- Jamie Dimon's annual letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders was published Monday.
- While it focused primarily on the coronavirus pandemic's effect on the financial institution, it also included a section about the company's diversity and inclusion efforts.
- The section acknowledges a 2019 report by the New York Times alleging racial discrimination at the bank.
- The company's co-COOs, Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith, outlined five ways the bank is working to boost diversity and inclusion, which could provide a model for other companies.
- This article is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on Better Capitalism.
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In his annual letter to shareholders, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon focused primarily on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the company and the economy.
However, he also dedicated a full section to the company's diversity and inclusion efforts, following a 2019 report from The New York Times titled "This Is What Racism Sounds Like in the Banking Industry." The article alleged employee and customer racial discrimination at the financial institution.
Dimon's letter featured a section written by the bank's co-COOs Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith, acknowledging the incident:
"As you know, after the media reported on alleged discrimination in our firm last year, Jamie asked Gordon to lead an internal team to take a hard look at how we do business so that we could gain a deeper understanding of what more we can do to root out racism and discrimination anywhere it exists," the letter reads.
"As a result, we've identified a number of areas that, with enhanced, scaled or new programming or processes, would serve to improve our culture in important ways."
In The New York Times article, a JPMorgan employee and a customer shared secretly recorded conversations they had with bank employees. One conversation showed how a prospective customer for Chase Private Client, the firm's elite banking option for wealthy individuals, was turned away because of his race. Another showed an employee's racism toward a black woman banking with the firm.
To be sure, Dimon added that the company hadn't been ignoring diversity and inclusion prior to the incident, writing, "I can assure you, it did not take one particular story to make us realize that a diverse and inclusive culture is important."
Here are the five main ways the finance giant is working to improve its diversity and inclusion efforts, as outlined by Pinto and Smith. The financial institution's steps could provide a roadmap for any other company leader looking to make change within their business.