When is discrimination not discrimination?

24 May 2007

2 minute read

When is discrimination not discrimination?

Is matching salespeople to clients by gender and ethnicity discrimination? We think not.

Bank of America (B of A) stands accused of racial discrimination in the US for this and other misdemeanours. According to Reuters, the bank's being sued by numerous unspecified plaintiffs for steering its African-American bankers and brokers towards African-American clients on the grounds that clients are more comfortable dealing with sales professionals of their own race.

It strikes us that this isn't such a crime, and if it is, it's one that's committed by similarly nefarious banks this side of the Atlantic.

"Banks clearly look for people who can empathise with clients," says Shaun Springer, chief executive of search firm Napier Scott. "Salespeople are employed because of their cultural understanding of the client base - and that generally derives from cultural similarities."

"There's definitely a feeling that it's good to match salespeople to clients of the same cultural background," confirms another derivatives-focused headhunter.

So where did B of A go wrong? The main issue appears to have been that the African-American clients assigned to the African-American bankers and brokers were less wealthy than their white counterparts. Were their accounts more lucrative, we have the distinct suspicion that this case wouldn't have been brought...

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Ce
Cecil
30 March 2009
I am of french origin and I have been working in sales for few years and I got assigned clients from all over the world until now, the company has decided that is going to be more profitable if I get only french clients (all the sales people are having the same treatment) my income is going to be significantlly lower beause of this (we dont sell much in France) I feel that this is discrimination but I dont have legal information. Anybody knows where I can get more info?
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An
Anachonda
6 June 2007
In my opinion, BoA is right. Let these happy slappy lawyers and politically correct duffers get a life. BoA is in the business of making profit, and must be at full freedom to deploy is assets towards that aim. The more the better off course without breaking the laws.
Those who have never ran a company always claim to know how best to deploy its most valuable assets (people). Therefore BoA should carry on the good work of deploying its assets as best it can.
Those who beleive they can do better should look at supplying their services to BoA with the distinct aim of improving profit margins. Any other thing in my view will be a happy slappy, we are in this together nonesense, which I strongly oppose.
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Harshal
4 June 2007
In my opinion, (barring extreme cases) *any* kind of selection based on ethnicity,gender,age,sexuality, etc. promotes segregation and is, as such, ultimately detrimental to the progress of societies such as ours.
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J.
J.L. Afoakwah
31 May 2007
Blacks have been known for their stylish qualities since the abolition of slavery. they are the most efficient workers ever. that was why Pepsi Cola started from nowhere with these smart black guys, and became the srongest competitor to Coca Cola. If you want your company to grow, please recruit the blacks, and pay them well. Try it.
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AK
AK
30 May 2007
The size of the account itself does not matter as much as how much you grow it. It is what (i.e. how much) you make of the account which matters more than which account you are "given". I could be "given" a big account and if i bust it then have i done a good job as compared to someone else who was "given" a smaller account and grew it?
That said matching African AMERICANS with African AMERICANS and not Caucasian AMERICANS seems ridiculous. I agree with Jeremy and Jonathan - they are all AMERICANS afterall. If your client is giving business to someone on the grounds of racial similarity then you can sue your client as well!
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