Inclusion Maturity Model, American Institute of CPAs
• “Strategies for CPAs to encourage positive changes in diversity,” Journal of Accountancy, July 2020
• “Here’s How to Harness This Moment for Lasting Change,” George Nichols, Barron’s, July 2020
• “Upward Mobility and Wealth Building for Black America: The Financial Services Industry Responds By Promoting Racial Equality and Financial Wellbeing,” The American College of Financial Services, August 2020
• “Committee Finds More Work is Needed to Improve Diversity at Megabanks,” House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, August 2019
• “An Overview of Diversity Trends in the Financial Services Industry,” House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, February 2019 hearing
• “Report to the Congress on the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion,” Federal Reserve, March 2020

Chief Correspondent,
Financial Planning

Managing Editor, Editorial Operations,
Arizent