Creating a More Inclusive, Diverse and Ever-Learning Workforce

Ama Nneka Annoh is an Investor Relations Associate covering Real Estate Equity Funds. She sat down with Fairygodboss to discuss why she loves working at BlackRock.

“I started my journey at BlackRock in 2019 in the Aladdin business,” shared Ama. Aladdin is our unified investment platform that is both used internally and sold externally to clients. In this position, Ama worked directly with clients as they leveraged Aladdin to run their businesses. She was not a finance or technology major in college, but she took advantage of the firm’s training programs to obtain the skills and support to succeed. “It was a steep learning curve, but I would say that was the perfect place to start for me.”

While she didn’t have intentions to shift to a new area, Ama says that she found herself wanted to learn more. “Being at a firm like BlackRock – where we are global, where we are multifaceted – allowed me to explore within BlackRock,” she explained. “I didn’t really have to go elsewhere [to pursue my interests]… I love that I was able to pick up something completely new and say, ‘I want to learn about that,’ and be thrown into it and work cohesively on the team.'”

Ama felt fully supported in growing her career. In fact, the opportunity for internal mobility and advancement is what Ama considers to be one of the major benefits of working at BlackRock. “I received a lot of support from stakeholders in the business and support from people in Aladdin who wanted to see me grow.”

In this video, Ama shares more on why she loves working here. You can also read portions of the interview below.

What’s the most exciting part of working at BlackRock?

I would say the most exciting aspect of my work is being able to work on a global team. I’m able to foster genuine relationships and friendships – both working friendships and personal friendships — with people across the world.

On my team specifically, I’m working with people in different states and countries. It’s nice to have different perspectives on the same work and in the same world we’re living in. It’s exciting to talk to people, foster these relationships and be able to understand BlackRock from diverse points of views.

How would you describe the culture at BlackRock?

I started right before the pandemic, right before George Floyd and right before this uproar in the world.

It was an interesting and privileged place to be because I was able to watch a shift in the industry of finance in general, which traditionally hasn’t always been the most diverse or the most bring-yourself-to-work culture. At BlackRock, we have a CEO who is very intentional about creating an environment where we’re not only talking about what’s going on in real time, but we are also actively seeing the efforts that are making the firm a more inclusive place. Not just racially, but also in regards to sexual orientation, gender and more.

For me, personally, it’s helped me as a double minority in corporate America. I sit in a great place where I’ve been able to actively watch and be a part of the conversation and even personally address some of my biases. This is something that makes the culture great — because we all have a lot of work to do.

I’m proud to say that BlackRock’s been putting in the work.

What kinds of benefits does BlackRock provide? And how do they help you grow your career?

When it comes to benefits, I would say the most popular is our Flexible Time Off policy… As I’ve grown more in my career, I’ve understood the importance of having that time off, and I’ve definitely benefited from that. I love to travel, so having flexible time off allows me to travel and get the time and the rest that I need — all while seeing the world.

That is my favorite benefit, followed by our wellness benefits when it comes to mental health. I’ve seen a very large and consistent push toward taking care of our mental state here at BlackRock, which has been great. It allows for more conversation. And, there’s an increasing amount of resources every day. So they’re not just being offered, but there’s a lot of intentionality behind making sure we’re using these benefits, too.

What advice would you give to other women who are thinking about working at BlackRock?

1. Be a doer, not a talker.
2. For anybody who may be struggling with imposter syndrome (which is something that I struggled with for a very long time), don’t be afraid to feel like you belong in a place that you feel you’re not worthy to be in. Believing in yourself is the best way for you to grow into the person that you want to become.