Goldman Sachs has scrapped a diversity rule which barred it from advising all male, all white boards on company flotations.

The now-ditched rule stated the investment bank would only help a business sell its shares on a stock exchange if it had two board members that fitted diversity requirements – one of whom had to be a woman. 

In an interview with the BBC, the bank’s vice chair Richard Gnodde said: “That policy was put in place to try and drive a change in behaviour and I think that’s happened.”

The policy was introduced in 2020 and Gnodde said it has now “served its purpose”.

He added: “I think what is important is that you have a diversity of views on that board and if you look at these companies they’ve all embraced diversity, it’s moved along.”

President Trump’s war on DEI

This change comes as President Trump’s administration takes a wrecking ball to diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies throughout the US.

Several federal government websites went dark, with others edited to remove mentions of gender last month after Trump pledged to clear out “gender ideology”.