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Goldman Sachs is set to reveal a widening gender pay gap at its UK operations in 2023, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how the Wall Street bank has struggled to promote more women to senior positions.
The average hourly pay differential between men and women at Goldman Sachs International, its main UK entity, rose from 53.2 per cent in 2022 to 54 per cent in 2023, the highest level in the past six years, the people said. .
At Goldman Sachs International Asset Management, which includes parts of the bank's non-US money management business, the gap widened to 54.1 percent from 51.3 percent.
In talking points sent to senior Goldman executives for discussions with employees and any clients they contact, the bank acknowledges that women are underrepresented at senior levels within the bank.
Goldman Sachs is scheduled to publish its report on the gender pay gap on Thursday. A spokesperson for the bank said: “Importantly, the gender pay gap report does not take into account pay in a similar role or position, but we know we need to do more to increase women’s representation at the highest levels of the company.”
Since 2017, UK companies with 250 or more employees have been required to publish their gender pay gap. The two UK subsidiaries cover about 4,000 of Goldman's 45,000 employees worldwide, most of whom the bank is under no obligation to publish comparable data.
The UK pay gap figures are based on a snapshot taken at the beginning of April each year.
Rival Morgan Stanley reported that the average pay gap at its main UK subsidiary fell in 2023 to 48 percent from 48.8 percent.
Goldman Sachs has seen a wave of high-profile women leave the bank, including Beth Hammack, once touted as the bank's potential CFO; Dina Powell McCormick, who left to join merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners; and Stephanie Cohen, who co-ran Goldman's consumer and wealth management business.
Financial groups often say that promoting diversity requires a bottom-up approach that shows results over time. David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has often spoken about efforts to promote female executives, and has set a goal for women to make up at least 40 percent of the bank's vice presidents by 2025.
Goldman said its latest partner class in 2022 was its most diverse ever, with women making up 29 percent of the 80-person group. Of the 608 Goldman employees promoted to managing director last year, 31 percent were women.
Former and current Goldman employees acknowledge that the bank has made progress toward fostering a more balanced workforce, but many say the bank still has significant progress to make.
Additional reporting by Stephen Gandel
