Wall Street's diversity dilemma deepens as JPMorgan's Dimon sounds off on 'stupid' DEI expenses
Yahoo Finance ^ | February 16, 2025 | David Hollerith
Posted on 02/16/2025 12:06:47 PM PST by lasereye
Wall Street’s defense of its DEI initiatives suddenly got a lot more complicated.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, a longtime advocate of diversity and using bank resources to aid minority communities, told employees this past week during a town hall that he "was never a firm believer in bias training" and had questions about money being spent on certain DEI programs.
"I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid shit, and it really pissed me off," Dimon said, according to a recording of the town hall obtained by Yahoo Finance. "I’m just going to cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy."
Bloomberg first reported on those comments.
Dimon was not specific about what he would cancel. He also said the bank’s approach to Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ communities would not change, and that any plans for certain DEI initiatives were unrelated to Donald Trump’s election as president.
What was notable about Dimon's new comments is how outspoken he has been about his willingness to fight outside efforts to change JPMorgan’s DEI policies.
"Bring them on," Dimon said about activist efforts targeting DEI during an interview with CNBC last month.
Some of the biggest companies on Wall Street, including JPMorgan, are increasingly targets of conservative activists seeking changes to DEI policies across corporate America.
Over the past year, such pressure has contributed to DEI retreats at a number of other high-profile companies, including Meta (META), Walmart (WMT), McDonald's (MCD), Lowe’s (LOW), Ford (F), Tractor Supply (TSCO), John Deere (DE), and Target (TGT).
Many of these retreats were influenced by a recent US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action at colleges and universities, a ruling that prompted conservative groups to ramp up their efforts to eliminate diverse hiring practices.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: davidhollerith; dei; dimon; expenses; jpmorgan

Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21 next last
Kind of a confusing message from Dimon. I read this to mean he's backing away from a lot of the DEI stuff, but is stopping short of getting rid of all of it. Overall I see it as progress.
1 posted on 02/16/2025 12:06:47 PM PST by lasereye
To: lasereye
If he wants programs that pay for scholarhsips for minorities with money from JP, I don’t care. I don’t own any of its stock or use its banks or investment services.
He’s not an elected public official.
I think he means well...I think he’s left of center but not bat#### crazy left of center.
And I think he’s waking up to realities more and more.
He’s one of FEW that basically told people who don’t like tarriffs to go to heck and he said they could be helpful.
More than a lot of businessmen on the right said about it.
People’s opinions evolved. Hopefully his will keep evolving in the right direction.
2 posted on 02/16/2025 12:12:39 PM PST by dp0622 (Tried a coup, a fake tax story, tramp slander, Russia nonsense, impeachment and a virus. They lost.)
To: lasereye
He looked at the bottom line and decided the cost of DEI was just too high for the benefits gained. If Harris had won, he would be all for DEI.
3 posted on 02/16/2025 12:21:30 PM PST by Eli Kopter (Gentle elves set light to lead the Faroes on the starry way from age to age - U. of Faroe Islands)
To: lasereye
“The answer my friend
is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind”
4 posted on 02/16/2025 12:21:46 PM PST by PAR35
To: dp0622
People’s opinions evolved. Hopefully his will keep evolving in the right direction.
George Wallace was the liberal reform guy in his first political race. He lost. He then became a firebrand segregationalist to win office.
5 posted on 02/16/2025 12:23:53 PM PST by PAR35
To: lasereye
ALL of the “Diversity is Our Strength” advocates can NEVER answer the question of how diversity will make a sports team better. It has always been a big lie.
6 posted on 02/16/2025 12:26:56 PM PST by FatherofFive (we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor)
To: lasereye
no doubt, 95% of this corporate DEI bullshit was fascist bullying by the fascist biden administration ... now that the fascist gas pedal has been eased off, corporate DEI is unraveling faster than a child’s first knitting project being tugged on by a house cat ...
7 posted on 02/16/2025 12:27:02 PM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
To: lasereye
He was all for it, but he was always against it b/c it is extra bureaucracy, but will not eliminate it completely.
Clear, right?
To: lasereye
He noticed the wind has shifted.
9 posted on 02/16/2025 12:29:11 PM PST by marron
To: marron
To: lasereye
“Many of these retreats were influenced by a recent US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action at colleges and universities, a ruling that prompted conservative groups to ramp up their efforts to eliminate diverse hiring practices.”
James and Bragg opened that door when they went after Trump’s bankers in a criminal case that has no standing and will be overturned on appeal. Wall Street doesn’t want that to happen to them.
11 posted on 02/16/2025 12:41:48 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (Privatize the administrative state!)
To: lasereye
12 posted on 02/16/2025 12:48:10 PM PST by butlerweave
To: lasereye
Either embrace the meritocracy or lose.
13 posted on 02/16/2025 12:50:26 PM PST by allendale
To: FatherofFive
He wants to make statements and be believed. Tell everyone, who put you up to it? Name names.
To: Eli Kopter
“””If Harris had won, he would be all for DEI.””””
If she won he would be FORCED to implement DEI.
15 posted on 02/16/2025 1:04:38 PM PST by shelterguy
To: lasereye
Is it just me or have I noticed fewer mixed race couples in tv ads since Trump took office?
To: lasereye
Appears that Dimon is not a very strong leader as he bent to the DEI idiots and now that it is getting out of favor with those in power, he is moving in the other direction. Kinda like sticking one’s finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. No core to that man.
17 posted on 02/16/2025 1:12:54 PM PST by falcon99 ( )
To: lasereye
I thought he played a major role in instituting DEI in the first place:
Dimon still a fan
At JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, CEO Jamie Dimon is a big fan of DEI.
It’s plastered all over the company’s website, which touts the stat that “58% of new US hires are racially or ethnically diverse.”
Dimon, famously, was photographed taking a knee when visiting a branch office during the social-justice riots after the death of George Floyd, seemingly in support of the radical Black Lives Matter movement.
Yet people at the bank assure me the company has been weaning itself from the most far-reaching DEI interpretations.
Dimon ordered a review of DEI policies after the SCOTUS affirmative action decision to ensure that hiring quotas don’t exist.
The company seeks a diverse workforce that tries to match the racial and gender composition of the population in areas where it does business and then picks the best people.
There are no quotas.
That’s when I brought up that 58% “diverse” hiring number, which obviously doesn’t match current US demographics and seems very quota-forward.
JPM’s explanation: It represents the population of urban areas where the bank’s branches are largely located; JPM hires lots of tech people who are often of Asian descent.
Source: NY Post: Corporate America’s lame attempts to dress up DEI is plainly laughable
To: lasereye
Sounds like there might be several expensive discrimination lawsuits against him about to be filed. I don’t think he’s as concerned about right and wrong as much as he is about dollars and cents.
19 posted on 02/16/2025 2:27:54 PM PST by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals)
To: lasereye
Article:
“Diverse hiring practices” = discrimination against white males.
Yeah—we noticed.
20 posted on 02/16/2025 2:30:09 PM PST by cgbg (The Democrat Party is a criminal enterprise.)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21 next last
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson