Goldman to Refuse IPOs If All Directors Are White, Straight Men

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-2…


is this just stupid PR stuff? I doubt there’s even one company that’s ALL male and ALL white to begin with.

33 Comments
 

If this is true, which I doubt, it’s fucking stupid. I don’t have any knowledge on the internal ongoings of GS but yeah this is probably some pr bs. Besides, wouldn't GS want as much business as possible even if a small handful of those businesses don’t meet ‘diversity quotas.’ 

 
Most Helpful

Quotas in general should not exist. Companies IPOing for the first time in many cases have a BOD that consists of founders and primary investors. They are who they are.

In an essence, this is a way of coddling, as the belief is that if you're a diversity candidate you won't be able to make it unless it is handed to you on a silver platter. The brightest entrepreneurs in this country were defined by their grit + rigor + raw intelligence. Think of Mark Cuban. 

IMO people who are handed things to them rarely have what it takes to compete. I prefer natural selection over quotas, but that's just me.

 
Funniest

“The firm does not Yet have A similar policy in Asia.” Good move. I can’t imagine the gall of some European coming to a Japanese, Chinese or Indian company filled with locals and telling them you’re not “diverse”.

Kind of like how Americans decided Spanish wasn’t sophisticated enough for them and started inventing new words (latinx wtf??). Smh lol

 

Agreed, I’m a minority but not the right type, so am not considered for diversity. In my experience with quotas and the people who push diversity, I’ve found it very condescending. I’m sure they’re coming from a good place, wanting to make sure people aren’t being denied for immutable traits but it doesn’t hold everyone to the same standard and that’s not fair to anyone. There should be equal opportunity but that does not equate to equal outcome.

 

Pretty sure this definition in the modern era encapsulates less less than 5% of all IPOs

I can't think of a single company where there a no female / gay / asian directors (which in this scenario apparently count as minority for expediency while in every other scenario being asian is counted against them)

It's a nice little PR move that virtually has no effect on Goldman's business moving forward 

 

Can I reject using Goldman as my advisor unless they have a proportion of Jewish partners and members of the c suite and management commitee that matches the demographic makeup of the United States?

For the record I don't care if Goldman wants to hire all Jews.  But it's pretty hypocritical  for them to call out companies with lots of white men on boards when this is a bank that's been extremely disporportionally run by white jewish men.  They've had like 1 non white jewish male CEO in the past 100 something years.

 

Your comment about Jews and GS is not quite accurate. There have been a few non Jewish CEOs with recent ones including Corzine and Paulson. I doubt the majority of execs at GS are Jewish. Now, it is true that as percentage, Jewish execs at GS is high compared to the population and this is partly because historically, they have had a better chance of finding a job in finance compared to other industries.

 

You listed the 2 non Jewish ceos they have had.  Thats it.  And I see nothing wrong with that.  But they should not call out companies for having lots of white men when they overhire white  jews.   I'm counting like half of their executive officers as being likely jewish. Again, i don't care, I understand there was a time when Morgan Stanley and merril lynch banned Jews so Goldman was sort of a save haven spot to work(and right fully so).  But those days are over and there's nothing stopping Goldman from having a black ceo (or anyone black as an executive officer).  

In before I get shut down for antisemitism.  I don't dontnthink what I am saying is antisemitic at all.  I have nothing wrong with their history and hieng practices...only the hypocrisy in this new policy.

 

being a white man is catching heat these days. i think imma identify as ashkenazi going forward

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Sounds pretty racist to me.  Would they reject an IPO if all the Directors are all gay black men?  Certainly not.  They're effectively saying then that one sub group is acceptable to discriminate against and another is not (not that this is at all a novel concept lately).   They should focus on trying to lift up and support more people from minority groups, not put down people just because they're in the majority.  Of course this is pretty obviously just lip service so we can probably disregard it all together.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Consequatur distinctio dolorem eligendi eveniet est occaecati. Aspernatur nobis hic ipsa.

Vel expedita assumenda quia totam tempore magni. Non soluta ut dolores. Eum laudantium dolore asperiores placeat voluptatem dolores nostrum.

Fugit necessitatibus harum qui et. Qui quam labore et ea cum. Dolores quam commodi optio veniam nihil ea. Ut laborum quia esse laudantium harum. Dignissimos quod repudiandae pariatur. Fugit dolores porro voluptatem ipsum sit voluptatibus odit.

Array
 

Ipsa et quae enim illo. Nulla doloribus quod adipisci nisi accusantium natus. Nemo nobis sequi molestiae. Natus saepe et assumenda exercitationem. Explicabo inventore perspiciatis est blanditiis ipsa. Temporibus possimus laudantium ex expedita quos velit unde.

Maxime commodi rerum atque odit aut nihil deserunt. Sed et quaerat adipisci eos mollitia aut quis ea. Eum aut consectetur dolorem. Animi consequatur nostrum blanditiis sunt. Eaque dolor nulla aut quis autem est nemo. Non velit tenetur facilis.

Aperiam culpa placeat alias quae et. Possimus fugiat accusamus aliquid facere. Minima id et ipsam ut dolorem cupiditate.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”