This week Fair Play Talks highlights the many achievements of Goldman Sachs VP Tuvia Borok in the diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) and wellbeing space, which he does alongside his day job at the investment bank. He is constantly pushing the boundaries to achieve change across ALL forms of diversity. While “different diversity cohorts have their own unique needs requiring support, there are also commonalities across the journeys of all”, so DE&I need to be mindful of not creating situations that lead to “ghettoisation by different diversity groups”, according to Borok. Here’s how he is shaking up the world of DE&I and wellbeing across investment banking and beyond.
Tuvia Borok is not only a proud single gay father, but he’s an acclaimed lawyer and a Forbes-featured, award-winning thought leader in the business world, with a passion for DE&I and wellbeing. Alongside single parenting and juggling his City career managing a team of lawyers at an investment bank, Borok is also Co-founder and CEO of non-traditional families charity, The P3 Network, and is a highly sought-after DE&I speaker. He’s a great example of a visionary leader championing DE&I alongside his full-time day job.
At Goldman Sachs, Borok heads up a team of lawyers, in the role of Executive Director & Senior Counsel, Head of the EMEA Structured Finance & Securitisation Legal teams. His position at the investment bank has empowered him to make change for others. For example, when he discovered that many university students still hide their sexuality in their first role after graduating, he launched a pilot LGBT+ internship programme in the legal division at Goldman Sachs, which was then extended to several departments within the investment bank in the autumn of last year – and is actually a first for investment banking.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
As well as shaking things up in the investment banking industry, Borok additionally does a lot of speaking on the topic of diversity, because he genuinely believes in being a voice for effecting real change and pushing boundaries.
“I am adamant to force conversations that are sometimes uncomfortable because I think too many DE&I conversations continue to remain very elementary and are not pushing the envelope,” commented Borok. “And if we think that the some of the same conversations have been on-going since the 80s, its time to realise the conversation needs to be elevated and evolved since many issues continue to exist, despite DE&I being spoken about for over 35 years.”
AGENT OF CHANGE
So what’s next? He says he is passionate about “helping others find their own voice to become agents of change”. He wants to “progress the diversity dialogue across all forms of diversity, and continue to advocate for breaking down the barriers to success for those true to their own stories”. Having already participated in roundtables for the Human Rights Commissioner of the United Nations, he plans to continue to work with human rights organisations around the world, and to engage with governments and businesses – as well as do a follow up to his 2017 TEDx Talk on multi-faceted diversity.
“The key for me is to have conversations that can, first, get people to stop and re-evaluate some of their thinking around inclusion and inclusive leadership and the basic premise of what constitutes diversity, and to separately help others realise that they can create their own narrative to overcome whatever adversity they face,” said Borok. “Too often, DE&I conversations are had by those who have already bought in; I’d like to take it to the next level to speak with those who are not believers, or who are still talking DE&I 1.0.
“There are many who are looking to have their teams and communities of people come together, especially in challenging new times like we are facing now. The best way to do that is to create a space that fosters trust and authenticity – it’ll create more driven and cohesive teams.”
MOVING THE DIALOGUE ON
So exactly how does Borok plan to progress the DE&I dialogue across all forms of diversity? “While I appreciate different diversity cohorts have their own unique needs requiring support, I think there are commonalities across the journeys of all. While acknowledging and supporting difference, I think it’s important to be mindful to not create situations that lead to ‘ghettoisation’ by different diversity groups. It’s a feature of my TEDx Talk [see below]. There is strength in our shared experiences and given people are diverse for a multitude of reasons, we can’t ever take a discussion around inclusion that focuses on one type of diversity.”
Borok believes that companies can do more to progress diversity for all groups in an organisation, particularly right now with the pandemic: “I have also heard that given the crisis, DE&I efforts are going to be less of a focus for some companies. That is disheartening because now more than ever, companies need to rely on their people to thrive and see companies through; how can anyone lose focus on the wellbeing of their teams?”
AUTHENTICITY & WELLBEING
“Inclusion and the power to be authentic is necessary to ensure wellbeing, and as we enter into Mental Health Awareness Week, I hope companies don’t lose sight of that,” adds Borok. So what can companies do? “Now more than ever it is about being creative to engage people in conversations. COVID-19 has seen a need to go more virtual, and there are ways to progress diversity by having a host of on-line discussions, story telling opportunities and brainstorming sessions to better understand the lived experience of a company’s people,” he explained. “If an environment of trust exists, that can then help give management the relevant data points to be able to understand what issues need to be tackled so that DE&I efforts can be done with purpose.”
So what drives Borok’s passion for DE&I and wellbeing? His colourful, diverse background and upbringing will probably provide a clue. He was born to Soviet immigrant parents in Israel, spent much of his childhood in Canada, and has travelled, studied and worked across both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. For more on Borok’s achievements both in the legal and finance world, alongside DE&I, check out his recent profile article in Forbes.
Click here for more information about Borok’s work.
Sign up for our newsletter
