Diversity Starts At The Top
Two female JPMorgan Chase executives discuss how 21st Century leadership is changing the workforce.
by Iris Hyon of US News
Sam Saperstein, Head of JPMorgan Chase's Women on the Move initiative, and Jennifer Nason, Global Chairman of Investment Banking at JPMorgan Chase, spoke about how leadership at JP Morgan Chase is evolving to suit the needs of a more diverse workforce at the 2019 World Economic Forum.
Saperstein, who has contributed to credit card strategy and marketing efforts since joining JPMorgan Chase in 2012, described how the Women on the Move initiative consolidates the firm's global resources to support women in their professional and consumer lives. Saperstein detailed the three main goals of Women on the Move: to promote female employees to senior level roles within the firm, to help women small business owners get the funding they need and to improve the financial health of women and their families.
The Women on the Move initiative demonstrates JPMorgan Chase's dedication to recruiting people who possess not only the same skills of the past, but also with new skills of the future. JPMorgan Chase's priority on progressive management is also evident in the firm's recruitment strategy.
"We're using technology to take the bias out of the recruiting process," Saperstein said. "I am optimistic that technology is going to provide enormous opportunity for more diverse talent."
Nason joined JPMorgan Chase's Melbourne, Australia office in 1986 and has worked in Asia and New York since, focusing respectively on project finance and mergers and acquisitions. Nason has witnessed the change in leadership at the firm first-hand, from a top-down power structure to a more collaborative system that gives greater weight to the feedback of clients and employees alike.
Nason says that this shift is quite profound. "I personally am very, very optimistic that it's going to provide enormous opportunity for more diverse talent," Nason said. "I think a lot more variety of skills and qualities are required to do this job well, whereas before it was a pretty linear career path and functionality."
Both Saperstein and Nason identified the importance of listening when occupying a leadership role. Whether that means listening to employees about the efficacy of new technology in the workplace or listening to clients in order to improve the client experience, listening is key.
"[Leadership is] not a one-way street," Nason said.
