Barclays abandons DEI targets after pledging ‘unwavering' commitment

Telegraph

08-04-2025

Barclays is scrapping diversity targets at its US business just months after the bank's boss pledged its 'enduring and unwavering' commitment to DEI policies.
The overhaul will see Barclays drop its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) quotas in the US after Donald Trump declared war on 'woke' in corporate America.
C. S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays' chief executive who is also known as Venkat, said the move followed a review of its policies in the wake of Mr Trump's electoral victory late last year.
The bank will retain its diversity targets in the UK and other markets.
A Barclays spokesman said: 'We started reviewing our overall approach in late 2024 and that review is still underway. In the meantime, we have taken the decision to no longer have specific US representation ambitions.
'Our representation ambitions for the rest of the group will continue, and are being considered as part of the review.'
The changes will see Barclays scrap ambitions to have 33pc of its director and managing director roles held by women by the end of this year, as well as plans to increase the number of ethnic minority executives by 50pc.
In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Mr Venkatakrishnan said: 'The group executive committee has been carefully considering the changed environment in the US.
'As a global organisation, we have always complied with the local requirements in the jurisdictions in which we have operated. In doing so, we have remained faithful to our workplace culture.'
Barclays' decision comes just months after Mr Venkatakrishnan in February told reporters the British bank was committed to creating an 'inclusive environment'.
Speaking on the bank's fourth-quarter earnings call, the Barclays boss said: 'If you want to get the very best people, by necessity, you get a very diverse workforce. We want to provide equality of opportunity, and we want to create that inclusive environment.'
The reversal follows the Trump administration's far-reaching campaign against corporate DEI initiatives that has seen the US president ban all diversity programmes in the US federal government.
Top banks including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have watered down their own DEI programmes in response to the Trump administration's pushback.
JP Morgan rebranded its own DEI initiatives under the name Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion (DOI) last month.
Major British firms including Deloitte have also scrapped their DEI programmes in the US while keeping them in place in Britain, in response to President Trump's attacks.
At the end of 2023, 30pc of Barclays' executives were women, while 5.1pc of its staff in Britain and 21pc of its employees in the US were from 'under-represented minorities', according to the bank's most recent DEI report.