Goldman Sachs sees increase in its gender pay gap

Goldman Sachs has announced its gender pay gap has risen by five per cent in the last year.

The announcement comes around a week after it stated an aspiration to have half of its analysts and entry-level associate positions filled by women and that senior managers’ pay and promotion will in part be based on progress towards diversity.

Goldman Sachs’ gender pay gap figures show women were paid 50.6% less than men on average in 2018 – down from 55.6% last year. The figures also reveal a gap of 66.7% in favour of male staff when it comes to end of year bonuses. Goldman Sachs says the gaps are due to fewer women holding the more senior roles which carry higher salaries and bonuses.

The company is working with its Global Diversity Council to expand its diversity goals generally and says analysts and entry-level associate positions make up more than 70 percent of its annual hiring. In addition to an aspirational goal of 50 percent for women, it also has a 14 percent goal for Hispanic/Latino professionals in the Americas and  a nine percent goal for black professionals in the UK. It says it is also exploring new ways to increase representation of the LGBT, disabled and veterans communities.

Goldman Sachs says experienced lateral hiring has been an important part of the firm’s growth at a more senior level, but has been a significant contributor to the dilution of diversity at more senior levels. For that reason it is going to expand its sources for diverse talent, including referrals, identify open roles and require businesses to interview two or more qualified diverse candidates for each open role.

All business unit heads have been asked to increase their focus on helping people develop their careers to their fullest potential and for managing director promotions the company says it will review the potential pipeline to assess representation across all communities before the formal process is underway. In addition, progression towards diversity will be a factor in decisions about pay and promotion for business unit heads.

Meanwhile, in Australia EY is reported to be offering its employees six to 12 weeks of unpaid “life leave”. The leave can be can be taken in one or two blocks of time. The firm is also implementing two other initiatives, term-time working and temporary part-time work for up to three months, as of April 1st.

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