IR+M mourns with so many others the tragic death of George Floyd and with the men, women and children of our Black and Brown communities that have suffered from the long history of racial injustice in the United States. We cannot turn a blind eye. Recognizing our society’s failures is a first step, but words will not be enough to change entrenched inequality. We need to take action – as individuals and among our families, our firm and the communities around us – to create conditions that guarantee the safety of and equal rights for people of color and all minorities. As CEO of an organization in an industry that itself has much work to do on diversity and inclusion, I will hold myself and those around me to account. Together we will strive to build these conditions in our own firm and within our community.
To that end, some of the actions we are taking at IR+M include:
- Purposeful hiring to identify and attract candidates who are from communities of color and minorities.
- Placing emphasis on diversity in our mentorship program and networking programs across the firm.
- Unconscious bias training, which will include conversations about racism in the workplace, to provide effective tools for identifying and eliminating discriminatory thinking and behavior.
- Reevaluating our business relationships to ensure we share the same values as our partners on equality.
- Charitable donation to the NAACP Defense and Education Fund; we are in the process of vetting additional donations to organizations focused on ending racial bias.
We are intentionally making a stronger and louder statement on the issue of racism today because the status quo is not something we can, or will, tolerate. Anything short of true equality and safety for all is simply unacceptable.
Bill O’Malley
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Chief Investment Officer
