A BlackRock Executive Is Getting His Industry Talking About Racism

(Bloomberg) -- One of the few senior black employees at BlackRock Inc. is getting an overwhelmingly white industry to talk about racism.

Gavin Lewis, managing director for BlackRock’s institutional client business in the United Kingdom, spurred a conversation on asset management’s shortcomings in a recent LinkedIn post. “After the events of the last few weeks I’m without words. I’ve found myself questioning who and what I am,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself holding a sign with the words “#IAM… a son, a father, a mentor. “ In another, he asked people to “talk about black” and “join the movement,” tagging it “#IAM.” 

Thousands of posts followed with the #Talkaboutblack hashtag.

Lewis was processing George Floyd’s killing at the hands of U.S. police and the ensuing global wave of protests against racial injustice, he said in an interview. He wrote out a list of what being black means to his life and career -- statements like “I am more likely to be the victim of violent crime” and “I am more likely to be paid less.” He ended with the pieces of his identity that he sees as more important, like being a father and a mentor to others. “I wrote it down and originally it was just going to be for me,” Lewis said. “It was cathartic.” 

The campaign—where participants write three traits that define their identity and approach to systemic racism—drew responses from black professionals and allies in asset management. Tagged with #IAM and #talkaboutblack, the posts shine a spotlight on a homogenous industry, where senior management is mostly white.

“I am the white mother of mixed race teenage children,” Michelle Edkins, head of BlackRock’s stewardship team shared. “My daughter looks like me; my son looks like his dad. It breaks my heart that we have to teach him to be differently mindful of how he dresses (no hoodies), how he reacts (avoid conflict) and how people observe him (store security).”

Only about 2.4% members of executive committees at asset managers are black, according to a 2017 survey by FundFire. At BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with about $6.5 trillion under management, senior leaders were about 3% black or African American and 72% white at the start of this year, corporate diversity disclosures show.

Since the protests, corporate America has rushed to release statements on racial injustice and re-examine its own role in that inequality. On May 30, BlackRock’s chief executive Larry Fink condemned racial inequality, adding that “no organization is immune from the challenges posed by racial bias.”

Lewis has never seen such a huge response to anything he’s shared on the social network. “This has been going on for days, even on the weekend, which never happens on LinkedIn,” he said.

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