NEW YORK — During the 25th annual summit of the Wall Street Project founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, many renowned financial service institutions assembled together to discuss increasing diversity and inclusion in this all-important business sector.
Major Fortune 500 companies and organizations such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank Securities, BlackRock Alternative Investments and New York State Insurance Fund were represented at the Sheraton New York hotel in Manhattan to celebrate the progress that’s been made. They also are devising additional ways to open up the pipeline to minorities who are aspiring to enter and thrive within the highly profitable financial sphere.
Jia Shan, the managing director for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, told rolling out, “First, we give people an opportunity to see what financial services is all about,” Shan said. “It’s also not just because how seeing how many people have racial representation that we have in the room, but also people various perspectives. So I think what really brings the value of diversity engaging but those four maybe even different socioeconomic classes can bring a perspective on business.”
Shan said that Goldman Sachs recently hosted a webinar by which they were able to illuminate the scorecard the firm uses for minority broker-dealers that ultimately increases their usage.
“Last fall, we hosted a webinar just shining a spotlight on the capabilities and value add that minority firms bring to bear. And as part of that, we’ve been able to enhance usage, known not only for Goldman but also for our corporate clients,” Shan said.
