Goldman Sachs and MetLife To Disclose Diversity Stats

Who Companies NORTH AMERICA: Goldman Sachs and MetLife To Disclose Diversity Stats

The New York Times reports that financial giants Goldman Sachs and MetLife will soon publicly release the gender / racial breakdowns of their staffs, due to a request from New York City’s public pension funds, which hold millions of shares in the companies.

Studies have shown that the finance industry has been slower than most other industries when it comes to including women and minorities in the management ranks.

Federal data shows that white men held 64% of management-level jobs in the financial services industry
And minorities held less than 10% of those jobs
These numbers did not change significantly between 1993 and 2008

“Studies have shown the benefits of a diverse work force on company performance and long-term shareowner value, and many companies say they are making serious efforts to recruit, retain and promote women and minorities.

“But without quantitative disclosure, shareholders have no way to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts.” — John Liu, NYC comptroller

Goldman Sachs and MetLife will begin disclosing this data on an annual basis, starting later this year.

In a statement, Goldman spokesman Jake Siewert said that the company is confident it has made major improvements in its workforce diversity, but that “Transparency will help external stakeholders make their own judgments about how well we are doing on that commitment.”

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