Kerry Amies, a Senior Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager at T. Rowe Price, shares exclusive insights into what life is like at the firm. In particular, she highlights what the working culture at the firm is like as well as outlines the steps T. Rowe Price takes to promote DEI.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at T. Rowe Price.
I am a senior diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) manager at T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is a global asset management firm headquartered in Baltimore in the U.S. The firm’s mission is to help our clients achieve their long-term financial goals. My role covers the implementation of T. Rowe Price’s DEI strategy in the EMEA region, working in close partnership with senior leaders. A key part of our DEI strategy at T. Rowe Price is to attract and retain diverse employees. This is important because true business success is dependent on creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable working environment, where every individual and group is respected, connected, and able to thrive.
I moved into the DEI function having worked in the broader Human Resources (HR) function at T. Rowe Price for five years. Prior to joining the firm, I spent almost a decade working as an HR professional in the Legal sector, and my interest in diversity was piqued while studying for my CIPD (a professional HR qualification and master’s degree).
Growing up in an ethnically diverse part of East London and the daughter of a migrant, I was exposed at an early age to different cultures, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I was educated in a local state school before my university studies and work took me abroad to live in France and the United Arab Emirates. I was motivated to take on a DEI role to better understand different perspectives and to make a positive impact on the community.
How would you describe the culture at T. Rowe Price?
Our culture is a very caring one. This may not be what you typically associate with a financial services firm, but my experiences have certainly validated this. People help and look out for one another. This was really evident during the pandemic, when teams set up informal virtual coffee catch-ups to keep in touch with and support one other during this unprecedented period. Our caring culture permeates our entire organisation, and this extends to our most senior leaders being extremely generous with their time. Our new CEO and president, Rob Sharps, demonstrated this during his recent trip to London, when he spent time speaking with representatives from our Business Resource Groups (our diversity networks) and me about our DEI work.
Collaboration is also an important element of our culture and is directly linked to our DEI strategy. Our employees are encouraged to seek a wide range of different perspectives on work projects as this can ultimately lead to more successful business outcomes. This also gives our employees access to a variety of work across different parts of our business, which can benefit career development.
What does DEI look like at T. Rowe Price?
We approach diversity and inclusion from a very broad perspective.
Diversity:
We encourage our employees and leaders to focus on a range of dimensions:
- Internal dimensions that are typically measured: gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability.
- External dimensions: Education background, work experience, geographic location.
- Organisational dimensions that impact our personal, social, and professional identities: functional classification, management status, seniority.
Inclusion:
We see inclusion as creating an environment that enables a diverse mix of employees to feel comfortable and confident in bringing their full selves to work every day. An inclusive culture helps to inspire our employees to contribute fully to our firm’s success and progress their careers. Inclusion is an active term which we are all responsible for practising daily.
Equity:
We also use equity in our approach. This is linked to the actions that we take to ensure that everyone has access to opportunities and experiences that enable their career ambition and advancement. Equity aims to identify and eliminate barriers that prevent the full participation of groups and individuals.
Do you have any long-term plans for DEI at T. Rowe Price?
We believe in the power of diversity and pride ourselves on a legacy of purpose. The long-term success of our clients is made possible by the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, talents, and experiences of our employees. We have an intentional multiyear strategy centered around five growth pillars:
- Growing and supporting our diverse workforce
- Sustaining and enhancing an inclusive culture
- Engaging and developing employees
- Communicating and amplifying our commitment
- Accountability
Our focus for this year is on developing our leaders as mentors, sponsors, and active allies. We also intend to maximise employee engagement and demonstrate that T. Rowe Price is an employer of choice, so that we can attract and retain top talent, continue to foster an inclusive culture, and achieve a balanced workforce that accelerates company growth.
Want to find out more? Checkout T. Rowe Price's profile here.