Goldman Sachs Plans to Scrap DEI Criteria for Its Board

You know what this means! Goldman Slacks is planning on doing some business with the Dark Lord.

And I have a good shot being a new board member (if they can overlook my lack of expertise).

Goldman Sachs Plans to Scrap DEI Criteria for Its Board

Race, sexual orientation and other DEI factors will no longer be taken into account when the board’s governance committee identifies new potential directors

By AnnaMaria Andriotis, WSJ

Feb. 16, 2026

Goldman Sachs plans to remove race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other DEI factors from its board diversity criteria.

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Last year, Goldman Sachs GS 1.21%increase; green up pointing triangle dropped a commitment to support board diversity for clients it was taking public. Now it plans to drop diversity criteria for its own board.

The Wall Street giant is preparing to remove race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other diversity factors from the criteria its board will consider when identifying potential candidates, according to people familiar with the matter.

The board’s governance committee currently finds qualified candidates based primarily on four factors, one of which is a broad description of diversity, such as viewpoints, background, work and military service in addition to “other demographics” that includes a list of DEI factors.

Now it plans to cross off the “other demographics” including race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation, the people said.

Goldman’s decision followed a behind-the-scenes request from the conservative activist nonprofit National Legal and Policy Center, which owns a small stake in the bank. The group submitted a proposal to the firm in September, seeking to remove the DEI criteria, the people said. The group requested its proposal be included in Goldman’s proxy statement that will be circulated to shareholders ahead of the firm’s annual shareholder meeting this spring.

Goldman informed the NLPC that it plans to remove the DEI criteria, and an agreement was signed between the two parties that also includes the activist group withdrawing its proposal. Goldman’s board is expected to approve the new language this month, the people said.

NLPC has argued to several companies that factoring in diversity when identifying individuals qualified to be board members raises the risk of discrimination.

Goldman, like many large banks, has pulled back on DEI efforts over the past year. It retooled its diversity program, One Million Black Women, a multibillion-dollar commitment to invest in Black businesswomen and nonprofit leaders, including removing references to race.

It also ended its requirement that companies in the U.S. and Western Europe have diverse boards for the bank to take them public.

Goldman faced anti-DEI proposals going into last year’s proxy season but shareholders didn’t approve those changes.

The DEI climate has changed radically for banks and many other companies in recent years. A turning point was President Trump’s executive order early last year directing federal departments and agencies to launch civil investigations into DEI programs at companies.