CITY TREASURER WANTS TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE FINANCE INDUSTRY

City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin wants more diversity in the banking and finance industry and to create more opportunities for people in underserved communities. Photo provided by City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin wants more diversity in the banking and finance industry and to create more opportunities for people in underserved communities. Photo provided by City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin

City Treasurer wants to increase diversity in the finance industry

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin recently hosted a webinar entitled, Youth in Finance and Investment, as part of her Mondays with Melissa series. During the discussion, financial and investment experts talked about roles and opportunities within the financial sector.
     The discussion served as a way to give young people insight into a sector that Conyears-Ervin says is not as diverse as it could or should be. She is looking to change that and increase diversity in the finance industry.
     “The vast majority of people who work in the finance industry, it is no secret that they are white and male … the financial service industry doesn’t represent the world we live in. Our world is diverse, and when it comes to managing money, we need all people to have representation. Certainly, diverse people means diverse points of view, which we know is important, especially in investing money,” she said.
     Conyears-Ervin said the lack of diversity hurts the bottom line, she said it is a point that a lot of people miss. “Asset management firms, owned by white men, manage a stunning 98.7 percent of the $69 trillion managed by the U.S. Asset Management industry. Firms that employ underrepresented asset managers has been shown to outperform those that don’t. That means that lack of diversity costs clients’ money,” she said.
     Conyears-Ervin said the industry lacks representation for Black and Brown children. She said she has spoken to young people who have no idea about the option of pursuing a career in finance. She said she experienced the same thing herself. She said there is a problem when it comes to exposure and representation to careers.
     “Here in Chicago, we know that a lot of our youth are not exposed to all of the career opportunities that exist in the financial service industry and that is mainly because there is not good representation in the industry,” she said.
     Conyears-Ervin said she works hard to expose Black and Brown youth to the financial industry because she knows the reason why they are not familiar with the industry is because they don’t know anyone in the industry.
     Conyears-Ervin said there are some firms when diversity and representation are discussed, will say the talent is hard to find, she contends that is not true. She said there are lots of talented youth on the South and West sides of the city. But, those talented young people are not aware of all the opportunities they are able to take advantage of.
     “I think if young people knew more about it, they would take advantage of it. My role as City Treasurer, being the first citywide elected official from the West side, being born in Englewood, raised on the West side by a single mother, for me, it’s important that I, knowing the challenges our young people face, that I expose them to this career field,” she said.
Conyears-Ervin said the reason why she is holding the webinars is to bring knowledge to Black and Brown communities. She said it is also important to address the systemic racism that exists in the financial service industry.           The City Treasurer’s Office has partnered with Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs to form a commission, Advancing Equity in Banking Commission, to identify and eradicate systemic racism, and deal with the root of the problem. Leaders from major banking institutions in Chicago are also at the table with Conyears-Ervin and Frerichs.
     There is also the diversity scorecard, which is in its second year. It is a questionnaire that evaluates a potential broker/dealer on their diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as their corporate social responsibility.
     “We want to look at their hiring practices, their employee make up, we want to look at what they are doing to help communities around Chicago, especially underserved communities,” she said.
     Conyears-Ervin said there are organizations the City Treasurer’s Office no longer does business with because of the diversity scorecard. “It’s important that firms that want to do business with us reflect our residential make up,” she said.
“Mondays with Melissa” takes place at noon on Mondays. For more information, visit www.chicagocitytreasurer.com.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

This Is Life