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Story 9
At one point I was discussing with my line manager and HR to upgrade a role under me by hiring someone externally to replace an internal veteran. Given the long tenured contributions by the internal veteran, I want to be respectful and thoughtful to find her a role that would suit her. Instead HR was quick to say we would figure a way to push her…
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Story 8
A female employee of Hispanic background with a near-20-year tenure with Citi raised her discontent to me on the first day we met. Nothing new unfortunately – three line managers in 10 months of just one year, unclear roles and responsibilities due to endless reorganization/transformation, and stalled career… Except…she just gave birth and had suffered from a serious health issue. Yet still, the management in Citi…
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Story 7
In 2024, in the drive for operational efficiency, a.k.a. cost reduction, across Citi Wealth there was a wave of “demotions” to downgrade employees’ corporate rank. Majority of the downgrades happen to those at the level of C15 which is typically senior Director level reporting to Managing Directors at C16. These downgrades from C15 to C14 mean the employees have little to no prospect of pay increases…
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Story 6
Every firm on Wall Street has its problem, but it’s an open secret at Citi that if you are a woman under HR investigation, the odds are not in your favor. Might as well start packing your bags. Katniss
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Story 5
My experience as a Director at Citi was marked by ambiguity and marginalization. Over the course of my career, I achieved many accomplishments that the firm proudly highlighted in its literature as evidence of success. Yet, despite leading these efforts, my contributions were rarely attributed to me directly. I was never named as the individual responsible for the wins that elevated the firm. As a Director,…
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Story 4
I was a top performing Director at Citi when I was called into an HR investigation related to an employee who was unhappy about being placed on a performance plan. At the start of the call, the questions focused on that situation, as expected. Near the end of the discussion, without any warning or context, the investigator abruptly changed direction and asked about a Zoom meeting…
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Story 3
I spent more than twenty years as a senior HR leader. What I learned is this:Discrimination at senior levels rarely looks overt. It looks procedural. Over time, I watched HR shift from being a safeguard to becoming a translator — converting bias, fear, and power struggles into clean language and compliant processes. It often showed up like this: Performance reviews that focused on tone instead of…
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Story 2
As a senior executive in financial services (not Citibank), I’ve watched time and time again as high-performing, driven women have been pushed out of the organization. I fell for the company line about early retirements and decisions to pursue other interests, but now I know these women were targeted. My own story is this: decades at a firm, stellar performance reviews, promotions to the senior ranks,…
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Story 1
In 2024, while working as an MD at Citi, I was subjected to the most biased, frankly shocking, HR investigation of my 25 year career. What at first appeared to be a routine inquiry quickly turned into a hit job shaped less by facts and more by assumptions, insinuations, and gendered interpretation of behavior. The investigation included lines of questioning that relied heavily on subjective judgment…