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The D&I Challenge
Over the past decade, many firms within the financial services field have launched diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) initiatives to address the industry’s long-standing diversity challenges.
While these initiatives have effected positive changes throughout the broader industry, specific sectors have more work to do…
Private Equity
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Women represent 33% of all roles within private equity; this number drops to just 23% when looking only at investing roles. (McKinsey & Company, 2022)
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71% of all private equity investing roles are filled by white or Caucasian men and women.
Venture Capital
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Female employees comprised 26% of investment professionals in 2022; this number falls to 19% when looking at only investment partners. (Deloitte, 2022)
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White employees comprised 69% of investment positions in 2022.
Hedge Funds
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In the U.S., females represent 20% of investment analyst roles and 16% of analyst / quant roles.
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In the U.S., Black and Hispanic individuals represent 6% of investment analyst roles and 3% of analyst / quant roles despite making up 30%+ of the U.S. population. (AM Observer, 2021)
Why is this the case?
Many of today's D&I initiatives concentrate on enhancing diversity during the hiring phase for full-time positions or junior-summer internships. Given the intense competition to secure internships and full-time positions in this arena (further intensified by accelerated recruiting timelines), a strategic and thoughtful approach becomes imperative for enhancing D&I at the top of the funnel, early in students' college journeys to ensure the resulting qualified candidate pool is diverse.
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The investment banking recruiting timeline provided below illustrates the challenges and expectations that students face when pursuing a job within the competitive financial services sectors.
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
2-yr Investment Banking Program
Students build resumes internships and extra-curriculars relevant to investment banking while also starting technical preparation for interviews
Interviews for junior summer investment banking internships begin sophomore year
Junior summer investment banking internship begins
Students start preparing for buyside recruiting by studying technical questions, practice models and deal experience
Recent graduates start recruiting for post-investment banking buyside jobs within the first few months of starting in investment banking
Why does this matter?
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The students that are best equipped to navigate the competitive investment banking recruiting process are those with exposure to the investment banking field along with its unique prerequisites and interview process early on in (or even prior to) their college career. With this awareness, students can start building a strong resume through extracurriculars and internships while also preparing for technical interview screens by building the necessary skill set.
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Those with a strong network within the financial services field are most likely to benefit from exposure early in their college careers. They are also well-positioned to leverage this network to attain the internships and job experience that will set them apart from less-experienced candidates.
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Often lacking the advantages of a network and the resulting exposure, students from underrepresented backgrounds face greater challenges in the application and recruiting process.
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EA's Three Pillars for Progress are designed to equip students from all backgrounds with the exposure, network, and resources needed to empower them in pursuing their desired job.
Our Solution: Three Pillars for Progress
Exposure
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Due to progressively accelerated recruiting timelines and an increasingly qualified candidate pool, students need to be exposed to opportunities across the financial services sector as early as possible in their college experience to ensure they can effectively pursue their chosen field of interest
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Through on-campus and virtual information sessions, EA empowers students with (i) exposure to different career paths and (ii) knowledge of the steps required in order to become a qualified candidate for those respective career paths
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EA’s information sessions combine class-room style education with perspectives from industry professionals to help students through career path discernment and set them on the right path
Network
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While “Exposure” is meant to point candidates in the right direction, many students require ongoing guidance to help navigate their own unique challenges
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The Empowered Access Mentorship Network was established to provide students and young professionals with the opportunity to learn from the experience and guidance of those who have walked similar paths before them
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The mentorship network enables participants to lend their experiences and knowledge to younger students while also gaining valuable guidance from older mentors as they navigate their own career paths
Preparation & Resources
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In addition to information sessions, EA and its network of partners host a free 6-week workshop for all students
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The first half of each workshop features presenting firms across the financial services landscape to expose students to a wide range of potential career paths; the second half serves as practical and technical training to help students navigate the competitive recruiting processes they will encounter in college and as young professionals
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While interview preparation courses often cost $500 or more, EA and its network of partners provide these materials free of charge to ensure cost is never a barrier for a student to become a qualified candidate
Empowered Access In Action
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
2-yr Investment Banking Program
All students have full access to the database of prep materials
EA Mentorship Network for under-represented students
EA Information Sessions
On-campus and virtual sessions to (i) introduce students to the broad range of fields within the financial services field and (ii) provide the roadmap to prepare for and land their desired job
EA Spring Buyside Workshops
6-week workshops designed to (i) expose students to different buyside strategies and firms and (ii) provide the practical technical and interview preparation to navigate the competitive buyside recruiting process
Student builds resume with internships and extra-curriculars relevant to investment banking while also preparing for the technical aspects of investment banking interviews
Interviews for junior summer investment banking internships begin sophomore year
Junior summer investment banking internship begins
Students start preparing for buyside recruiting by studying technical questions, practice models and deal experience
Recent graduates start recruiting for post-investment banking buyside jobs within the first few months of starting in investment banking