Black representation in top Wall Street jobs is extremely rare.

While Black people make up 10% of entry-level positions, the higher the ascent, the lower the representation.

Black executives hold only 3% of senior management positions.

"So, that is one of the persistent structural issues because it is very subjective in terms of who gets the opportunity, who does not," businessman Colbert Narcisse said.

Narcisse blames high attrition among Black associates on a lack of internal support systems and not enough mentors to guide them toward key assignments.

"A lot of it is your skills, your background, but it's also your ability to advocate for yourself," Narcisse said.

When he was 4 years old, Narcisse immigrated to Brooklyn from Haiti. After attending Catholic school in East Flatbush, he went to NYU and then Harvard Business School.

Narcisse says he has overachieved to dispel assumptions.

"Are you good at math? What, were your SAT scores? What were your GMAT scores? So almost having to legitimize your skills," Narcisse said. "What I did was I over-indexed. I met with people and said, "I only want to do analytical assignments.'"

After a stint as a bank examinter at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Narcisse signed on to join Merrill Lynch in 1992. He rose through the ranks and became the first Black associate ever to reach the level of managing director in 2004.

"It was humbling. But it was also, you know, quite, I would say infuriating, sad. You were dismayed because I know that there were a lot of very talented people, more talented than myself, who could have easily done that but were not given the same opportunities," Narcisse said.

After the death of George Floyd, Wall Street, along with the rest of corporate America, pledged billions and vowed to invest in changing its racial makeup. But Narcisse says those commitments have waned.

"So it was very episodic for a year and a half, combined with COVID-19 and all the other things, I think there was a focus and then, things changed. Everyone got vaccinated, everyone went back to semi-normal routines and that priority was reduced," Narcisse said.

Now, Narcisse is the chief product and business development officer at Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America — which has a very diverse leadership team.

But what about the financial industry at large? 

"If you really want to see that cadence change from recruiting talent, developing, retaining talent, these are 10-15 year odysseys before you start to see some meaningful change," Narcisse said.