'My name didn't match my face': JPMAM's Lambert on being colour brave, unmasking microaggressions and talking about black

Change starts at individual, not company, level

Members of the black community have not been vocal enough about systemic racism because it has become normalised over the years, according to JP Morgan Asset Management's Didier Lambert, who is urging both black employees and allies within asset management to start open dialogue about race within their respective firms.

Lambert, who is a managing director and a fixed income portfolio manager at the firm, said even he didn't realise the prevalence of racial inequality within asset management until he was promoted to a senior role in the industry. "When I allowed myself to look back at how far I had come and how much I had achieved, I realised that I looked around me and I was alone. "That was the catalyst to become involved in D&I (diversity & inclusion)," he said. "I learned there was a cruel lack of representation in the industry at a senior level. It was also then that I realised how truly lucky...