Goldman Sachs is reportedly planning to scrap race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other diversity metrics when evaluating potential board members, responding to pressure from conservative activists amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on corporate DEI programs.
If approved at a shareholder meeting in April, the proposed policy change would mark the latest retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under fire since Trump’s return to office last year.
The potential shift at Goldman came at the request of the National Legal and Policy Center, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The conservative nonprofit, which has built a small stake in the David Solomon-led lender, has been a vocal critic of the left-wing DEI policies that swept across corporate America after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement.
Goldman’s board currently finds qualified candidates based on factors including diversity in a broad sense that covers viewpoints, background, work and military service — along with “other demographics” that span a range of DEI categories, according to The Journal.
Reps for Goldman Sachs and the National Legal and Policy Center declined to comment.
The investment bank stated in its 2023 “People Strategy” report that it wanted to achieve gender parity worldwide among its staff while setting targets in the US to ensure the payroll is 11% Black American and 14% Hispanic.
But the White House-backed crackdown on such practices has sparked an about-face at many top companies.
Critics say policies like diversity quotas actually undermine meritocracy in the workplace, while their supporters argue that scrapping them is a step backwards in achieving equality in US boardrooms.
The Post has exclusively reported on how firms across Wall Street have shifted course — including last February, when it broke the news that Goldman was about to U-turn on DEI by scrubbing inclusive language from its website and corporate filings.
After Trump’s election, the firm also ditched a demand that required companies to have at least two diverse board members before being advised on an initial public offering.
The shift aligns with broader industry trends as other major firms including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have dialed back their diversity commitments in recent months, softening language on hiring goals and supplier diversity amid regulatory scrutiny from the administration.
Trump has made fighting DEI a top priority, issuing executive orders to ban federal funding for related training and encouraging private-sector rollbacks.
In September, left-wing hedge fund DE Shaw fired its diversity chief, Maja Hazell, as The Post first reported.
The company also abruptly scrubbed any reference to its diversity programs and deleted all “woke” language from its website after inquiries by The Post, with insiders citing concerns over potential audits or penalties.
