Story 349
The power of three
I replaced a woman who had just left after reporting bullying and gender-related misconduct.
Around the same time, there was talk of elevating the role to a director position to match what was already an established case in other business groups.
The Managing Director told me not to talk about it. That was the first sign that something was off.
A few months went by, and I was sidelined as well, to the benefit of a younger man who shared the same national origin as the Group Head.
There was a third woman on the team, also in that same experience bucket that exceeded the rest of the team.
She was assertive, capable, knew her value. She started getting feedback about her “communication style”—that old line they use when they cannot handle an empowered woman, and treat her as a problem to manage instead.
Three women. One pattern.
When I confronted the MD about the decisions being made, he told me he had been instructed by both the Group Head and HR not to discuss it.
So. They all knew what they were doing couldn’t withstand transparency.
Citigroup talks about transformation under Fraser. Cultural change. Inclusion. But in that group, that mandate was actively negated every single day.
This is how the system perpetuates itself. Through silence. Through instructions not to speak. Through people knowing better but choosing the hierarchy instead.
I’m writing this because Citi’s story about who they are and who they’re trying to become isn’t matching what’s actually happening on the ground.
What went down? It occurred in ERM Tech & Data. Other posts on this platform have described the joys of working under that “leadership.”