Accelerator launched for black women in asset management
Black Women in Asset Management has launched an accelerator programme for mid-senior level Black women from across the asset management industry.
Black Women in Asset Management has launched a six-month leadership programme aiming to “provide participants with an evidence-based curriculum designed to support black women who aspire to break the concrete wall, and lead with impact.”
The BWAM Leadership Accelerator will bring together a cohort of high-performing, mid-senior level Black women from across the asset management industry, including professional services.
The Accelerator will include 1:1 coaching, practical exercises, case studies, action planning, coaching circles, webinars and lectures delivered by coaches, business leaders and inspiring speakers.
Investing in black women in the workforce
Jacqueline Taiwo, Chair and Co-founder of BWAM, a coalition of asset management workers, said the programme offers organisations an amazing opportunity to invest in the black women within their workforce.
According to latest data from BoardEx, as of February 16, just 4% of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women of colour, falling to just 2%-3% across the smaller indexes.
BLAM was set up to put pressure on investment firms and capital allocators to become effective agents of social change. It says managers are now increasingly incorporating ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] factors into investment processes, but says “social investment risks, especially those related to racial injustice, are rarely considered”.
It calls on investment firms to build an anti-racist portfolio, including setting metrics to examine a company’s or issuer’s demonstrated commitment to racial diversity during the research, diligence, and assessment process and divesting from companies that benefit from business models that perpetuate racial inequities; expand the pipeline of Black women in finance, including by looking outside the usual universities and promoting more apprenticeships; promote Black women through coaching, mentorship, sponsorship and stretch assignments tailored to Black women; partner with Black women’s networks to find Black women advisors to lead on diligence, lawyers to structure deals, or executives to serve on portfolio boards; and advocate for policy change.
