Maybe controversial - but as a white, male, heterosexual, Public school ("Private school" for any American readers) graduate - I feel I may struggle while applying to firms who prioritise diversity over merit, and may even feel 'out of place' if I were to join.
So, my question to you all is: which firms, and which divisions therein, emphasise diversity LEAST in London?
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Evercore, Rothschild
There's always the UK M&A teams
I've heard this as well.
Well the EBs usually only have diversity programmes for women, so you would not be disadvantaged there. You’d be a good fit, esp at Lazard, Roths, Evercore and a few others
You would be a good fit in BB UK coverage teams, but yes they are obsessed with diversity targets. Will be a particular focus on it this application cycle with BLM etc.
Boutiques tend to care less than larger institutions I believe.
In all honesty you're better off just saying that you are gay, non-binary or something else along those lines in your application
Well you can join RARE/SEO London/UpReach, even if you are rich straight white male. Just tick “eligible for free school meals”, “public school - on scholarship”, “first generation to go to university” etc. There’s no background check.
Could just do SA and get a return offer, and leverage into another firm who does not know you have been through diversity recruiting if ur worried about getting found out.
There is not really a focus on hiring gay people in London for some reason.
However, isnt there a background check when u do this for BBs? as in eligible for free meals, first gen to go to uni etc.
i am aware u can lie about non-binary, etc with no consequence
Lying about your identity is so twisted lmfaoooo stop trying to coopt diversity
Does anyone know if Indians/Asians are considered diversity for recruiting purposes?
lol
afaik, in UK any non-white is considered diversity. and banks have quota, esp for females
Well officially yes, but the BAME targets will usually be filled with Indian/Chinese hardos who would have gotten in anyway - so not much advantage tbh. Being Black is the real advantage, because the specific events (e.g. JPM Black Leaders) will fast track you to AC.
There is a hard quota of 50% women to be interviewed, even when 5-10% of women apply, so that is the biggest advantage.
Lmao you're already blaming your potential failure on diversity quotas
Haha I'm not even a huge advocate for diversity programs but nonetheless OP is giving me massive Tory vibes
nice bait
Honestly, I feel you. I honestly don’t understand this increasing focus on diversity. I want my colleagues to be chosen because they were the best, not because some diversity ratio had to be met.
You do realize that a considerable amount of your coworkers come in due to family connections and things of that nature right? Did you make the same comment about that?
And do you actually think, for example, your female coworkers are less competent than yourself? Get a grip.
some are, some aren't. instances where less qualified female candidates get the offers are dime a dozen
Honestly, I feel you. It’s really hard for white men in the industry. Only 99% of my MDs, heads, and C-Levels are white :(. It gets lower as you go down! I mean, only 97% of my directors/VPs are white! What’s that about? This diversity stuff makes it really hard for us white men to be competitive.
Just the other day, I saw the one black guy in the investment banking division sitting at his desk, acting like he belongs here. The nerve! People like him make it hard for us white men to break in. This diversity stuff is getting out of hand.
For everyone downvoting this, must take a lot of privilege to be triggered by being told such statements
Normally a rich white trust fund kid would have no problem recruiting at any bank but if you’re asking this question you probably aren’t the type of person who is fit for high finance.
Similar apart from I'm non-white so fulfil Diversity (albeit I never ticked the box cause I didn't realise and just pushed through from Spring Week)
Would heavily recommend the UK teams though they're been leaning towards diversity (I'm not in a UK team and got told by my contact who has heavy input I basically got screwed by them wanting more females)
Your best bet is using school alumni or uni alumni that have similar background as you'll get along then it should be easy to position.
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