Goldman Sachs Removes Race, Gender and LGBTQ Criteria from Board Evaluations
Goldman Sachs will drop race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation from its executive board candidate evaluation criteria under an agreement with activist shareholder NLPC. The move, expected to win board approval this month, removes DEI demographics from evaluations and follows similar NLPC deals at American Express and John Deere.
1. DEI Criteria Removed from Board Evaluations
Goldman Sachs is eliminating race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation from the governance committee’s “other demographics” factor, one of four core criteria used to vet executive board candidates. This change strips diversity-related considerations from board evaluations, refocusing assessments solely on professional expertise, backgrounds, viewpoints and service.
2. NLPC Agreement and Approval Timeline
The National Legal and Policy Center submitted its proposal in September, requesting the removal of DEI criteria from board evaluations. Goldman signed an agreement with NLPC to withdraw the shareholder proposal, and the bank’s board is slated to approve the changes this month.
3. Broader Corporate DEI Rollback Trend
This decision follows similar NLPC-driven agreements at American Express and John Deere and aligns with Goldman’s previous elimination of board diversity policies for public offerings. It underscores a wider corporate pullback from DEI initiatives that has accelerated since political and regulatory pressure intensified last year.