T. Rowe Price Singapore’s Post

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA, FLMI, ACS of T. Rowe Price spoke with me about #DEI at the firm and the larger asset management industry in general, particularly as DEI has increasingly taken a backseat amidst retrenchments and cost-cutting across industries. Being based in Singapore, I was also intrigued by how firms address the cultural differences between regions! Some key points from my latest article: 📉 The percentage of companies that fund DEI functions with dedicated personnel and a cohesive strategy is expected to fall to 20% in 2024 from 33% in 2022 in part because of budget cuts that disproportionately affect DEI teams, according to market research company Forrester. 🧑⚖️ DEI leaders are on the lookout for the impact of the Supreme Court overturning affirmative action for college campuses. “It rendered illegal, largely speaking, using race as a single category for admission into school... So that's caused companies to say, in some cases, can we have quotas, or can we have a program focused on just women or just a person of color,” he explained. “So I think those are some of the pieces that legally have created some challenges for firms to take a look at.” 🌏 How you approach inclusion in Asia or in Sydney, in Tokyo will look different than what we might do in New York City, he said. One area that differs between regions, for instance, is what mentorship and sponsorship may look like, he said. For instance, the way people advocate for themselves in one region may look different in others. “If we're doing a performance evaluation, some of the language (where) we may say, ‘this is how you should talk about your accomplishments for the year.' (But) maybe they may not be as comfortable being boastful, or may feel as being boastful to talk about all the great things you've done,” he said, referring to the situation in Asia as an example. Thanks, Raymone for the excellent interview! Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gPdtVWdH

We're proud to share this insightful interview with our Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA, FLMI, ACS, conducted by Natalie Koh for Pensions & Investments. Raymone discusses the evolving landscape of #DEI in asset management, addressing challenges such as budget constraints and legal considerations. He also highlights the importance of adapting DEI strategies to different cultural contexts, particularly in Asia. Read the full interview to learn more about T. Rowe Price's commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace globally. #TRowePrice 

💡Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just morally right—they’re smart business ASB Speaker Dr Grace Lordan, Professor at LSE and the Founder and Director of The Inclusion Initiative, challenges outdated perspectives by arguing that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) drive innovation and long-term success. Highlighting robust evidence, she emphasises that embracing DEI is not a cost but a strategic advantage for businesses looking to thrive in a competitive world. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/edfMUzfY The Academic Speakers Bureau, developed by The London School of Economics and Political Science, aims to connect speakers with distinguished academic careers to clients around the world for speaking engagements. #DiversityInBusiness #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #Diversity #InclusiveLeadership #LSE

Rolling back DEI initiatives risks entrenching systemic inequities, shrinking talent pipelines and undermining the competitive edge of companies in an increasingly diverse global marketplace,' writes Benjamin Laker. Acknowledging that DEI has faced a backlash, in part due to economic pressure and high-profile political decisions, he says that the case for DEI remains as stronger as ever. The key is to focus on deep change – embedding the right practices into organisations, bringing down barriers, and expanding decision-making power. These are great points. But I'd also add that building supportive networks of peers and mentors who can share knowledge, skills, contacts and ideas is a crucial part of boosting representation and supporting talented people from historically underrepresented groups. Our events aim at just that. Not just inspiration and education, but also creating the kind of spaces where like-minded people with similar goals can connect and support one another. Read more: https://lnkd.in/es7CV-Fa #womenintech #girlswhocode #dei #diversity #events

“This is what #diversity, #equity and #inclusion looks like on #WallStreet today: anxious, fraught — and changing fast. From C-suites down, American #finance is quietly reassessing its promises to level the playing field. Goldman Sachs Group has made a surprising change to its ‘Possibilities Summit’ for Black college students: It's opened the program to white students. At Bank of America, certain internal programs that used to focus on women and minorities have been broadened to include everyone. And at BNY Mellon executives are being urged to reconsider hard metrics for #workforce diversity. Lose them, lawyers have advised…. Publicly, executives insist they're as dedicated as ever. Goldman Sachs and other major U.S. banks say they remain committed to attracting and promoting people from a range of backgrounds. Privately, however, many acknowledge that the high-profile campaign against DEI— amplified by billionaires including Elon Musk and Bill Ackman — threatens to set back what progress Wall Street has made. Wall Street has made some #progress toward diversity over the years. Still, the numbers are sobering. At Goldman Sachs, 3.7% of senior executives in the U.S. are Black, according to the bank's most recent report. That figure is about 5% at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and it's 8.7% inside Citigroup. By comparison, Black people are about 14% of the overall U.S. population.”all excerpts from Bloomberg article in Pensions & Investments linked below. What will it take for the industry to realize #talent is an asset class? When it does, will you change the process by which you invest in solutions to diversify your workforce, your portfolio, the product offerings for your customers, your #leadership. #intentionality: Are you incentivized to fill a quota or are you incentivized to #work & look for undervalued, overlooked #opportunity and invest in what others don’t see just yet. #InvestinTalent & build a #culture of #belonging and the numbers will look drastically different! The gdp will be different, society will be different and we need something different because the status quo ain’t good enough. Don’t just check the box! Let’s take a play on Apple’s brilliant slogan and be radical: #InvestDifferent #innovation #talent #jobs #careers #banking #assetmanagement #wealthmanagement #entreprenuership #business #fintech #opportunity #strategy #money #cultureofmoney Thank you Greta Larson for posting this. #Inspiredbyyou

Refreshing spending time with Karina Robinson FCSI (Hon) Co-Founder of The Inclusion Initiative at the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) As ever, we had much to discuss and I always love spending time with the ever amazing Karina. Today, we were chatting as part of an article Karina is producing, looking at all things D&I, categorisation, labels, the current DE&I backlash from some critics and the importance of how understanding a wider narrative can help all to pivot efforts to build a more equitable world for everybody. On this theme, I personally observe many firms pivoting their efforts to focus more on real action to enhance their culture, inclusion, equity and belonging and focusing less on performative actions alone. There are needless to say, many facets that have contributed to this, with polarisation being one point at play and the need to focus and invest in actions that yield lasting results. Whether it be some groups having deeply entrenched views around diversity, the hardening of political positions, a lack of dialog, bias and prejudice, balancing conformity and conflict and much more, some people can then have tendency to spin off into polarised and deeply entrenched positions. This in itself comes with challenges of facilitating dialog amongst divided groups, exploring personal biases, an us v them dynamic, how best to manage such situations, how best to intervene, tools and strategies on how to manage such polarisation and how this affects personal and professional growth. Karina Robinson FCSI (Hon), its always such a pleasure to work with you and I much look forward to publication as knowing those who have contributed on this and the diversity of thought and perspectives that you include, I know this will make for an AWESOME article – brilliant work as always!!! #LoveWinsOverHate #DiversityAndInclusion #ActionNotWords #BeTheChangeYouWantToSee #StrongerTogether

This is **extremely** disappointing to see the corporate devotion to DE&I wane after performative support in 2020. This is one of many articles like this I have seen so far this year. While studying at Columbia | SIPA I did research and wrote about the importance of expanding the talent funnel to finance, and DE&I programs are the primary way that this happens. I encourage all of us who are in a position to make a difference in hiring at firms make a personal recommitment to diversity, inclusion and equity. #diversitymatters #inclusionmatters #equalopportunityforall

What will it take for the industry to realize #talent is an asset class? When it does, will you change the process by which you invest in solutions to diversify your workforce, your portfolio, the product offerings for your customers, your #leadership | Samantha Katz nails it as usual. Providing an #equitylens for us to take a hard look at the world as it is now, while simultaneously sharing insights to achieve a #sustainableroadmap for the future we all want. #inclusivefutures #economicviability #alltalentmatters

Refreshing spending time with Karina Robinson FCSI (Hon) Co-Founder of The Inclusion Initiative at the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) As ever, we had much to discuss and I always love spending time with the ever amazing Karina. Today, we were chatting as part of an article Karina is producing, looking at all things D&I, categorisation, labels, the current DE&I backlash from some critics and the importance of how understanding a wider narrative can help all to pivot efforts to build a more equitable world for everybody. On this theme, I personally observe many firms pivoting their efforts to focus more on real action to enhance their culture, inclusion, equity and belonging and focusing less on performative actions alone. There are needless to say, many facets that have contributed to this, with polarisation being one point at play and the need to focus and invest in actions that yield lasting results. Whether it be some groups having deeply entrenched views around diversity, the hardening of political positions, a lack of dialog, bias and prejudice, balancing conformity and conflict and much more, some people can then have tendency to spin off into polarised and deeply entrenched positions. This in itself comes with challenges of facilitating dialog amongst divided groups, exploring personal biases, an us v them dynamic, how best to manage such situations, how best to intervene, tools and strategies on how to manage such polarisation and how this affects personal and professional growth. Karina Robinson FCSI (Hon), its always such a pleasure to work with you and I much look forward to publication as knowing those who have contributed on this and the diversity of thought and perspectives that you include, I know this will make for an AWESOME article – brilliant work as always!!! #LoveWinsOverHate #DiversityAndInclusion #ActionNotWords #BeTheChangeYouWantToSee #StrongerTogether

I join Lori Nishiura Mackenzie wisdom to discuss the importance of the Equity piece. I strongly invite you to read the paper below. Without this, the gap will not be bridged. I still observe this failing pattern on an organisational level worldwide. The work I do as an interculturalist and NDEIB help me notice trends, the force of speed, and the exponential future navigating in the direction where all move faster, and biases increase. Hold your horses, as a great Japanese Kendo master taught me and other international leaders during our study of this martial art to serve a bigger purpose. Remember: slow down and keep the accountability system in place. Slow down and measure the E! This is the path for holding the space where people feel they belong to a community. More to come on this topic.