Economic Woes May Trump Diversity
Jan. 22, 2009
Jessica Haro--HispanicBusiness.com
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On September 14, 2008, the financial industry held its breath as it awaited the fall of Wall Street. What followed was a veritable redrawing of the industrial map: Former cornerstones of the nation's economy filed for bankruptcy or merged with larger companies to stay afloat. As the mergers are finalized, the new fear within the industry is not so much whether the companies will survive, but will the employees?
Financial services fund J.P.Morgan plans to cut 9,200 jobs at Washington Mutual -- roughly 21 percent of the bank's employees -- by the end of 2009. A month after this announcement, Citibank said in November 2008 that it would lay off 50,000 workers. In all, the financial industry is expected to lose more than 220,000 jobs this year.
"Regarding hiring, everybody will be affected," said Carlos Orta, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. "The question is, everybody will be hurt, but will Hispanics be hurt more?" The association is a nonprofit organization that measures and seeks to realize a complete integration of Hispanics in corporate America.
"When a company decides to cut back, usually one of the first things they cut is philanthropy, then diversity, and the sort of 'good will' programs," Mr. Orta explained. Regardless of the financial crisis, he has not been impressed with the financial industry's efforts to hire Hispanics and minorities in general.
Diversity in the financial industry, Mr. Orta said, begins at the top. "American Express has an African-American CEO, so they probably have a good number of minorities," he said. "If diversity is important to the CEO, then it will happen. If it's not, then the numbers will reflect that."
Another incentive for diversity in the financial industry comes from the population the company serves. "The bigger you are, the more responsibilities you have," said Mr. Orta.
While other banks were failing, Bank of America continued to participate in diversity recruitment events, and plans to continue to do so this year. "We're not immune to the economic climate," said Bank of America spokeswoman Kelly Sapp. Though the company is responding to the recession through diligent oversight of its expenses and hiring costs, Ms. Sapp asserts that Bank of America "is committed to its diversity recruiting efforts and will continue to look for top diverse talent and align hiring needs with the business need."
Mr. Orta predicts that the restructuring of the financial industry will force it to focus more on diversity, because its customers will hold them accountable. "J.P.Morgan, which is now essentially a bank, will have to deal with banking issues. This will be a shock to their system because they don't subscribe to diversity and never have," he said. "A company like that who hasn't had to deal with these issues is in for an awakening."
Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2009. All rights reserved.
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