Press Releases
Top Dem Lawmakers Request Goldman Sachs ReviewWaters, Green call on Republicans to make good on their commitment to examine all allegations of discrimination
Washington, DC,
July 22, 2014
Tags:
CFPB
Following allegations of discrimination and unfair treatment of women at Goldman Sachs Group, and in light of a continuing examination of similar claims at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), two senior Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee are calling on Republican leadership to examine the matter. In a letter to Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Chair of the Oversight and Investigations (OI) Subcommittee, Ranking Members Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Al Green (D-TX), reminded the chairmen of their commitment to rooting out discrimination and retaliation within the financial services industry and, as they have with the CFPB, called on them to schedule a hearing to examine these concerning allegations. Waters is the top Democrat of the full committee, Green is the Ranking Member on the OI Subcommittee. The letter follows months of hearings, subpoenas and witness testimony related to allegations of discrimination at the CFPB. A recent lawsuit against Goldman Sachs alleged that about 23 percent fewer female associates were promoted to managing director as compared to their male counterparts, in addition to claims that female vice presidents earned 21 percent less than men. “Given your previous commitment to eliminating invidious discrimination, we believe it is vital that the OI Subcommittee devote resources with the same due diligence it has done with its review of the Bureau, to examine the personnel operations, policies, and procedures of regulated entities to determine to what extent controls are in place to prevent and detect discrimination,” the lawmakers wrote. In an exchange between McHenry and Green during a June 12 subcommittee meeting, McHenry expressed his interest in this issue, stating: “if there are allegations of retaliation and discrimination within this committee’s jurisdiction, come forward.” Neither a transcript nor a video of the meeting appears on the majority’s website. However, a transcript of the exchange has been uploaded here (on pages 5-8). The text of the letter is below. A signed version is available online. July 22, 2014 Honorable Jeb Hensarling We were pleased to hear your public commitment to examine any allegations of discrimination and retaliation within the financial services industry, which you made at last month’s Oversight and Investigations (OI) Subcommittee hearing. For this reason, we wanted to bring to your attention recent allegations against Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS), which have been outlined in various news reports. We urge you to schedule a hearing soon to examine potential allegations of discrimination and unfair treatment of minorities and women within regulated entities under the Financial Services Committee’s (Committee) oversight authority. As press reports have documented potential pay disparities at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau), GS employees allege that female vice presidents earned 21 percent less than men. Moreover, they detail the fact that about 23 percent fewer female associates were promoted to managing director compared to their male counterparts. Sadly, these alleged pay disparities and unequal job opportunities at GS are consistent with the data on the overall trends and practices revealed in a Government Accountability Office report (GAO-13-238) issued in April 2013. The report found that management-level representation of minorities and women in the financial services industry has not changed substantially from 2007 to 2011. Given your previous commitment to eliminating invidious discrimination, we believe it is vital that the OI Subcommittee devote resources with the same due diligence it has done with its review of the Bureau, to examine the personnel operations, policies, and procedures of regulated entities to determine to what extent controls are in place to prevent and detect discrimination. Sincerely, Honorable Maxine Waters Honorable Al Green ### |
