Progressive Goldman

Anthony LoPinto

Goldman Sachs has taken on a progressive tone over the last few months since its new CEO David Solomon took the reins. One of his first edicts was to relax its dress code, allowing bankers to swap their bespoke suits for a more casual look. In a note to the Goldman team Solomon wrote, “We believe this is the right time to move to a firm-wide flexible dress code recognizing the changing nature of workplaces generally in favor of a more casual environment”.

But more important than what trousers will one wear, is Goldman’s gender-parity push as a result that fewer than 20 percent of Goldman’s 400-plus partners are women, and just a small handful are black. One goal under the new policy will be for 50% of its incoming analysts to be women. But at the top of the house, Goldman’s managers will be required to interview two diverse candidates for any open job as part of the initiative to bring greater diversity to its professional ranks. Solomon gets extra credits as Goldman’s new CEO for signaling bold changes to a venerable institution that will benefit mightily from a more progressive workforce agenda.