Tone Deaf Approach to Diversity And Inclusion - Relationship Manager Silicon Valley Bank Employee Review

2.0
Jul 18, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

working remotely is not stigmatized, a good place to learn about the tech ecosystem

Cons

I have been at SVB for almost 4 years and have seen our management attempt to understand the lack of diversity at the bank but they are clearly doing it because they have to and not because they get it. Recent reorgs have no direct reports that are women to the new president. Women on the board are not in revenue generating roles and the long time SVB woman who led the commercial bank was slowly squeezed out and it unclear what she is working on now. SVB hires senior women but doesn't think about developing who they already have. Our management has used terms like "not lowering the bar" and at a townhall our CEO flubbed an answer about whether there was a diversity problem at the bank. SVB follows the herd. I f VCs care about women in tech and public opinion is there, SVB will too. If VCs start to talk about race, maybe SVB will too but for now it barely knows how to talk about women in the workplace. Diversity and inclusion teams are not effective because there is no desire by the majority to shake up the status quo that has worked for them. Diversity and Inclusion teams are led by HR which does not hold credibility at the bank because HR is there to protect SVB and not advocate for employees. To be clear, there are well meaning men and women at SVB who support diversity and inclusion but that isnt enough. Lately there has also been tension between those brought in to help the bank "go pro" and old timers who are feeling unappreciated. Also going pro has been used in a menacing way/veiled threat/corporate jargon to hide behind unpopular choices. Additionally, I read some of the other reviews and it is totally true that IT is a mess and the technological debt for a tech client serving bank is enormous. Maybe the lenders are doing ok but most divisions are going through changes.

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Silicon Valley Bank Response
8y
Thank you for the honest and candid feedback. As you noted, inclusion and diversity (I & D) is a topic we’ve been discussing for several years at SVB. Those conversations continue in-depth at all levels and in particular among our senior leaders. While our results indicate we’re making progress in our broader efforts, like any organization, we’re on a journey; still learning along the way at all levels and across many dimensions. Our belief is this evolution comprises small wins and learning opportunities; in the end we believe deep and lasting change takes time. We also believe candid feedback and input from our employees, yourself included, are critically important to help us enhance both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of moving this important work forward not only at SVB -- but in our ecosystem as well. To share your views you are welcome to reach out directly to our Inclusion & Diversity Committee, and/or that you help us even more directly shape our direction by joining our soon-to-be-launched employee-driven I & D group. You can find contact info for our I & D Executive Committee members on The Source, and you’ll be hearing very soon about new actions we’ll be taking to drive even deeper results. Best, Chris Edmonds-Waters CHRO, SVBFG

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