Citi Hires Goldman’s Erika Irish Brown to Lead Diversity Efforts
Citi Hires Goldman’s Erika Irish Brown to Lead Diversity Efforts
(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Erika Irish Brown to help oversee efforts to diversify its workforce.
Brown, who was most recently Goldman’s chief diversity officer, will join Citigroup in the coming months as chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and global head of talent. She will also oversee succession planning and leadership development, according to a memo to staff from Sara Wechter, Citigroup’s global head of human resources.
Brown is joining one of the few banks that has been vocal about goals for diversifying its ranks. Citigroup has said it hopes to increase representation at the assistant vice president through managing director levels to at least 40% for women globally and 8% for Black employees in the U.S. by the end of the year.
“We’ve made it a habit to set clear and attainable goals to measure our progress and hold us all accountable for diversity at Citi, and we’re just getting started,” Wechter said in the memo.
The representation goals are one way Citigroup is hoping to close the gap between what it pays male and female employees. While that difference has narrowed slightly in recent years, female workers still make 26% less than male counterparts.
Also as part of that effort, the firm this year expanded requirements from considering at least one to at least two women or minority candidates when interviewing for U.S. roles, and at least two women in interviews for global hires.
“There is so much great work going on across the firm, and Erika will bring a fresh perspective,” Wechter said. “We are very excited to have her at Citi and know she will bring innovative ideas and initiatives that will help us think differently.”
Brown previously was the first global head of diversity and inclusion at Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. At Goldman, she established diversity goals and helped oversee such efforts for the board. She also helped introduce Goldman’s “One Million Black Women” initiative, in which the bank vowed to invest $10 billion to address racial biases.
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