Exclusive: JPMorgan removes the terms ‘master’, ‘slave’ from the internal technical and material code

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is removing terms such as “blacklist”, “master” and “slave” from its materials and internal technology code, as it seeks to address racism within the company, two sources with knowledge of the measure said.

The terms had appeared in some of the bank’s technology policies, standards and control procedures, as well as in the programming code that runs some of its processes, one source said.

Other companies like Twitter Inc (TWTR.K) and GitHub Inc adopted similar changes, fueled by renewed attention to racism after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May. here

The phrases “master” and “slave” are used in some programming languages ​​and computer hardware to describe one part of a device or process that controls another.

The “Black List” is used to describe items that are automatically rejected, such as a list of websites banned by a company’s cybersecurity division. “White list” means the opposite: a list of automatically approved items.

Floyd’s death has prompted a further examination of words that may have racial overtones. For example, some real estate agents no longer use the term “master bedroom,” and Universal Music Group’s Republic Records stopped using the word “urban” to describe musical genres and internal departments or roles.

JPMorgan appears to be the first in the financial sector to remove most references to these racially problematic phrases, and comes after the bank has said it is taking other steps to promote black professionals and the formation of anti-culture. bias for staff.

Columbia Business School programming professor Mattan Griffel said such terms have long been controversial and can be difficult to change.

The technology that underpins banking is often a spaghetti-like disaster that results from merged companies, decades-old code and third-party systems, and any changes can have cascading effects that are difficult to predict, Griffel said.

Changing these terms within the bank’s code could take millions of dollars and months of work, Griffel said.

“This is not a trivial investment” by the bank, Griffel said. “This type of language and terminology is deeply rooted. It has to (change) and now is as good a time as any. ”