Ethnic Diversity | Bloomberg LP (original) (raw)
From representation to equality.
“Bloomberg is deeply committed to issues of racial equality in both our workplaces and in our communities, and we are focused on ensuring that we build diverse and inclusive teams.”
Michael R. Bloomberg
Despite ongoing efforts, studies show that people from minority ethnic groups are still less likely to be hired, promoted and to progress in their careers. More needs to be done to address the unique challenges they face at work to account for their demonstrably different lived experiences.
We are committed to advancing individuals from underrepresented ethnic groups and we are doing this by ensuring access to development and growth opportunities at every stage of their careers, promoting real and sustained conversations about race to foster inclusion, and by focusing on the business case for ethnic diversity, as well as the moral one.
We’re particularly focused on increasing representation of Black and Latinx communities in the U.S. and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups in EMEA. In APAC, we continue to foster cultural diversity, developing local employees to manage and lead our operations across Asia, and championing reconciliation in Australia.
Hiring diverse talent
We’ve invested in technology, systems, and processes to help deliver more inclusive hiring practices, including dedicated diversity recruiting and sourcing teams who seek out talent for both entry-level and experienced roles from underrepresented ethnicities. We’ve built strategic partnerships with global partners and non-profits to broaden and strengthen our pipeline of diverse talent at all levels. Our partners include Association of Latino Professionals For America, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Forte, National Society of Black Engineers, and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
In partnership with Bloomberg Corporate Philanthropy, we support a broad range of non-profit partners committed to addressing inequality in our communities. These include programs focused on attracting a diverse talent pool through early engagement such as apprenticeships in the UK, internships in AMER and APAC that promote ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, and bespoke opportunities offered to Indigenous students through non-profit partner CareerTrackers in Australia. Through a variety of education and workforce development partnerships, the Bloomberg Startup program promotes academic achievement and career readiness for youth in cities where we live and work.
This includes:
- Python coding and tech programs to promote STEM participation among students from underrepresented backgrounds.
- A partnership with the African Leadership Academy that supports emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds across the African continent to enter the job market.
- Partnerships with Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, Posse Foundation, Prep for Prep, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity London and Project Basta who are dedicated to bridging the employment gap for students of color and first-generation college goers across the US and UK.
Bloomberg News continues to tap into the pipeline of talented journalists from the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), one of our signature Global Business and Financial Journalism Education Initiatives launched in 2014 to advance business journalism and increase market transparency on the continent.
The time is now
Talking about race is difficult, but necessary. Race in the workplace can be a particularly uncomfortable conversation, but it’s time for us to tackle it head on – with courage and conviction. Here’s where to start.
10 minutes | 30 – 60 minutes | Deep-dive
Retaining, developing and accelerating talent
Our commitment to greater ethnic diversity in the workplace doesn’t end with recruitment. We’ve put in place targeted, company-wide initiatives to accelerate the careers of employees from underrepresented groups – and support their advancement to leadership roles – by providing training, mentorship, and exposure to senior management.
Development & acceleration
Started in 2016, our Growth, Opportunities, Access and Leadership (GOAL) Development Program has been helping enhance and develop the careers of women and ethnically diverse employees in EMEA. This successful program has since expanded to – and been customized for – the U.S. and APAC. Building on the success of Goal Development, in 2020, we launched the GOAL Advancement program to accelerate the growth potential of high-performing Black and Latinx employees in the U.S., as well as a targeted mentorship program that pairs Black employees in the U.S. with managers for career development opportunities. Other key programs include our Local Leadership Accelerator, which has successfully prepared employees in Asia to take on senior roles across the region, and departmental initiatives such as our Multicultural Engineering Leadership Development (MELD) program.
Community engagement
Our nine affinity-based, employee-run Bloomberg Communities provide valuable networking and support. Membership continues to grow across the board.
Increase
Black Professional Community (U.S. & UK)
Increase
Latinx Community (U.S.)
Increase
Pan-Asian Community (UK)
2020-2024 membership growth for race-based Communities
Education & research
We provide tools and training on how to minimize bias in the workplace, and host educational sessions on being an authentic leader, managing across differences, microaggressions and micro-inequities, and executive presence. Our Inclusion Dialogues series provides a forum for conversations on topics such as: race, religious bias, accommodation, mental health and more.
Partnerships
We work with a variety of partners who help us examine workplace challenges and opportunities specific to underrepresented ethnic groups, in order to promote positive and permanent change. Bloomberg is a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative, which is a coalition of organizations committed to building equitable and just workplaces for professionals with underrepresented racial and ethnic identities. We also support Business in the Community’s (BITC) Race for Opportunity campaign and Bloomberg employees participate in BITC’s Cross Organisational Mentoring Circles.
In 2019, we partnered with Diversity Practice to produce the Different Women Different Places report, a comparative study of the lived experiences of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse women in the UK, U.S. and Middle East. We also partner with the Black British Business Awards on initiatives including The Middle Report, their unique Talent Accelerator, and BAME in the Boardroom programs, while our philanthropic support of more than 270 arts organizations includes many dedicated to Black artists and the preservation and celebration of Black culture.
Measuring our progress
Accountability is key to our approach. Our heads of business are held accountable for driving diversity recruitment, progression, and retention across their departments, reporting on this directly to the Chairman twice a year. We set aspirational targets, then track, measure, check, and discuss the progress of our diversity initiatives through weekly reporting and a quarterly scorecard shared with senior leaders and diversity champions across the company.
While our work is far from done, our efforts are producing results – and recognition by our industry peers provides a useful benchmark for our progress. Bloomberg is a signatory of The Hispanic Promise, the first-of-its-kind national pledge to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace and we’ve been named one of the 50 most inclusive employers in the UK for three years running – ranking second in the 2019-20 list. Our ethnically diverse leaders have also regularly been recognized as role models by the Black British Business Awards, Powerlist and EMpower.