Goldman offers sex change as staff perk

Company says it is the latest step to encourage more women to stay

Goldman Sachs’s London staff have been told that they can now have free sex-change surgery and fertility treatments in the latest step to encourage more women to stay with the firm.

The Wall Street bank, nicknamed the “great vampire squid” for its powerful grip on the world’s banking industry, told London staff last week that sex-reassignment surgery and IVF treatment had been added to its employee benefits plan.

The move, announced by chief executive Richard Gnodde in a staff town-hall meeting, comes as the bank fights to change its reputation as a conservative old boys’ club. It is understood that the new perks are aimed at helping “the whole issue of inclusiveness” in the London office.

The lack of women in top jobs means Goldman has a 72 per cent gap between what male and female staff earn in bonuses in Europe. The bank offered sex-change surgery to US staff a decade ago. Lloyds added gender reassignment surgery to its benefits package in 2016.