It’s time
Curtis Goring
Managing director at The Aftersales Network Firstly, I’d like to say that I have and continue to truly enjoy my career in the financial services industry, which spans over 40 years. There is so much talent and a spirit of friendship and community in our sector. When I was asked for my views on this matter, I must confess that there was an element of fear in contributing my experience, fear that the message may be misinterpreted. But I have faced many challenges in regard to discrimination. Some of it direct and harsh, some of it in the guise of nationalism, some of it subtle and systematic. However, I do feel that it is important for everyone to be a part of the solution and not just a bystander. While I acknowledge that there have been massive improvements in diversity and representation during this time, the pace of change has been very slow. In a lot of ways, technology and social media have created a platform, a spotlight, and a voice to champion the need for change; there is now full visibility on the challenges the BAME community faces every day. This year, in particular, has been huge for awareness, led by the power of social media and magnified by the death of George Floyd and the political divide in the US, and, some would argue, the division caused by Brexit. As a consequence, there are many examples of our sector championing equality— the high street banks, in particular, have been at the forefront of positive change, but there is a long way to go. It is difficult to pin down one reason for the underrepresentation in our market, however, the solution starts with education and equal opportunities for all. There are now role models and mentors in every industry, including financial services, that our young talent pool can unconsciously identify with and draw inspiration from. How did my experience and career journey differ from my peers who are not part of an
underrepresented group? As with many in my community, I too had ‘the talk’ (which, sadly, I’ve had to have with my children, too): “You have to be 10 times better.” “You have to work 10 times harder.” “You fit the description,” when stopped by the police on many occasions. There have been innocent comments, such as: “I did not know he was black,” begging the question: “What would happen if you did know I was black?” Thankfully, it was always in my nature to work hard and persevere. I have had a relatively successful career, but I have observed at leadership meetings and conferences over the years that there was an underrepresentation of BAME people working in the sector. I can also say that this has now significantly changed for the better but, again, there is still a lot of work to do. I feel that, in order to prevent systematic underrepresentation, ethnicity pay gaps, and improve opportunities for BAME employees, organisations should publicise their figures. That way, they can justify their actions if called upon or, indeed, challenged. 63 Nov/Dec 2020