Wall street or white street? few successful black brokers seem to indicate barriers persist

Wall Street brokerage firms have consistently been viewed as exclusive clubs where only white men are comfortable. Many of the major brokerage firms have a long history of suits brought against them for sex discrimination and of large settlements to plaintiffs in class action sex discrimination lawsuits. It should come as no surprise in an industry whose female presence is low to non-existent that black men are also severely underrepresented. Currently there is a large class action lawsuit pending against Merrill Lynch that alleges that the firm systemically limited the opportunities for blacks to succeed as brokers, denied them a fair chance to rise into management and retaliated against those who complained. While Merrill Lynch contends that its workplace diversity and diversity hiring record exceed the industry norm (Merrill Lynch is the only major Wall Street firm with an African American Chairman and CEO), since the suit was filed, Merrill Lynch has been hiring African-Americans at an unusually fast pace, according to black brokers at the firm. Have a look at this interesting article about the lonely road that black men must walk on Wall Street.