Top-tier investment bank Goldman Sachs to base pay and promotion for senior management based on efforts for inclusivity.
After two weeks of disheartening news for women in financial services including accusations against large and medium-sized players like UBS and J.Safra Sarasin, American lender Goldman Sachs may be a beacon of light for many.
The world's second largest investment bank has unveiled a raft of measures to rectify the paltry number of women in senior roles – currently at 21.6 percent – until it is more equitable, according to an article in the «Financial News».
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
To demonstrate the seriousness of its intent, the bank has decided to base pay and promotion for business unit heads – typically an elite cadre of Managing Directors – on how inclusive their teams are. In general, the bank has been ahead of its European peers on Diversity & Inclusion initiatives and has consistently announced new policies to ensure implementation.
Last year, it announced that it intended for 50 percent of college recruits to be female by 2021. But the heart of the problem lies amongst its most senior, highest paid bankers rather than those at the early stages of their careers. Women made up 56.6 percent of Goldman Sachs staff at the most junior level but the number fell to 37.2 percent amongst professional staff, 28.8 percent for officials and managers and just 21.6 percent amongst its most senior employees.
No Equality With Pay Disparity
The bank faced criticism in the U.K. last year when new regulation forced it to disclose that median bonuses for its male workers were 67.7 percent higher than for female colleagues and median hourly wages were 36.4 percent higher for men than for women.
The bank has since admitted the situation stemmed from the inequality in the number of men and women in senior roles. Globally, the bank said women earned 99 percent of what men in similar roles were paid at the firm.
