Reboot.: Supporting real change requires a shift in the City's culture

Breaking down the 'A' in BAME

reboot. was created to support more dialogue on race and ethnicity, born out of a working group of financial services communications professionals. In the latest article in our reboot. series, Nizam Hamid, ETF and index consultant, charts the City’s evolution to become more inclusive through his own personal experiences over the course of a 30-year career, noting that while progress has been made, the industry is just at the start of its journey…

The term 'BAME' is gradually being retired, having served a useful purpose in focusing on the lack of racial diversity in the workplace. But as the conversations are becoming more prominent and deeper, the nomenclature is evolving. When I started work in the City over 30 years ago, there was no such terminology such as 'BAME', and while there was considerable racism, it was definitely not spoken about, and at best avoided as a subject. Back then, as an equity analyst in an investment bank, I would go to company meetings where I was frequently the only person from an ethnic minority group. T...