Dive Brief:
- JPMorgan Chase announced changes to its internal practices on diversity, equity and inclusion and its external memberships in climate-related organizations last week, ESG Dive confirmed Monday.
- The financial institution said in a Friday internal memo, seen by ESG Dive, that it would rebrand its DEI practices “DOI,” with “o” standing for opportunity. Additionally, a spokesperson for the bank said in an emailed statement that JPMorgan Asset Management had left the United Nations-backed Net-Zero Asset Managers initiative last week as well. NZAM previously paused its operations, pending a review of its programs, after BlackRock left the group in January.
- Both changes were first reported by Reuters Friday and follow broader financial industry trends for the year, as banks have broadly backed away from the term DEI and industry climate groups and alliances.
Dive Insight:
Friday’s internal memo from JPMorgan Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Piepszak said the company has made changes to its DEI programs “and the language [JPMorgan uses] to describe them,” including swapping the “equity” for “opportunity” and renaming the division to Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion.
“The ‘e’ always meant equal opportunity to [JPMorgan], not equal outcomes, and we believe this more accurately reflects our ongoing approach to reach the most customers and clients to grow our business, create an inclusive workplace for our employees and increase access to opportunities,” Piepszak’s memo said.
The bank said it had “streamlined” some of the diversity programs that were previously managed by the DEI office, integrating some into the human resources or corporate responsibility parts of the business.
The changes come as the Trump administration has increasingly put a focus on corporate DEI programs, including an executive order for his agencies to target private sector initiatives. This has added to the wave of companies who rolled back programs last year, and the pressure has pushed U.S. banks to alter the way they talk about DEI in securities filings.
Among them, JPMorgan said in its most recent annual filing that it “has been and expects that it will continue to be criticized by activists, politicians and other members of the public” about stances it has taken on public policy matters “such as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.” The firm also re-branded a table with employee breakdowns that was titled “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” in last year’s filing to “Workplace Composition."
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon had previously said “bring them on” to anti-DEI activists that may target his company at January’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He later said in a company town hall that the firm planned to reduce spending on some DEI efforts and said he “was never a firm believer in bias training,” according to Bloomberg.
Piepszak’s Friday memo said the company plans to reduce its number of trainings, though its employee groups will remain focused on employee engagement, education and cultural celebrations and observances. In looking to increase “connectivity” between different parts of the business and the DOI group, she said “some activities, councils or chapters may be consolidated to streamline our process and engagement strategy.”
“[JPMorgan] remain[s] committed to our core principles, which includes our belief in the power of a diverse workforce that strengthens our business and attracts and retains the best talent,” Piepszak said. “We’ve always been committed to hiring, compensation and promotion that are merit-based; we do not have illegal quotas or pay incentives, and we would never turn someone away because of their political or religious beliefs, or because of who they are.”
Additionally, a JPMorgan spokesperson said Monday that the firm’s asset management arm is “ending its membership” in NZAM, “in light of” the operational pause the initiative announced in January. NZAM had announced the temporary suspension of operations following the departure of the nation’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, earlier that month.
Following BlackRock’s exit, NZAM initially said that though it was “disappointed to see any investor withdraw” it respects any decision signatories make. However, it reversed course and announced a suspension of activities a few days later due to “recent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations.”
The organization said that during the pause — which included the suspension of tracking signatory reporting and target implementation — it would review its operations to make sure the group ““remains fit for purpose in the new global context.”
For JPMorgan, the NZAM exit comes after the bank had previously followed Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo out the door of the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking alliance. At the time, a JPMorgan spokesperson told ESG Dive it still plans to engage with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero, which is refocusing on mobilizing capital this year.
Northern Trust Asset Management has also announced a departure from NZAM following the pause, as well as an exit from Climate Action 100+ — an investor group that has become a common target for House Republicans.
