Story 232

To Story 231, I am a retired advisor from Merrill, and feel terribly for your friend. As a woman who made her career in the 1980s, I know all too well the culture you’re describing.

I looked at the LinkedIn post you reference, as I’m familiar with many of the players. I knew what to expect, though others may not. The lack of gender diversity is stunning: 48 men and just two women on the top producer list. That does not happen by accident. It takes years to build a healthy pipeline with a genuinely diverse slate that reflects the community, and this clearly is not that.

[REDACATED] had a reputation for playing favorites with his inner circle – moving underperforming men around the country, while handing struggling regions to women or people of color. When a turnaround didn’t happen fast enough, the woman or black man was inevitably let go, only to be replaced by one of his buddies. One story here referenced a management training program he was responsible for that exacerbated the problem. We understood it to be a place where smart and ambitious people went only to be hit in the knees with a baseball bat if you weren’t a FoA.

It’s disheartening that he is now at Citi and continuing in a similar vein.

It’s also remarkable that rampant sexism persists as it does. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is a federal agency that exists to enforce federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age (40+), disability, or genetic information. The fact that this behavior is flatly illegal and goes on as it does is a reminder of the uphill battle women face and the power that corporations maintain over federal law.

I will add that I’m surprised Brian Moynihan tolerated this for as long as he did. There were many rumors regarding lawsuits and settlements, and Brian struck me as a decent man. But perhaps he, too, is another gatekeeper of the status quo.