Goldman Sachs will not use any DEI factors when deciding picks for its board.
Goldman Sachs used the usual DEI criteria, such as race, sex, and sexual orientation.
The financial giant also uses “viewpoints, background, work, and military service” when deciding who should join the board.
The move comes after Kathy Ruemmler, a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel in Obama’s White House, resigned after the Jeffrey Epstein document dump revealed she had a close relationship with him.
I doubt Ruemmler’s resignation had anything to do with Goldman Sachs’ decision, but it still made me snort.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported that the move came after the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) requested that Goldman Sachs drop DEI:
Goldman’s decision followed a behind-the-scenes request from the conservative activist nonprofit National Legal and Policy Center, which owns a small stake in the bank. The group submitted a proposal to the firm in September, seeking to remove the DEI criteria, the people said. The group requested its proposal be included in Goldman’s proxy statement that will be circulated to shareholders ahead of the firm’s annual shareholder meeting this spring.Goldman informed the NLPC that it plans to remove the DEI criteria, and an agreement was signed between the two parties that also includes the activist group withdrawing its proposal. Goldman’s board is expected to approve the new language this month, the people said.NLPC has argued to several companies that factoring in diversity when identifying individuals qualified to be board members raises the risk of discrimination.
Goldman Sachs and many other banks have begun to discontinue or overhaul their DEI programs after President Donald Trump ordered agencies to investigate them.
Goldman Sachs jumped on the social justice bandwagon in 2021 when it launched the “One Million Black Women” program, aimed at investing in black women.
The bank started retooling the project in 2023 after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions.
The company removed the word “Black” from the webpage, renaming it “Black in Business” and opening it up for the low and moderate income populations.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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