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Citigroup is scaling back its policies around diversity, the latest US company to retreat from targets to promote a more inclusive workforce.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has intensified a backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion targets, leading companies to abandon goals they had put in place only a few years ago.
In a memo to staff on Thursday, chief executive Jane Fraser wrote that the bank would no longer have aspirational representation goals unless required by local law, and nor would it require “diverse slates of candidates and diverse panels of interviewers”.
Citi had set diversity goals in 2022 for assistant vice-presidents up to managing directors to be at least 43.5 per cent women, 11.5 per cent Black and 16 per cent Latino.
As part of the changes, Citi is also changing the name of its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Talent Management” team to “Talent Management and Engagement”.
Fraser said the changes followed “developments related to diversity initiatives across all US institutions”.
“It is important to note that we’re living in an environment where things are changing quickly,” she wrote. “We will determine if additional updates are needed to other areas in the coming weeks.”
