Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are the latest major companies to feel the heat of anti-DEI activists calling for the repeal or rollback of “woke” policies, according to the report.
Two other large financial institutions, Bank of America and Citi, face charges of discriminating against customers based on their political and religious beliefs. The Wall Street Journal reported on wednesday.
Activist groups including the National Center for Public Policy Research, the National Law and Policy Center and the Heritage Foundation each hold small stakes in the bank and proposed changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies late last year. a source told the newspaper. .
The pressure on banks is similar to conservative activist Robbie Starbuck's campaign to force many large U.S. companies, including Walmart, John Deere and Harley-Davidson, to scrap their DEI initiatives.
If “just a small percentage” of Goldman and JPMorgan employees file a lawsuit over their DEI policies, the banks could face billions in legal costs, NCPPR warned. .
NCPPR is asking Goldman to conduct a racial discrimination audit of its DEI policies.
The bank currently has diversity quotas for companies it supports to go public, has committed to investing $10 billion in companies and organizations that benefit Black women, and has hired a Black vice president, according to the paper. They also have established goals and race-based networking groups.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan has a global head of DEI and a program to select suppliers based on race and gender, which could be an option if the shareholder proposal passes, the report said. states.
According to the report, the NLPC asked Goldman and JPMorgan to remove the DEI initiative as a factor affecting the pay of executives, including CEO David Solomon and CEO Jamie Dimon, respectively.
Shareholders may have the opportunity to vote on anti-DEI proposals before the bank's annual meeting this spring.
The board typically recommends that shareholders vote against these resolutions, and typically rejects them.
“We strongly believe that organizations benefit from diverse perspectives, and Goldman Sachs is committed to operating its programs and policies in compliance with the law,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said in a statement. he told the Post.
JPMorgan Chase and Citi declined to comment.
The same activist group has filed anti-DEI proposals against Apple and Starbucks, but neither has received approval, with each receiving only about 2% shareholder support, according to the report.
The anti-DEI movement intensified following a 2023 Supreme Court decision that struck down the practice of race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
President Donald Trump's election victory has provided a further boost to right-wing activists. He denounced DEI efforts as “discriminatory” and advocated for a “results-based” society.
On Monday, on his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order calling diversity programs across federal agencies “radical and wasteful.”
Some activist groups targeting banks have led the crackdown on DEI in the past.
For example, NCPPR was a co-plaintiff in the December appeals court decision that struck down Nasdaq's board diversity rules. In 2021, the SEC approved two Nasdaq rules that set racial and gender goals for public company boards.
According to the magazine, NCPRR and NLPC have sent anti-DEI proposals to Goldman and JPMorgan, and Bank of America and Citi have been audited by NLPC and the Heritage Foundation for monitoring clients based on political and religious beliefs. He said he received a proposal asking him to do so.
The surveillance allegations come after Republican lawmakers accused Bank of America and Citi of cooperating with the FBI to identify those involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bank of America said it followed all applicable laws during its interactions with the Treasury Department and law enforcement agencies.
