An investigation by a law firm finds that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation fails to provide a safe workplace from fear of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and calls on federal banking regulators to make “necessary” cultural and structural changes. Ta.
review, conducted by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, harshly criticized the FDIC’s toxic work environment. A “patriarchal, insular and risk-averse culture” led to under-reporting of fraud and inadequate management response, the report said.
More than 500 employees participated in the survey and “shared often painful and emotional accounts of their experiences with sexual harassment, discrimination, and other forms of interpersonal misconduct at the FDIC.”
Women reported instances of stalking, unwanted sexual text messages from co-workers, and inappropriate sexual comments from superiors, including comments about standing in for someone and about their breasts and legs.
There were individual reports of employees with disabilities being teased by their supervisors and nicknamed “McNasty the Pirate.” Some people reported homophobic comments, including calling gay men “little girls.”
People from underrepresented groups were told by co-workers that they were “just hired” because they were a minority and were “token” employees hired to meet quotas. .
The report noted that many of the incidents reported occurred several years ago, but some occurred just weeks ago. They occurred not only in field and regional offices, but also at headquarters in Washington, DC. According to the report, the wrongdoers were not held accountable for their illegal actions and were simply transferred to other positions or roles.
The study was commissioned by the FDIC after a Wall Street Journal investigation gave the impression that the agency was a boys’ club where incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination against women were rampant.
FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg apologized to staff on Tuesday before the report was released to the public. He said the report presented a “sobering look” at the FDIC’s culture and accepted the law firm’s findings and recommendations.
The report has already reignited calls for Gruenberg to resign. The panel noted that while he has been with the FDIC for nearly 20 years, the agency has a poor reputation and building trust and changing culture will be difficult challenges to overcome.
“While we do not believe Chairman Gruenberg’s conduct is the root cause of sexual harassment or discrimination at the agency or the long-standing workplace culture problems identified in our investigation, we believe that many FDIC employees As stated in the story, we recognize that, with Chairman Gruenberg, culture “starts at the top,” they wrote.
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