42 Comments
 

Nope, because diversity and inclusion programs aren't there to help poor people.

Especially poor people with the wrong skin colour.

And that tells you everything you need to know about the liberals.

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

So weird that the US doesn't have this. In the UK most diversity efforts actually happen from the outside-in i.e. diversity organisations like SEO London, upreach, the brokerage, and Rare partner with banks/other firms. 3 out of 4 of the orgs I just mentioned work low socioeconomic background and first gen students as well as ethnically diverse students. Strange that even the US version of SEO doesn't adopt this.

 

That’s because the UK’s history with upward mobility in banking is different from the US. I’ve met MDs who were immigrants and grew up dirt poor in the US whereas when I interned in the UK, every MD came from a middle/upper middle class upbringing.

 

Disagree. At least 2 of the organisations I just mentioned require you to be either first gen or low socioeconomic background to even be a member. Seen plenty of low semi/non-targets getting into great places through these orgs. Far more than I've seen from targets. Realistically how many black kids are at Eton tier schools? not many. They're not all going into finance. 

 

It's funny you say that because I come from a family of union carpenters, so not a privileged background like most people in IB, and another team in my office was working with a company that had all union workers and I had to sit down and explain to this team how unions work in the trades so they could properly get a handle on how this business functioned. People from lower economic backgrounds have significantly different life experiences than people who come from upper middle class (most of IB) and are able to add value by bringing a different perspective.

 

There's a long history of Wall Street hiring poor kids, although most of this was done by the scrappier firms and I think mostly for S&T. IB has always been a more white-shoe role.Bear Stearns Memo from 1981

 

Such is the issue with diversity engineering. It isn’t really about diversity of anything relevant. It’s about HR engineering the race of the firm to give the appearance of fairness or “equity” or any other ridiculous thing they claim. Best of luck to you

 

There are some programs if you are first gen, just not as many as diversity. Moelis for sure has a virtual program that includes that. Look harder.

You can highlight this on your resume and people will pull hard for a scrappy kid. For example, are you first gen? Put that on your resume (just small/parentheses) and in your intro networking emails too. Did you work full time during school and/or pay for college yourself? Put that on there too. If you're on a full-ride, emphasize that. 

Work hard and have a chip on your shoulder, but being bitter about what other people get is not the way and you have to come off as a positive grinder in recruiting, not angry about the way the world is. Be EXTREMELY humble.

 

Low income should be the only diversity initiative.

Current initiatives will see firms preferentially hire minorities from educated and affluent households, (just the nature of talent pools at elite universities), which in my opinion completely disregards what diverse hiring should be about.

Does hiring a black candidate whose dad’s a lawyer and mom’s a doctor really push the envelope diversity-wise for your firm? I’d argue not. But hiring a first-gen college student from a dirt-poor family in West Virginia, or a first-gen Laos-American student whose family immigrated here with nothing will do much more to introduce diverse thought and backgrounds into companies.

Companies don’t care about actually promoting diversity, it’s all a self-congratulatory PR hack job.

 

This one doesn’t sit well with me. Worsens the issues related to prejudice / stigma / divide if such a program is widely marketed and colleagues start pointing fingers. 
“How did that kid get hired even?”

”He poor.”

”aaaah.”

 

Your comment makes no sense, sorry. The exact same could be said because of their skin color or gender."Oh he got in because ____" argument is illogical.Would be far more respectable to see a poor guy trying to break into wealth than someone who has been spoon fed throughout their lives. Though I also respect firms and the PR they receive for diversity is definitely beneficial from a business POV.Your comment is just flawed.

 

Do you ever wonder why affirmative action for college isn't done on a socio-economic basis?  Most elite privates could easily cover the cost of letting like 10-20% of their incoming student body not pay anything but they don't.  The reason is if you sort by socio-economic status, it really helps a lot of the poorer Asian groups (e.g. Vietnamese, Burmese,, Laotian,...etc) and whites while making the racial disparity of campus worse.

Sorting by socieconomic status lets the wrong type of minorities in.  

 

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