S05 EP03: Work Towards Racial Justice, Not Just Diversity
In this episode Rianka speaks with Rachel Sanborn Lawrence, Director of Advisory Services at Ellevest, about how the company continues to elevate its commitment to being an inclusive workplace.
Spurred by the events of 2020, Ellevest went bold with a “Our Commitment to Racial Justice” statement. Although conversations with its diverse community had been open and ongoing, CEO Sallie Krawcheck said about her unilateral decision to issue the statement, “to me this was a CEO decision, and if they didn’t like it, they could find another place to work.”
Good news: everyone loved it.
Rachel shared how intentional actions from leadership, such as using specific and articulate language over more generic terms (e.g. “racial justice” instead of “diversity”) can make a huge difference.
Rachel shares that Ellevest exists to get more money into the hands of women, and there’s no way for them to live out their mission without being anti-racist - this has trickled down into investment strategies, hiring, and more.
Ellevest decided to hire an outside consultant to tackle their diversity initiatives, and not put the burden on its employees. They looked specifically for a BIPOC and women+ -owned firm to bring out more systemic change, and took immediate action to hire them in the summer of 2020. This consultant is now embedded in the team through all aspects of the company including leadership, marketing, investments, people ops, etc.
They’ve seen clear evidence through the evolution of their Emergency Fund Standards. Setting aside traditional advice to pay down high interest debt first, the team has pivoted to ensure that clients have one month of take home pay saved for emergencies; a decision that prevents many from entering severe financial hardship. In short, their team has started to think more holistically, over what’s most technically efficient. A win!
For companies with a smaller budget, Rachel suggests focusing on hiring to fight biases and shares how Ellevest has created a grading rubric to be applied fairly, specifically training hiring managers to avoid bias prior to the interview, and gotten creative with new positions.
Rachel also shares plans to build out a training program for people with no formal education or licensing to set them on a career path in financial services.
Want more? Listen below to get a peek inside Ellevest’s approach to racial justice and diversity in the workplace.
What You’ll Learn:
How and why intentional language can spark a movement
Where businesses with smaller budgets should focus their diversity initiatives
How diversity factors into every department and for every employee at every stage of their career
How formal style guides that incorporate appropriate internal and external communications, help set a tone of inclusion
Show Notes:
Episode Transcript
Coming soon!
Disclosures:
All opinions and views expressed by Ellevest are current as of the date of this writing, for informational purposes only, and do not constitute or imply an endorsement of any third party’s products or services.
Information was obtained from third-party sources, which we believe to be reliable but not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.