Goldman Sachs | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At the crux of our efforts is a focus on cultivating and sustaining a diverse work environment and workforce, which is critical to meeting the unique needs of our diverse client base and the communities in which we operate.

We are committed to making progress toward racial equity, advancing gender equality, and increasing representation at every level of our firm.

Our Commitment

Our commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse work environment is absolute. We share our reasons for this commitment and our aspirations:

For the Firm

We strive for excellence. To achieve it, we must have the best people, and the best people are drawn from the broadest pool of applicants. The people we need can be found only by looking across the full spectrum of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, qualified veteran status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

For Our People

Ours is a culture of teamwork. For our groups to excel, all members must feel that they are operating in an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports differences, and that encourages input from all perspectives. Our people have the right to expect a workplace in which the richness of their lives and experience is welcomed and valued by their team and by the firm.

For Our Clients

Their interests always come first. To continue providing our clients with creative ideas and solutions for operating effectively in a complex global economy, we must be fully capable of dealing with different cultures in an informed and nuanced manner. Experience has shown us that we can best serve our clients’ interests by tapping the insights, talents, and judgments of a diverse workforce.

Fostering Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion at Goldman Sachs

Sustaining a work environment where our people feel comfortable bringing their full selves to work and are empowered to reach their full potential continues to be a priority. As a firm, we believe that having the best team positions us to meet the needs of our clients – and to have the best team, our people must bring a range of perspectives to the table and reflect the diversity of the communities where we live and work.

Over the years, the firm’s diversity efforts have evolved from raising broader awareness and delivering an array of programs to a more deliberate, data-driven and targeted approach. We have made progress, but we have significant work to do. To drive progress for our firm towards our aspirational goals, we have a range of initiatives in place to increase diverse representation at all levels and foster inclusion, including:

Recruiting the best, most diverse talent

We continue to search for talent in new places and in new ways, from leveraging technology (e.g., HireVue video interviews and Virtual Insight Webinar Series for students to learn about financial services and to prepare for interviews) to engaging with a broader range of candidates and offering early programs designed to engage and attract people who may not otherwise look to pursue a career in financial services (e.g., Africa Recruiting Initiative, Neurodiversity Hiring Initiative, Possibilities Summits, HBCU Market Madness) – to partnering with numerous external organizations to help us improve our diversity recruiting efforts. Established programs like our Veterans Integration Program and the Returnship® program are also examples of initiatives that have become a practice adopted across many industries.

Contributing to an inclusive environment

Attracting and hiring diverse talent is essential, but it is only one component of our approach. We offer a number of programs designed to help our people contribute to an inclusive environment, including learning opportunities such as Identity Matters: Race & Ethnicity in the Workplace, a program that allows participants learn about how race, ethnicity and social identity can shape an individual’s experience in the workplace and how to engage in dialogue about race and identity to create trust-based relationships; and Reverse Mentoring Initiative, a nine-month mentorship program that provides senior non-Black partners the opportunity to be mentored by Black professionals at the firm. The program is designed to broaden the understanding of the Black experience and provide a space to practice and refine inclusive behaviors.

Focusing on retention

Programs such as our Black Analyst and Associate Initiative, the Hispanic/Latinx Analyst and Associate Initiative, Women’s Career Strategies Initiative, and Vice President Sponsorship Initiative are examples of the firm’s efforts to support the advancement and retention of diverse talent. Diversity committees and governance councils exist in every region to help ensure top-down support of our efforts while also driving accountability for important people processes and decisions.

Inclusion Networks

Open to all professionals at Goldman Sachs, Employee Inclusion Networks and forums develop programs that support our firm’s diversity and inclusion strategy.

They offer career development and educational programs, create networking forums, and sponsor client events. We have developed and support inclusion networks and interest forums globally, including the following:

Asian Network
Black Network
Disability Network
Hispanic/Latinx Network
LGBTQ+Network
Veterans Network
Women’s Network
Working Parent Forum

These groups provide an opportunity for our people to share concerns and feedback, and to develop professional relationships with those from other business units and divisions. Additionally, they help our people to identify opportunities for professional development.

Diversity Awards

Vendor Diversity

Our Aspirational Hiring Goals

Gender Pay Gap Report

As a global firm, the advancement of women in the workplace is top of mind for us. We have made progress over the years. Yet we have significant work to do.

2023 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2022 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2021 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2020 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2019 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2018 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

2017 Goldman Sachs UK Gender Pay Gap Report

UK Women in Finance Charter

As a global firm, the advancement of women in the workplace is a priority for us. We are focused on making measurable change with respect to our gender diversity at all levels with a particular focus on senior representation.

We apply the same principles with respect to our talent as we would to our businesses and continue to hold ourselves accountable for fostering a working environment in which all individuals can achieve their full potential and advance to the most senior levels of the firm. It is every leader and manager’s responsibility to know their talent and support their experience at the firm. To this end, we have set aspirational goals, including global women representation at the vice president level of at least 40 percent by 2025, recognising that when we unite around a common goal, we make progress together.

Our participation in the UK Women in Finance Charter is one part of this commitment. In 2018 we signed the UK Women in Finance Charter and committed to a goal that women represent at least 30 percent of our senior talent (vice president and above) by 2023.

Our Sixth Year as a Signatory

In 2021 we reached our UK Women in Finance Charter aim of 30 percent women in UK senior roles (vice president and above) ahead of the 2023 target. We are pleased to report we continue to make progress beyond this goal. As of 31 August 2024, our representation of women in UK senior roles is 32.4% vs. 28.7% in 2019 which was our first reporting year as a signatory.

Our 2023 EMEA Managing Director class was our most diverse to date, including 32% women, accretive to overall diversity of our managing directors and further driving our senior women representation.

Whilst we are pleased with the progress made this year, we remain committed to achieving results through continued persistent and focused efforts and a robust governance and accountability framework with the aim of ensuring all of our people feel valued.

UK Race at Work Charter

At Goldman Sachs, we have long been committed to promoting inclusion, diversity, and equity. Yet there is more to be done.

In December 2019, we signed the UK Race at Work Charter delivered by Business in the Community. As part of our signatory status, we committed to 5 key actions to drive ethnic minority representation and inclusion in our workplace.

We are focused on promoting the representation of ethnically diverse groups across all areas of the firm. It requires attention at the earliest stages of hiring and ensuring we have robust retention initiatives throughout an employee’s career life-cycle. It is vital that we have a diverse group of people who bring a broad range of experiences, capabilities and perspectives to our organisation – it just makes good business sense.

Our First Year as a Signatory
We are pleased with the progress we have made in our first year, some highlights include the following:

Appointed Richard Gnodde, CEO of Goldman Sachs International, as our executive sponsor for our participation in the charter
Expanded our firmwide aspirational goals to include increased representation of Black talent at the Vice President level
Extended our EMEA Vice President Sponsorship Initiative to include Asian and LGBTQ+ talent as well as women and Black talent
Partnered with best practice organisations through the Goldman Sachs Fund for Racial Equity to support their focus in addressing racial equity, structural inequity and economic disparity
Launched a range of resources and initiatives to further awareness and dialogue on racial equity including a firmwide reverse mentoring programme for senior leaders, our Ally Guide and ‘Divisional Dialogues’

Read more about how we are making progress towards racial equity and supporting our employees and communities. For more on our broader D&I efforts, please see our EMEA 2020 D&I Report.

When Women Lead

Goldman Sachs believes when women lead, everything changes. In today’s world, gender equality is an economic imperative and supporting women’s economic empowerment and leadership opportunities will drive growth for our clients, our communities, our people, and our shareholders.

Making Progress Toward Racial Equity

At Goldman Sachs, we have long been committed to promoting inclusion, diversity, and equity. Yet there is more to be done. That is why we are investing in the power of Black communities, supporting Black businesses, and recognizing the power of an inclusive workforce. As a firm focused on sustainable and inclusive growth, we are channeling the power of capital to drive economic prosperity for more people.

Vendor Diversity

Our Vendor Diversity Program gives us a platform to engage with small and diverse enterprises around the world. We strive to engage vendors that reflect the diversity of the communities where we live and work and of the clients we serve, and we look for vendors that can bring a range of perspectives to help us discover creative, effective solutions.

Diversity & Inclusion

When Women Lead

Making Progress Toward Racial Equity

Vendor Diversity