Goldman Sachs Releases Diversity Data on Leadership Makeup, And the Numbers Aren't Promising In a recent sustainability report, the firm revealed that it had just 49 Black executives and senior managers working in the U.S.
By Justin Chan Edited by Jessica Thomas
Despite promising to advance racial equity and economic opportunity for marginalized communities, Goldman Sachs still falls well short of diversifying its leadership positions.
In its recent 2020 sustainability report, the firm highlights its commitment to Black women through its One Million Black Women program — an initiative that invests over $10 billion in Black women-led organizations. Other data in the report, however, reveals that the firm currently employs just 49 Black people in executive and senior manager positions. That figure represents a measly 3.2% of high-level positions at Goldman Sachs.
The report also shows that there were only 105 Black employees in lower-level managerial roles. Moreover, of the 12,521 professionals that the Wall Street firm employs, just 870 are Black (452 are Black men and 418 Black women).
The numbers, therefore, appear at odds with the message in CEO David M. Solomon's letter to shareholders found at the beginning of the report.
"[As] this year's report explains, we've made good progress on our aspirational diversity and inclusion goals," he wrote, while adding that there was "still a long road ahead" and that he would continue to make diversity and inclusion efforts "a personal priority."
The report's release comes weeks after Solomon addressed criticism surrounding employee burnout at the firm. A viral PowerPoint presentation revealed that several first-year analysts had been working 100 hours a week. In response, Solomon said he would try to give overworked junior bankers at least one day off during the week.
Goldman Sachs is among a number of firms that has faced increasing calls to diversify its senior leadership. Recently, JPMorgan Chase disclosed that 5% of its U.S. executives and senior-level managers are Black. Morgan Stanley also released a report stating that just over 2% of its senior leaders are Black.
