In recent months, National Legal and Policy Center has intensified its efforts to challenge diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within major financial institutions. NLPC filed shareholder proposals at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase asking the two companies to remove DEI considerations from their executive pay packages. The proposals have drawn considerable media attention from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Fortune.
The anti-DEI campaign from NLPC and other conservative groups has yielded divergent responses from the two industry titans, perhaps providing insight into how the two companies will handle activist pressure moving forward.
Goldman Sachs has begun to retreat from its DEI commitments. Notably, the bank is expected to remove a section on diversity and inclusion from its upcoming annual filing, signaling a shift in its public stance on DEI. Additionally, the company has discontinued its policy of requiring companies it assists in going public to have at least two diverse board members, a practice it had required since 2020. These changes align with recent executive orders from President Donald Trump aimed at dismantling DEI programs in both federal agencies and the private sector. NLPC views Goldman Sachs’ DEI retreat as a partial result of our campaign on the issue.
In contrast, JPMorgan Chase has chosen to uphold its DEI initiatives. CEO Jamie Dimon (pictured above) has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to “support diverse communities,” including black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, veteran, and disabled groups. Dimon emphasized that these efforts are integral to the bank’s mission and will continue despite external pressures. When asked about the WSJ reporting on the anti-DEI campaigns brought by NLPC and other conservative groups, Dimon responded “Bring them on. We are going to continue to reach out to the black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community.”
NLPC has been at the forefront of advocating against DEI policies it perceives as discriminatory or misaligned with merit-based principles. By submitting shareholder proposals and engaging in public discourse, NLPC aims to influence corporations to reassess and potentially retract DEI-related practices. Pepsi’s recent removal of DEI from executive incentives is another example of a favorable outcome driven by our shareholder proposals.
