The lack of low income/first gen programs prove that diversity is just for publicity
Why do companies claim they want diversity? They say it brings in different perspectives and different ways of thinking to the workplace. However, many of you have been brainwashed by these corporations to believe that's true. The real reason is for publicity and to please shareholders and clients. Companies want to be able to take a picture of the employees and show how different everyone looks. The goal of diversity shouldn't just be to bring in people with different physical appearances, but also people with different life experiences.
I went through recruiting last year and knew most of the kids recruiting for finance because I was active in all the finance clubs and other campus events. I didn't qualify for diversity but knew of students that fit into all the other diversity requirements. To my knowledge, non of these students were disadvantaged throughout their childhood. There were girls with parents at top law firms, Latino students that literally looked like your average white dude, and kids that went to private high schools. If you look at the median family income of all top Wall Street feeder schools, they are all well over $100,000. This means there is a pretty small population of students that are low-income. And this is where the issue with diversity is. The low income/first gen students that benefit the most from diversity programs get shafted. Very few banks include low income/first gen programs. Being low income/first gen helps in college admissions but doesn't matter much once you go into recruiting. Why is it that most of these middle/upper-middle class students get a benefit in recruiting over the low income student? They probably all went the same path of growing up in the suburbs, went to private school, and now are at a top college. The low income student worked 10 times harder to get into a top college and needed a scholarship to attend. They are the ones that bring the most diverse life experiences, but they are the ones shafted by the lack of programs for them. Companies don't care about hiring a diverse mix of backgrounds. They only care about diversity in physical appearance because that is instantly recognizable by shareholders, clients, and the public.
