Race/Ethnicity in Business- Is being an African American a disadvantage?
Hey everyone! I'm a junior in high school who's considering banking as a future career (among many other fields, of course). I'm currently trying to get into the best school possible, so I've been working pretty hard lately (4.0 GPA, 2300 SAT).
Now, I am African American (born in Ethiopia), and I've heard that the business world isn't so friendly to blacks in general, even if one gets a degree from schools like Wharton at UPenn, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, etc. Is this a legitimate concern that I need to consider in choosing what I would like to do for the future?
And I prefer any brutally honest answer and advice. Please don't try to sugarcoat anything :)
**** This is about my prospects AFTER graduation, not about getting into these top schools.
Is this a joke? With affirmative action, it increases the chances of you getting into a top college significantly higher than just as qualified whites and asians
Lol at Communist, either you didn't bother to read the post and jumped to conclusions or your reading comprehension needs work. As for OP, you would do yourself a disservice to not pursue finance if thats whay u want b/c of possible discrimination. If your concerns are valid then work harder than those next to u in such a way they can't ignore or write you off. If it is an equal playing field then still work harder than those next to u.
If you're a black or Hispanic with high stats and you aren't a total joke in interviews, it will make things a lot easier by being a minority when talking about hiring in major corporations. To get to the highest echelons of the business (high finance), however, it requires selling yourself to investors, businesses, lenders, etc. If you face a higher bar it's when you reach that level and affirmative action becomes totally irrelevant. Investors won't invest with you just because you're black (frankly, many wouldn't invest with you because you ARE black), whereas Goldman Sachs might hire you just because you're a qualified URM. In sum, I'd say being a black person with great stats makes you a shoo-in for breaking into the business but your race would probably make it harder to reach the highest levels.
But don't let that discourage you--if you're white you need to be a superstar to even get an interview, so there are positives and negatives.
What a load of shit. I'll say upfront that I'm Asian (no URM opportunities) but to say that white candidates need to be superstars to land ib interviews is plain wrong. You sound like a frustrated kid who couldn't make it to IB and is now bashing AA rather than networking and trying to better your unremarkable self.
If you come from a non-target (like VT did) and are white you do have to be a superstar. Maybe you just can't see that through your privileged target/semi-target lens.
Personally I think that the AA benefit is vastly overstated when it comes to corporate America. As for needing to be a superstar to get an interview if you're white, that's a ridiculous assertion.
I'm sorry, but do you even work in the business? I've noticed that your opinions about almost everything are wrong and baseless.
Since this thread is called "Race/Ethnicity in business" I feel like I can threadjack a bit. Why is it that African-American is the PC name for Americans whose ethnicity traces to Africa? You don't see me going around asking to be called a German-American. And actually, if you want to talk about marginalized...a case could easily be made for "white" people being the most ethnically diverse of the major race categories, yet they are all lumped under the umbrella of "white". Just my .02
Yea I'm sure my statement is baseless. It's more likely that all the white ppl on wall street are superstars, u know because they're white and its so difficult for white ppl in this AA world. Give me a fuckin break with that bullshit @Virginia Tech 4ever" .
I think this question is a lot more complicated than people would like to think. I am not black/hispanic but I have some knowledge of how diversity programs work so let me sum it up for you:
IF you attend an ivy/target school which feeds into diversity programs (all top unis have something like this) being black/hispanic (or even a woman) does give you an advantage when it comes to breaking in. That advantage is quantifiable too: a) You get an extra-round of recruiting where non URM's don't get to participate (almost guarantees you a superday, and the pool is generally weaker so with your stats you're probably a shoe in) 2. HR will try to push for you to get hired if they haven't satisfied their URM quota
If you go to a non-target where you don't have access to URM recruiting, I would actually say that being a URM is a disadvantage, mainly because people will assume that you didn't make the cut even with the diversity recruiting.
Also, I disagree with the people who say that being a URM will make it difficult for you to reach senior management level. Mainly because by the time my/your generation gets to the senior level, we will be in 2025 and given how progressive the world is today compared to just 10 years ago, I don't think it would be far fetched to think that racial discrimination is going to keep going down.
Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but your opinion is wrong. I know a ton of rich people and entrepreneurs, both domestic and international--the reality among the rich is the reality among everyone. People gravitate toward races/ethnicities/nationalities that they identify with. And for black people it's incredibly difficult to work in true high finance at a senior level because, for whatever reason, the entire world is incredibly racist against blacks, especially Asian and Middle Eastern businessmen. Nothing is going to change in 10 years that changes the reality of tribalism or that changes, say, Saudi businessmen's opinion of blacks.
So my contention remains--the highest echelons of finance are attained through developing relationships with the right people and selling yourself to investors and businessmen. If you're white you face the least resistance in most international settings, and if you're black you face the most resistance. It's just the reality on the ground. Will that change eventually? Yes, I believe it will eventually change, but not in 10 years--that's somewhat laughable.
Okay since most of the replies so far are pretty useless for OP, I'll answer to the best of my very limited abilities.
Race and ethnicity does matter, and to a great degree at that. You're constantly going to find yourself wanting to avoid/ditch your ethnic roots and put on a white mask that's more compatible with your bank's or clients' cultures. Most of your coworkers and clients will always think of wat as some exotic food to try at a boutique Ethiopian place fancied by hipsters; it'll be hard for most of them to understand it's something you may have grown up eating and loving.
Given the responses above, you're also going to have to deal with idiots who will disregard your undergrad or SAT scores or other qualifications and say 'oh, he got in here cause of affirmative action'. It's subtle and something that pops up even in my mind from time to time, but it's something to keep in mind when you're choosing majors or activities in undergrad.
I don't need any experience to know not every white person in IB is a "superstar". That was a stupid assertion and I cannot believe you continue to defend it. As for me being an intern, it is clearly stated that I am an intern on my profile, but again, I don't see how that holds any relevance to your idiotic statement about white ppl needing to be "superstars" to get interviews. It is simply wrong and it takes absolutely no scrutiny to see why that is wrong. Stop trying to make this personal dude, as a more elder member of this site (as far as experience) I expect better. If you can somehow justify your outrageous point of view without resorting to "do you work in business" or "you're just an intern" then come back and discuss. Otherwise you're coming off as a major tool @Virginia Tech 4ever"
I get the feeling that some people here are projecting. I know that Virginia tech has written many times that HE feels much more comfortable with other white people and doesn't really do much with minorities. I believe he said he does something in real estate and I believe UTD sells software. So, criticizing someone for being an intern for not knowing the financial industry when neither even works in the financial industry strikes me as a little strange, to put it mildly.
You may have found the answer you're looking for already, but I'm going to break it down in the simplest way I know. AA may still exist, but the leg up you receive isn't as much as it once was. Racists and bigots may be a much rarer breed these days, but they still exist. I'm sorry, but that's just one unique hurdle you will have to learn to overcome in your own way. In finance, you have the added benefit that money tends to make people color blind. Combined with the fact that we live in an extremely progressive and socially aware society means that you probably have a better chance at a fair shot than any of those before you. You seem like a bright kid and I would urge you to focus on figuring out what you really want out of life versus attaining a career track. Once you know what it is and you attack it with vigor, no one will be able to stop your success because of your race, even if they do manage to hinder it in some fashion.