In the wake of the new US administration’s disdain for such programs, Citigroup and KPMG abandoned their diversity equity and inclusion initiatives this week.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser sent an email to its staff in which she stated that it no longer required diverse interview panels or diverse candidates for job interviews.
Fraser stated that the bank will no longer have “aspirational goals for representation” except where local law requires it. The diversity, equity, inclusion, and talent management teams will now be known as talent management and engagement.
Fraser acknowledged Citigroup valued diverse perspectives. She said that the bank will continue to encourage “the best practices of including a variety perspectives in hiring decisions”.
Since his election, President Trump has promised to investigate corporate DEI schemes. As a result, several large companies, including Goldman Sachs and Accenture, have reduced their diversity commitments.
KPMG, a US-based firm, announced earlier this week that it would be changing its policies after years of reports about its DEI programs were removed from its website.
The accounting and consultancy giant has pulled its annual “transparency report” that it published since 2020. The reports outlined the company’s efforts to increase representation of minorities and women at all levels within the organization.
Paul Knopp told KPMG employees in the US that they would “bring an end” to their “Accelerate 2020” programme, whereby it aimed to get half of its managing directors and partners from underrepresented groups this year.
In an email sent to the firm’s US staff of 40,000, he wrote: “The legal environment surrounding diversity, equality and inclusion efforts is changing, both via executive orders as well as in the courts.” We will uphold the highest standards of ethics and comply with all laws and regulations applicable to us as a Federal Contractor.
Deloitte, one of KPMG’s Big Four competitors, and PwC have removed links to their historic transparency reports from other websites, but the reports remain online.
KPMG’s latest published figures for September 2023 showed that 45.3% US partners and managing director came from underrepresented groups, such as women and racial minorities. This was an increase from the 39.3% Knopp had when it launched Accelerate in 2020.
Knopp wrote in an email that “we will continue to work to expand our opening for recruiting talent. We will create more transparency and consistency for career navigation and promote an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable speaking up.”
