Deutsche Bank Marks Black History Month by Expanding Commitments to Racial Justice

In recognition of the start of Black History Month and as part of its continued commitment to racial equity, Deutsche Bank has become a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative, consisting of 48 organizations representing 13 industries, with more than 5.5 million employees worldwide, with headquarters in three continents. The coalition will work to improve racial and ethnic justice in the workplace by developing and recommending measures to drive action and accountability, champion new industry standards, and influence the broader ecosystem.

“Dialogue, debate and sharing of experiences are invaluable ingredients in solving racial inequality,” said Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Christiana Riley. “All segments of society have a responsibility to address these challenges and Deutsche Bank is committed to doing our part to foster a more just and equitable future in our work around the globe.”

Deutsche Bank’s participation in this initiative builds on existing efforts in the United States to address racial inequities. Last year, Paul Trussell, senior Research Analyst and co-chair of Deutsche Bank’s Black Leadership Forum, joined the Americas Executive Committee as the bank’s Diversity Champion. In the summer of 2020, Deutsche Bank Americas committed to seven actions in seven months to advance the principles of diversity, equality and inclusiveness. The seven actions, completed ahead of schedule in December 2020, included:

1. A commitment to listen, learn & change.

Deutsche Bank established an ambitious program of dialogues, open door sessions, leadership series, trainings and other opportunities for our employees to engage in conversations on diversity and inclusion topics, which had participation from nearly half of all staff in the U.S.

2. Setting and measuring diversity ambitions.

Deutsche Bank committed to reviewing current diversity metrics and setting goals to improve the diversity of its workforce at all corporate levels. In December 2020, the bank announced aspirational goals to increase the number of Black colleagues at the bank’s two highest title levels in the US by 50% over the next three years and increase the proportion of Black talent in our graduate programs to 10% by 2025.

3. Focusing our community partnership program.

Deutsche Bank is taking diversity into account in its partnerships and continuing CSR efforts that benefit low-income, diverse communities. Today, over 80% of CSR Americas initiatives benefit low-income communities and individuals, many of whom are Black and people of color, promoting education, social enterprise and community development. Furthermore, the bank integrated racial equity into its Working Capital RFP in community development grant making and increased its spending with minority suppliers for our new US headquarters.

4. Investing in giving feedback.

Building on the bank’s considerable focus on feedback, including training, 360 processes, performance reviews and a quarterly survey of our employees on frequency and quality, Deutsche Bank is working to make the process more meaningful for our diverse population.

5. Improving diverse advancement.

Deutsche Bank is ensuring the advancement of diverse colleagues through representation in leadership positions and promotions. This includes a firm-wide commitment to enhance the promotion process to ensure varied perspectives are included, and ensuring diverse views are represented in regional leadership councils.

6. Building diversity into leadership development.

Through a combination of leadership capability development and senior leader exposure, Deutsche Bank is supporting the development and professional growth of diverse talent. dbBOLD – a leadership development program available to all of Deutsche Bank’s Black VPs – provides exposure to leaders throughout the bank, including Executive Committee members and Black managing directors and directors, and participation in McKinsey’s Black Leadership Academy.

7. Changing hiring practices.

In order to ensure diversity across professional hiring and graduate recruitment, Deutsche Bank has engaged organizations like the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for the current recruiting cycle and will enhance its HBCU engagement strategy. The bank is also working with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), the premier professional development program supporting Black, Hispanic, and Native American college students.