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Diversity

Citigroup's DEI Rollback: Jane Fraser Scales Back the Programs

On February 20, 2025, Jane Fraser told Citi staff the bank would drop its representation goals and diverse-slate rules and rename its DEI team, citing federal contractor rules.

By The WokeCorp Team Updated October 15, 2026
A Citibank branch on a busy corner in Manhattan's Chinatown
A Citibank branch in Manhattan's Chinatown. Citigroup announced its Action for Racial Equity in 2020. In February 2025 its CEO dropped the bank's representation goals and renamed its DEI team. · Photo: The original uploader was Uris at English Wikipedia. via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Jane Fraser became Citigroup’s CEO in 2021, the first woman to run a major US bank. The bank had announced its Action for Racial Equity the year before, and two months before the reversal its head of talent was still calling DEI a business imperative.

On February 20, 2025, Fraser told staff that Citi was dropping its representation goals.

Key findings

  • Citi dropped its aspirational representation goals except where local law requires them.
  • It stopped requiring diverse candidate slates and diverse interview panels.
  • The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Talent Management team became Talent Management and Engagement.
  • Fraser tied the changes to new federal requirements for all federal contractors. Citi facilitates much of the US government’s payment network.
  • Wall Street did not move as one. Goldman Sachs dropped its IPO board-diversity rule nine days earlier, and JPMorgan renamed its program a month later rather than ending it.

What the memo changed

Three things changed at once. The representation goals went, apart from places where local law requires them. The rules that made recruiters show diverse candidate slates and seat diverse interview panels went. And the team name dropped the word diversity entirely.

The memo did not say the programs had failed. It said federal policy had changed, and that requirements now applying to all federal contractors called for changes at the bank.

A stock ticker board showing prices in red and green

Wall Street’s DEI rollback in 2025 varied by firm: JPMorgan maintained its programs while Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and others scaled back. The variation reflects different assessments of federal contractor exposure, shareholder composition, and political risk. Photo: Pixabay via Pexels. Pexels License.

Why the federal contractor point carries weight

Citi facilitates much of the US government’s payment network at home and abroad. That makes it a federal contractor in a way most consumer brands are not. When the January 2025 executive orders required contractors to certify they run no DEI programs the administration considers unlawful, the order reached Citi’s own operations, not only its reputation.

That is the strongest version of the bank’s case: compliance, not conviction. It is also why the comparison with its peers matters.

How the other big banks moved

  • Goldman Sachs, on February 11, 2025, ended its rule that it would take a company public in the US or Western Europe only if the board included two diverse members, one of them a woman. A spokesperson cited legal developments related to board diversity requirements.
  • JPMorgan Chase, in March 2025, renamed its program from DEI to DOI, for diversity, opportunity and inclusion. COO Jenn Piepszak wrote that some programs had moved into HR and corporate responsibility and that training would be reduced, while employee resource groups would stay open to all.

So three of the best-known names on Wall Street made three different moves inside six weeks: Goldman dropped a client-facing rule, Citi dropped its internal goals and the name, and JPMorgan kept a program under a new name. All three operate under the same federal rules, which makes each choice a decision.

Citigroup Center, a glass skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, seen from below

Citigroup Center in Midtown Manhattan. Financial services firms have historically used DEI metrics, particularly representation of women in senior leadership, as recruiting differentiators for high-compensation professional talent pools. The rollback creates uncertainty about how those recruiting signals change. Photo: Kidfly182 via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

The WokeCorp assessment

The commitment. Citi’s 2020 pledge was public and specific, and two months before the reversal the bank’s head of talent was describing DEI as a business imperative.

The reversal. The February 2025 memo ended the representation goals and the diverse-slate rules and removed the word diversity from the team’s name, citing federal contractor requirements.

The peer question. JPMorgan faced the same environment and kept a renamed program. That does not prove Citi’s call was wrong, but it does show the law left room for more than one answer.

Man at a bank currency exchange office window in a city

A bank financial office window reflects the institutional infrastructure behind major lending decisions. Citigroup’s DEI rollback represents a broader shift in how large financial institutions balance workforce policies with regulatory and political pressure. Photo: Mathias Reding via Pexels. Pexels License.

See The Great DEI Retreat: Corporate Rollbacks in 2024-2025 for the broader context.

Sources

  • Black Enterprise on Fraser’s February 20, 2025 memo, February 23, 2025. Read October 2026.
  • Bloomberg via Employee Benefit News, February 25, 2025. Read October 2026.
  • HR Dive on JPMorgan’s DOI memo, March 27, 2025. Read October 2026.
  • Fortune on Goldman’s IPO board rule, February 12, 2025. Read October 2026.