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Goldman Sachs is removing race, gender and other diversity-related considerations when evaluating prospective candidates for its executive board after pressure from an activist shareholder group to remove the criteria.
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a small Goldman shareholder, quietly submitted a request to the company last September asking the bank to eliminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) board criteria.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Goldman recently informed the group that it plans to remove the DEI criteria, and the two parties signed an agreement under which the NLPC would withdraw its proposal.
Goldman’s board is expected to approve the changes this month, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Currently, the board’s governance committee evaluates qualified candidates based primarily on four factors. One of those includes a broad description of diversity, such as viewpoints, background and military service, in addition to “other demographics”. That “other demographics” category reportedly included race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation, but would be removed under the proposed change.
Earlier this month, the NLPC announced it reached similar deals with American Express and John Deere to “eliminate DEI for Board candidates”. The group submitted shareholder proposals to 11 Fortune 500 companies, including Goldman, challenging their DEI initiatives.
Both Goldman and the NLPC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shift follows other recent changes at the bank. Last year, Goldman scrapped a policy meant to encourage diversity on the boards of companies it takes public.
The move also reflects a broader pullback from DEI initiatives across corporate America since Donald Trump returned to office last January and launched a campaign against DEI practices in both the government and the private sector.
Several days before Trump’s inauguration, Meta said it was ending its DEI programs, while Amazon told employees that it was “winding down outdated programs and materials” related to representation and inclusion.
Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to dismantle DEI policies and efforts at federal agencies, and scrutinize such practices among contractors and corporations in the private sector.
Several major companies have since continued to scale back their DEI efforts.
Deloitte last year instructed employees working on federal government contracts to remove pronouns from their email signatures. Target also scaled back its DEI initiatives, and Alphabet’s Google said it was scrapping its goal to hire more people from historically underrepresented groups and would also reviewing some of its DEI initiatives.
In April, Barclays removed its gender and ethnicity targets for US staff, and Lego cut diversity-related terminology from its annual sustainability report.
