Archive for category: Diversity & inclusion
Tell us a little about yourself and your journey to Vanguard.
Brandon: I am deaf and have worked at Vanguard for 12 years (time flies!). Before I joined Vanguard, I had a temporary job at another financial company. Then, a friend of mine told me about Vanguard. They said it was a great company and the work environment was very friendly. I started as a developer in 2012. Today, I am an Application Engineer working on a team that is focused on building a custom and unified investing experience for our clients.
Can you share more about your deafness?
Brandon: I was born deaf. I am the only deaf person in my entire family. When I was young, my family was watching Jeopardy on TV and my mom started calling my name. She thought that I was ignoring her, but I couldn’t hear her. So, they turned the volume down on the TV, started clapping and calling my name and I still didn’t respond at all. My mom took me to the doctor and that was when we found out that the part of my ears, called the cochlea, that produces nerve impulse that respond to sound vibrations from ear drum hadn’t fully developed so that is the reason for my complete deafness.
Also, English is not my first language. In fact, I learned American Sign Language (ASL) first. My parents put me speech pathology program hoping I could speak orally, but it became hard for me since I couldn’t fully understand how to pronounce words, even if I wore hearing aids.
What support have you received at Vanguard?
Brandon: When I first started working here, there was a lack of subtitles/captions on videos, especially mandatory training videos. I had to request for access for interpreters to interpret them for me. Now, crew can ask to have the same interpreters come in from 9 – 5 or whenever is best for their schedules. This helps me so much with team communication, especially when working remotely! Vanguard has since made major improvements in providing deaf accessibility support through things like adding captions to videos. I am hoping to see even more improvements in the future!
What does AAPI month mean to you and how has your heritage shaped who you are today?
Brandon: To me, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month means remembering our own history, appreciating our culture, and respecting the cultures of others. My parents, who moved from Hong Kong, taught me about Chinese culture and their experiences living there. I love everything about my heritage: the food, the language, the history, and the culture. One year during college break, my father and I took a trip to Hong Kong. The culture shock hit me, and I never expected Hong Kong to be so different from America. My father would tell me stories about places he had gone as a kid, and I was even able to meet more relatives. I had the opportunity to really get a stronger understanding of my family history and culture and appreciate it so much more now.
Why Vanguard?
Brandon: I have enjoyed working at Vanguard for a long time —12 years. The diverse and inclusive culture here at Vanguard has been pretty amazing. I don’t think there are many companies that provide the same experience as Vanguard. Vanguard has provided support for deaf accessibility to make my job easier and I am very happy that they did. Without that support, I would not be here.
When I connect and engage with diverse crew, I can see different perspectives other than my own. The benefit of a diverse workplace is that we can work together and share many different ideas and perspectives. This can bring a lot of innovation and creativity.
What advice would you give to people with disabilities in the workplace?
Brandon: After sharing my experiences at work, it allowed other crew members to gain a stronger understanding about the struggles that people with disabilities experience daily. People don’t know how you are feeling or what those experiences are like unless you share them. So, sharing those struggles can encourage other crew to really try to make the workplace more equitable and inclusive for people with disabilities and other underserved communities.
Why is having women in our Enterprise Security & Fraud (ES&F) Division and industry overall so important to you? Why is the WiCyS mission of “Attract, Engage, Advance” important to Vanguard? To our industry?
Vanguard is always looking to recruit, retain, and advance our community of women in cybersecurity and across all disciplines. Having women in cybersecurity is crucial for gaining diverse perspectives, enhancing problem-solving, and fostering innovation. A gender-inclusive cybersecurity workforce improves our overall effectiveness, as diverse teams are better equipped to understand and mitigate a wide range of threats. So, fostering our existing and potential network of women in cybersecurity is imperative for us in ES&F, and it’s why Vanguard partnered with the WiCyS organization in 2023. This partnership helps connect us with a diverse community of candidates in our growing field.
In addition to attracting the right talent, Vanguard makes intentional investments in our employees through the entire talent lifecycle. Our ES&F organization works closely with one of Vanguard’s internal employee resource groups, Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS). Vanessa Richards, a member of my leadership team, is our division’s champion in the WILS organization.
The WILS mission is to “Equip, Engage, Empower”, which resonates with WiCyS’s mission to bring talented women together to celebrate and foster their passion for cybersecurity. The WILS organization at Vanguard works to cultivate an inclusive community where all women are equipped to succeed in their current and future roles, engaged with the work they do and their community, and empowered to experience a sense of belonging through a series of events, resources, and conversations.
I am deeply fortunate to have wonderful women and allies in ES&F who every day, bring their enthusiasm, commitment, and intelligence to our mission. And I always value the opportunity to take these lessons and pay them forward by being available for and supportive of the numerous talented women who are just beginning their career at Vanguard—including potentially a few of you!
Interested in a career at Vanguard? Check out these opportunities in our Global Risk and Security division.
A Tradition of Service
Inspired by my grandfather’s service as an Air Defense NCO during the Korean War and my father’s as a Medical Services Officer, I knew from a young age I wanted to serve my country. The thought of pursuing a calling in service of something bigger than myself always captured my imagination, so I commissioned into the Army and served 7 years as an Armor Officer. I was given the opportunity to lead young soldiers in difficult environments around the world, which forged lifelong friendships.
These experiences taught me valuable lessons about the highs and lows of military service – the thrill of a well-executed mission, seasons of separation from loved ones, overcoming tough circumstances with a tight-knit team, and the deep pain of loss. I learned that service often demands some degree of sacrifice but results in the most rewarding and memorable experiences.
Searching for a New Mission
While I loved my time in the Army, our family continued to grow and it became apparent that a transition from the military was for the best. While attending graduate school, I believed that I could learn new skills and tackle many challenges if there was a strong sense of purpose and meaning to tie my work to a broader mission. I began looking for opportunities to work on strategic initiatives across a business to make a tangible impact in service of others.
In this search, I came across Vanguard’s MBA Leadership Development program. After many conversations with crew, I learned about Vanguard’s noble mission to care for their clients while giving them the best chance to reach their financial goals. I was excited to join a team so clearly motivated by service to others in a program with a strong reputation for professional development. After a great experience as a summer intern, I was fortunate enough to receive a full-time offer and quickly accepted.
Growth as a Lifelong Journey
Navigating three rotations in the development program offered many opportunities to learn and grow under skilled and thoughtful leaders while surrounded by talented and supportive peers from other MBA programs. I loved working in highly collaborative settings with teams from multiple divisions oriented on bodies of work that directly benefitted our crew and clients. I grew significantly from the relationships that were formed and a mindset that approaches every challenge as an opportunity.
I walked through the doors of Vanguard seeking the camaraderie and sense of purpose I experienced in the military. Reflecting on my time in the program I can now look back and say that Vanguard exemplifies an ethos that fueled my passion for military service – mission first, people always.
-Sean E.
I was first introduced to Vanguard as a cadet at West Point. My father had recently heard about Roth IRAs and target-date funds on AM radio while driving home from work. He urged me to open an account with Vanguard, based on its reputation as an honest company with low costs. At West Point, I had many classmates and instructors who were interested in swapping hot stock tips and investment philosophies. One thing that stood out the most to me was a strategy championed by Vanguard’s founder Jack Bogle that urges investors to regularly invest in low-cost, broadly-diversified, index funds, while sticking to an investment plan regardless of market conditions. I was hooked.
Following graduation, I had the privilege of leading armor, infantry, and recruiting Army units both stateside and in Afghanistan. Many of my soldiers came from disadvantaged backgrounds. For some, it was their first time ever having a substantial income in their lives. They would often confide in me as their leader for guidance on things like creating a budget or investing for the future. Time and time again, I shared Mr. Bogle’s strategy and urged my soldiers to open a Vanguard account because I believed it was a company they could trust.
Following my transition from active duty, I was looking for a career opportunity that aligned with my values and was mission driven. When I discovered Vanguard’s MBA Development Program, I knew I’d found exactly what I’d been looking for. I had the opportunity to take on meaningful, strategic work over the course of three, five-month assignments. The program also included a significant amount of mentorship from peers, senior leaders, and executives—something validated by program alums who were more than willing to connect as I sought to learn more about the program during the recruiting process.
I’ve heard the saying: you don’t want to meet your heroes, lest they disappoint. In this instance, the adage is mistaken. I write this blog post enroute to the MBA Veterans Conference to represent Vanguard’s commitment to foster career opportunities for top military veterans and drive a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. I’m wholeheartedly thrilled to share my Vanguard story with the next cadre of service members who seek a new mission of taking a stand for all investors, treating them fairly, and giving them the best chance for investment success.
– Mike S.
My passion for IT and my love for tackling problems drives me to work at solving the gender gap in the IT industry. When I came to the U.S. in 2006 after living in India for most of my life, I was surprised by how few women pursued careers in technology compared to the women in India. In my research, two things stood out: 1) Young girls shy away from tech and 2) women who took a break from their IT career found it difficult to return to work as they were turned away by many organizations.
At Vanguard, I found the perfect platform to tackle these challenges. As a member of the IT Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS) crew resource group, I helped organize in-person workshops in partnership with TechGirlz. TechGirlz is a nonprofit program to encourage middle-school girls to consider technology fields by exposing them to fun workshops. I also conceptualized and executed a new talent attraction program at Vanguard called Re-booters. Re-booters is an application engineer return-to-work program to refresh women’s tech skills and provide them with an opportunity to re-enter the workforce.
Vanguard’s commitment to invest in their employees and create an inclusive culture aligns with one of my guiding principles to help others grow and to solve problems. The leaders at Vanguard ensure that every voice is heard, every passion is supported, and no idea is considered small. Vanguard has not only equipped me with the tools to get to the bottom of problems but also empowered me to pursue my passions to address issues that can make a difference in someone’s life.
-Madhu M.
Interested in Technology at Vanguard?
Hear directly from our tech crew here, and be sure to check out these opportunities.
Vanguard: What does Hispanic Heritage month mean to you and how has your heritage shaped who you are today?
Angelica: To me, Hispanic Heritage Month means to advocate, celebrate, and educate. Hispanic Heritage Month gives me the opportunity to advocate for my community and showcase what we can do. It is also a time to celebrate who we are. There are so many different cultures that fall under this umbrella term “Hispanic.” During this time, we can come together to celebrate the beauty of our cultures and how truly diverse we are. It is also an opportunity to celebrate everything we’ve overcome and accomplished throughout history. Lastly, it is about educating. We have the opportunity to educate others on the many different traditions that exist within the Hispanic culture. It is also a time to educate the community on the challenges we still face and how we can come together to overcome those challenges.
What are some of the things you love most about your Hispanic heritage? Or what are you most proud of regarding your Hispanic Heritage.
I always tell people; I have the best of three worlds. I am half Puerto Rican and half Mexican, yet I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Three very distinct cultures with different food, music, and even languages. I grew up speaking Spanish and English. My Saturday mornings consisted of cleaning with my mom while listening to music that ranged from Luis Miguel, salsa, merengue to even Prince. All three cultures have shaped me into the person I am today. My parents came to the United States looking for a better life. They struggled, persevered, and ultimately provided me with me a better life. There is a reason I am proud to say I am a Latina because it reminds me of all the struggles, challenges, and adversities that the people before me experienced but most importantly it reminds me of the resiliency. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the sacrifices my family made.
What impact has your heritage had on you and your journey to Vanguard?
My roots and my identity are huge part of who I am and have played a pivotal role in my success. I was raised by hard-working parents, who made sacrifices so that I can have the best education. Because of these sacrifices, I was able to excel at Arizona State University and graduate with a Business Management degree. When I graduated, I knew I wanted to either work for a non-profit or work in corporate America. When I joined Vanguard, I knew little to nothing about finance and struggled a bit to understand the processes needed to do my job. Because of my family’s resiliency, I accepted this challenge head on and continued to push myself to learn. In 5 years, I have held several client servicing roles, served as a supervisor, and helped with strategic work and execution as a project manager. Although I was one of the few Latinas in my department, it didn’t matter to me. I made sure to embrace that and I hope I have been able to open doors for others who are trying to find a career in finance.
Tell us about your involvement in HOLA and how it has impacted your experience at Vanguard.
My Vanguard story starts with HOLA. I was encouraged to apply to Vanguard after meeting with a member of HOLA during a career fair at Arizona State University. I came to Vanguard because of HOLA. I wanted to work at a company that valued my voice, talent, and background. The moment I was hired and onboarded, I signed up for HOLA. Since 2019, I have been a part of the Arizona-based HOLA leadership team, HOLA onboarding team, and have helped plan various events for Hispanic Heritage Month. Through these roles, I have had the opportunity to onboard new HOLA members, engage with crew and strengthen my leadership skills. HOLA is my home away from home and I have a second familia here that supports and cares for me.
What advice (personal or professional) would you give to other Latinx professionals?
In college, I had a friend who lived by the following: Advocate, Celebrate and Educate. I have continued to live by these three words, and they have honestly helped guide me through my career.
– Angelica R.
As we celebrate Pride Month, I reflect on how grateful I am to have found a supportive community at work through OPEN (Out Professional Engagement Network), a crew resource group here at Vanguard. Being a member of OPEN has genuinely been a transformative experience for me. While I have been lucky to have a loving and supportive family at home, OPEN has allowed me to embrace my identity at work, build a strong connection and network of peers, enhance my own allyship, develop critical professional skills, and advocate for inclusivity. The personal and professional growth I’ve experienced through this journey is a testament to the power of creating safe spaces and fostering diversity within the workplace.
Although I’ve been at Vanguard for over 23 years, my coming out journey started just over a decade ago with a few trusted and close colleagues (now great friends) who provided the initial space I needed to share my truth. After hearing about OPEN a few years later, I joined immediately. OPEN became a larger support system where I could share my personal experiences and continue to develop the courage to talk about my life outside of work. Connecting with crew who are a part of my community, as well as allies, also helped me feel comfortable enough to bring my authentic self to work. This has given me a renewed sense of purpose to encourage others to do the same.
A Stronger Commitment
Over the years as I’ve taken on more prominent roles in OPEN, I’ve deepened my understanding of the challenges faced by others in the LGBTQIA+ community. I’ve had the opportunity to use my voice to raise awareness, build allyship, educate others, and advocate for everyone in our community. I’ve also had the pleasure to help coordinate many inclusive programs and events at Vanguard including a Buddy program for members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community that provides a space for crew to connect on a personal and/or professional level with others in the LGBTQIA+ community. One of my OPEN colleagues has said we have our “day jobs” and we have our “gay jobs” as volunteers for OPEN, and I think that captures something meaningful. I enjoy my day job in market research, but I find such fulfilment in in my OPEN role and am so happy to have found these wonderful people in my OPEN family. I am humbled and honored to be a part of this passionate group. We have the unique opportunity to learn and grow with each other and help others feel empowered to do the same.
I am excited to celebrate my LGBTQIA+ community this month and continue the positive change we collectively create for current and future crew members here at Vanguard. My OPEN family and my team have greatly contributed to me feeling safe and proud to hang my rainbow sticker and pictures of my lil’ queer family at my desk, which is so important for me in today’s world.
If we are empowered to be our true selves at work, we are more confident in ourselves to do our best.
Happy Pride!
-Nicole G. (she/her)
Nicole with her OPEN family
Nicole and her wife Sarah with their son Elliot and Daughter Noa.
1. Tell us about your journey to Vanguard?
I relocated to Pennsylvania in 1984 to attend West Chester University for Business. I was introduced to Vanguard through my sister, who was already employed here. I started out as a contractor and within a month, was hired full time.
2. How and why did you end up joining the military?
I began my military career in July 1989, while still being employed at Vanguard. At that time, I knew I wanted to go to college for Business, but funds were limited since I was on my own and carrying the load alone. Then, I received an opportunity to join the United States Army Reserves. In the military, I was able to leverage some of my skills like self-reliance, resiliency, integrity, teamwork, financial responsibility, and leadership and apply them in a different environment. I was truly elated that I could serve while still working at Vanguard. I also received funding for professional development training opportunities and to seal the deal, my college tuition was paid in full.
3. How were you able to balance both working at Vanguard and maintaining a career in the US Army Reserves?
It was not easy balancing Vanguard and the military, but my leadership team and HR partners did an awesome job in being flexible and supportive. My family also played an enormous role in stepping up and stepping in to make sure it was a smooth process. They made my ‘Vanguard and military’ career journey worthwhile.
4. What are some of the transferrable skills and experiences you’ve carried over from your experience in the military to your current role here at Vanguard?
Similar to Vanguard, in the military we had mandatory compliance trainings that were specific to my roles and responsibilities. Some of the skills that I carried over from my experience in the military are being confident, working as a team and valuing differences and diversity. I apply many of these skills everyday in efforts to provide client satisfaction and an overall positive client experience. Also, when dealing with challenging situations, I keep going. I don’t give up easily. Throughout my experience in both careers, I learned to treat others the way you want to be treated, treat your clients the way you want to be treated and enjoy the positive outcomes.
5. How has Vanguard supported your career development?
Vanguard has truly been supportive throughout my military journey from beginning to end. The support made juggling both careers so much easier to manage. I also found support through our crew resource group, Vets Connect. This group has provided so many resources for many of our veterans and military members. It is also a great way to stay connected, support and honor the military and allows for an easier transition to civilian life for candidates with a military background. I enjoy the Vets Connect events and panel discussions. It feels good to be a part of a community of people who share similar experiences.
6. What advice do you have for candidates who are transitioning from the military to civilian life?
Transitioning from military to civilian life can be a wonderful experience. Here’s my advice:
Almost 16 years ago, my family and I moved from the Philippines to the United States carrying only our bags and my parent’s dream of a better future. As a child, I had a difficult time adapting to a new culture. The once outgoing kid became someone who barely spoke in school, and I became that girl with unfamiliar habits that were seen as peculiar. It was hard; it was lonely.
Several months later, I found friends within the AAPI community that helped me immerse myself in a new environment, which I would be forever thankful for. I was able to grow, reclaim my voice, my talents, and most importantly – who I am. With this, I wanted to use my experiences and make a positive impact on someone’s life.
As an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, I was given the wonderful opportunity to lead our Philippine-American Student Association as President. It was my team’s mission to create an inclusive environment – to be family away from home. This is how I have made lifelong friendships that I still have to this day.
After graduating from college, I had the wonderful opportunity to join Vanguard. What the company stood for is what made me join in a heartbeat, but I did not know that it would only be one of the few things that I would come to love about working here. Since joining in 2016, I have also been a member of LEAP. Each year, LEAP provides events and resources that enable us to share our culture, develop ourselves, and make connections that I never thought I would have. There is a belonging and togetherness that is reminiscent of what I valued most outside of my professional career, and I am glad that I was also able to find that within this organization. This is a testament to the importance that Vanguard places on diversity and inclusion to motivate and hone the skill set of each crew member.
So – what does the AAPI community mean to me? For me, it is not just culture but togetherness, friendship, and family. I am glad to be part of a company that places importance on everyone’s heritage and is inclusive of our diversity.
– Paula D.
“You are where you are today because you stand on somebody’s shoulders. And wherever you are heading, you cannot get there by yourself.” – Vernon Jordan
When I joined Vanguard almost 9 years ago, I knew having a sense of community would be an important factor in keeping me engaged and fulfilled at work. I was not always going to “want” to get out of bed in the morning and commute to the office, so I needed to find a place where I felt connected on a stronger level. In 2014, I joined the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN). I was initially only looking for professional development opportunities, but I gained so much more, a family. I found a place that feels like home, a place where you don’t always have to code switch and where imposter syndrome subsides a little. At that time, I still didn’t’ realize the invaluable impact that the VBPN would have on my professional career.
Sponsorship
In early 2021, Harvard Business Review published an article called “How a Lack of Sponsorship Keeps Black Women Out of the C-Suite.” It highlighted the unique challenges Black Women face when trying to reach the C-suite level in corporate America. I’ve read it 5 times. It put into words so eloquently a challenge I felt I was experiencing as I approached my 7th year at Vanguard. I had always been a consistent solid performer, but I was now aspiring to find more senior level roles. I had been assigned and manifested several mentors over my tenure, but I felt like something was still missing to get to that next level. That’s when I realized I had been underutilizing a resource I had all along. It was through VBPN that I found my first sponsors. Leaders like Latoya Hubbard and Tonya Richardson who watched me during my early years and nurtured my development so they could stand in the gap to showcase who I was to their peers. Or in recent years, those like Jasmine Sims, Janelle McDonald and Marisa Tilghman who have associated my name with words like excellence, impactful and dedicated. They all used their influence to be connectors, amplified my work and mentioned my name in rooms I was not present. This gave me the boost of confidence to go for a promotional opportunity for the first time.
Be BOLD-ER
In 2022, VBPN changed its name to BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership and Dialogue) and I took that personally. I was proud to be part of a group that did not shy away from talking about the things that were hard. Over these “post pandemic” years, I watched Vanguard leaders listen to the few Black voices at the table, and like many, it opened my eyes to see how far we’ve come while still knowing there was more work to do. So I told myself I was going to be BOLD-ER. I would speak up in the spaces when it was uncomfortable. I wouldn’t rob my teams from hearing my opinions or viewpoints because I was scared. I would show grace where needed and stand firm on what I know. But ultimately, I knew I wanted to give back to the community that has given so much to me and so I joined the BOLD leadership team.
I’ve since had the opportunity to represent the BOLD community at various recruiting events, both here on Vanguard’s campus and at partner schools. I was able to support the planning of our 10-Year Celebration, which for many was the first time meeting in person since shifting to our hybrid work model. And this year, I served as co-lead for BOLD’s Black History Month programming. Community is so important to our success, and maintaining that community is something I am personally passionate about. I’m so grateful to my BOLD family because in many ways they are responsible for why I’m here and I hope to continue to pay it forward to those who come after me.
-Alexis W.