Mind your pronouns, advises bank’s gender policy

Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street’s oldest and most famous banks, this month announced an initiative to make it easier for employees to be identified by their gender identity, including coaching workers on how to handle meeting new people.

“Proactively share your pronouns to foster an environment of respect and awareness (ex: ‘ Hi, I’m Karen! My pronouns are she/hers. Welcome to the team!’),” the bank encourages employees in the announcement.

A person’s pronoun shouldn’t be assumed by their name or appearance, the bank counsels. “Made a mistake? Don’t make a big deal out of it or draw extra attention to it; instead, make a swift apology and use the correct pronoun(s) moving forward,” the announcement says.

The 150-year-old bank also included examples of potential pronouns and how they could be used. The gender-neutral “Ze/Zir (Zem)” can be used in a sentence such as “Ze went to the store” or “I spoke with zir/zem,” the company explains.

As part of phase one of the initiative, employees will also be able to attach flags to their desks that identify them, including as an “ally” or “LGBT member”. Next year, as part of the second phase of the initiative, the company’s internal directory will also allow employees to include preferred pronouns.

While such initiatives are still rare in the typically conservative, buttoned-up banking world, nonbinary identities have become increasingly visible. This year, dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster said the pronoun “they” may be used to refer to a “single person whose gender identity is non-binary”. The District of Columbia, California and New York, among other parts of the United States, have begun offering a gender option of “X” on identification cards.

Goldman Sachs said it launched the initiative after two employees came out as transgender and the bank began to think more broadly about gender issues. “We believe in fostering an inclusive environment where they feel comfortable to be their authentic selves — and that should be welcomed and valued by their team and by the firm,” the bank said in the announcement.

The initiative comes a few weeks after a prominent Danish entrepreneur complained on Twitter that his wife was denied a credit line increase for the Apple Card, despite having a higher credit score than him. The allegations has sparked a regulatory investigation of Goldman Sachs, which issues the card.

The bank said at the time that credit assessments are made based on individual income and

Proactively share your pronouns to foster an environment of respect and awareness.

creditworthiness, which could result in family members having “significantly different credit decisions.”

Meanwhile, as Goldman Sachs embraces diversity, a California firm is betting that public companies supported by gay people will outperform the market.

LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings is launching an index of 100 companies that support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people — and which has so far had better returns than the S&P 500 index.

The LGBTQ100 ESG Index was compiled partly by asking people who identify as LGBTQ which companies they want included.

Companies on the index were chosen from the 193 S&P 500 members with unblemished scores for benefits, culture and antidiscrimination policies.

A focus on LGBTQ rights has become more widespread among large US companies. This year, 571 firms received perfect scores from the Human Rights Campaign, up from 13 in 2003 when the rankings began.

LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings is now working to set up an exchange-traded fund linked to the index. UBS Group helped start a similar fund focused on gay rights last year and investors were also offered the Alps Workplace Equality Portfolio Fund. However, such investment vehicles are not always successful: the Alps fund closed in April 26 “on consideration of the fund’s inability to attract significant market interest”.

Goldman Sachs