Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement in response to Citigroup’s announcement of a new chief executive officer.

“Earlier this year, I and Congresswoman Beatty, Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee’s historic Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion which I created, released a report on the diversity and inclusion at the nation’s largest banks, to hold them accountable for their workforce, board and supplier diversity, pay equity, investment with diverse asset managers, and diversity and inclusion practices and policies. The report documented the lack of diversity among those banks’ executive ranks and boards. This report was one part of my work as the Committee’s first Chairwoman to prioritize and give intentional focus to diversity and inclusion, and to press for new opportunities for women and minorities.

“Citigroup’s announcement that a woman, Jane Fraser, will serve as its next CEO, is an important step that represents historic progress. But with one woman leading one megabank, Wall Street still has a long way to go in terms of ensuring that women and people of color have a seat at the table in the C-Suite and boardroom, and have full access and inclusion in the financial services industry.

“As Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, it will continue to be my mission to hold banks and all of the financial services industry accountable for diversity and inclusion results.”

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