According to The Wall Street Journal, several conservative activist groups are calling on some major banks to rescind their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Some groups are calling on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs to cancel or scale back their DEI efforts, according to people familiar with the matter. said Wall Street Journal. Both banks received anti-DEI proposals from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) and the National Law and Policy Center (NLPC).
Meanwhile, two other major banks, Bank of America and Citigroup, have come under fire from activists for discriminating against customers based on their religious or political beliefs, according to the Journal.
Groups targeting these banks include the Heritage Foundation, NCPPR, NLPC, and others, WSJ reported. Each of these groups owns a small stake in the banks they are targeting, people told the Journal.
(Photo credit: Kena Betancur -VIEWpress/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has been an outspoken critic of DEI efforts. Shortly after returning to the Oval Office on Monday, President Trump presidential order Eliminate “radical and wasteful” DEI programs across the federal government. Following President Trump’s order, all federal employees in DEI roles will be placed on leave starting Wednesday, Forbes reported. reported. (Related: Victor Davis Hanson slams DEI hiring in California fire departments, ‘not muscle or experience,’ just DEI)
Ethan Peck, deputy director of NCPPR’s Free Enterprise Project, told the Daily Caller News Foundation: “We’ve submitted shareholder proposals to about 40 companies this year, basically to get them back to neutral. I have submitted it,” he said. “We filed about 10 reports related to DEI, two of which targeted JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. We have been doing this for years, so It’s not because there’s been some kind of change, like the Trump administration or the Trump executive order or other companies pulling back on it, that’s not why we’re doing it, it’s just that we’ve always done it. DEI We’ve been doing this since it became popular, and we started protesting right away in 2020. As we did this, our efforts started to get stronger and more and more people started doing this. I started participating.”
A number of companies have reversed their DEI policies and initiatives in recent months, including Walmart, Ford Motor Co., and Boeing amid mounting backlash from consumers and, in some cases, shareholders. Notably, in December, a Louisiana appellate court rejected Nasdaq’s proposed rules aimed at increasing diversity on corporate boards.
“We feel we’ve laid a lot of groundwork for opposing DEI, at least at the company level on the board,” Peck told DCNF. “So it’s nice to see the impact of some companies pulling back on that. Of course, there are some companies that haven’t filed yet. That’s why we’re not letting off the gas just yet until it’s fully done and That’s why we keep submitting these. [shareholder proposals]”
“We strongly believe that organizations benefit from diverse perspectives, and Goldman Sachs is committed to operating our programs and policies in compliance with the law,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said in a statement shared with DCNF. I’m working hard,” he said.
Bank of America and Citigroup both declined to comment to DCNF.
The Heritage Foundation, the Center for National Law and Policy, and JPMorgan Chase did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DCNF.
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