BWAM gains PE sponsors

Black Women in Asset Management (BWAM), an industry organisation promoting the advancement of Black women working in the asset management industry, has welcomed Barrington Hibbert Associates, Blackstone, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Goodwin Proctor, Latham & Watkins and Livingbridge as institutional members and sponsors. 

BWAM continues to be supported by its founding sponsor TowerBrook Capital Partners. 

BWAM chair and co-founder, Jacqueline Taiwo, commented: “We are so grateful that our new institutional members have chosen to align with BWAM’s mission to connect, empower and advance Black women working across the investment ecosystem. Their support will accelerate BWAM’s impact in 2021, allowing the organisation to bring in new resources, as we offer members more career development and leadership training opportunities. We also look forward to expanding our existing outreach initiatives to encourage more young Black women to pursue careers in investment.” 

Black women remain vastly underrepresented at all levels within the investment industry. A 2019 report by the Investment Association showed that less than 1% of investment managers in the UK are Black. BWAM aims to drive positive change by providing Black women with insight and tools needed to advance, while also encouraging firms to create more inclusive environments. Formed in 2019, the organisation has quickly become a valuable community for investment professionals, lawyers, consultants, administrators and other advisors in the asset management field. To date, BWAM has close to 400 members and has hosted over 20 networking, educational and outreach events. 

In October, BWAM penned an open letter to investment firms to commit to action, activism, and accountability to dismantle the racial inequities plaguing society.