03/08/2026
Thought
I recently watched CBS Sunday Morning which featured a segment interview of former Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO of Goldman Sachs. In his interview he mentioned his stance on DEI.
“In the workforce, though, Blankfein believes programs aimed at increasing diversity do not provide more opportunity. In his book he writes: "Special programs we ran for minorities at the firm were often counterproductive."
"That may be a provocation to other people. But I think if you brand something a remedial program, you're kind of also branding the people who go into that program," he said. "And I think that happens. And I think that becomes counterproductive. But I think there's another alternative. Just do the stuff. The programs that you do to advance the careers, the education for everybody, do those very well, and guess what? That'll disproportionately help the people who need it the most, which might include the people that would've otherwise been in those DEI programs.
This is his words. Programs he ran at Sachs were counterproductive. I would say that was counterproductive because of the culture at Sachs. The program was branded as a remedial program. That meant it was DOA “Dead On Arrival.” He states “just to the stuff! Well, Lloyd in my experience, like hires like! If there is not representation of diversity, then the status quo remains. One of the questions would be, why were programs counterproductive? Senior leadership (probably made up of white males) made sure it would be DOA because of the culture at Sachs.
When you are not in the room, not at the table and not on the call then you have no voice and no influence.
As an African American that has been in corporate America, I have seen it first hand and have experienced it. I would think that Lloyd being Jewish would understand. But apparently he does not get it. Yes, you can hide your Jewish background, change your name. But you cannot change your color of your skin. That is the difference. I could not change my color. The experiences that I have encountered because of the color of my skin, not my intellect have left an indelible mark on my life and has given me a different lens to evaluate comments made by people of privilege.
