BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has hired law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as part of an internal review of harassment and discrimination claims that came to light this week in an investigative report from Institutional Investor.

Why should we care?
BlackRock has positioned itself as a leader in the field of diversity initiatives, but the report suggests some employees felt their experience at the firm did not reflect those principles. In addition to claims of sexual harassment, others interviewed in the piece said they experienced discrimination based on religion and ethnicity. It pointed to instances where some executives allegedly behaved inappropriately, including Mark Wiedman, the company’s head of international and of corporate strategy. Wiedman has since apologized for his comments, saying his remarks were a “clumsy and misguided attempt at building camaraderie.” In a statement, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said these incidents “should not happen at BlackRock” and a company comment characterized episodes recounted in the story as “appalling.” The review underway will result in recommendations on “how we might further enhance our processes and procedures,” Fink said, but a timeline for their release wasn’t given. Allegations of discrimination at the firm surfaced earlier this year when Essma Bengabsia, an Arab-American Muslim former employee, wrote in a Medium post in February that she experienced harassment at BlackRock over her faith. Manish Mehta, BlackRock’s head of human resources, earlier this month said the company is changing the way it investigates employee complaints.