Thomas: Internship diversity programs fail without diverse representation at executive levels
Shundrawn Thomas · Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 3: Shundrawn Thomas – Leading the Way (Capital Allocators, EP.153) · Aug 24, 2020 · at 44:07
Shundrawn Thomas, President of Northern Trust Asset Management, explains why corporate diversity initiatives must begin at senior leadership rather than entry-level pipelines alone.
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“I just don't fundamentally believe it's enough for firms to say, we really want to change our diversity, so our starting point and our focus is going to be the establishment or expansion of our internship programs. Now, let me be clear. I'm big on internship programs. I think we should multiply those exponentially and give lots of young people opportunities. But here's what will happen. If we do that, but we don't change the leadership of the boards, or we don't evolve Especially the executive leadership of the company. If we don't have women and people of diverse or ethnic backgrounds and client facing roles, first of all, as a young person, I don't even see those as realistic possibilities for me to ascend to in my career. There's no example of it in front of me.”
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