by Daniel Johnson
May 4, 2025
Goldman Sachs’ new terminology appears to be race-neutral, yet its photos and research reports still feature images of Black women
In 2021, Goldman Sachs launched its One Million Black Women initiative—a multibillion-dollar commitment to reinvest in Black women and their businesses. Now, the firm has revised website descriptions of those programs, apparently to minimize exposure amid the Trump administration’s scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
According to The Wall Street Journal, their changes will probably not avoid scrutinybecause although their terminology appears to be race-neutral, its photos and research reports still feature images of Black women and at least one report titled “Black Womenomics.”
Those familiar with the effort from Goldman Sachs told the outlet that the company’s legal division has been leading the changes to One Million Black Women in particular, which started to undergo reassessment after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that using affirmative action in the college admissions process was unconstitutional.
According to Ashai Pompey, Goldman Sachs’ global head of corporate engagement, One Million Black Women “is one component of our longstanding commitment and broader strategy focused on advancing small businesses, job creation, and economic growth in rural and urban communities across America. We regularly evaluate our programs to ensure they are impactful, align with the firm’s strategy, and are compliant with the law.”
Until recently, Goldman Sachs put forth in much of its communication regarding the program that it was committed to investing $10 billion and $100 million in philanthropy designed to drive up the economic opportunity afforded to Black women by the year 2030.
The program has also changed how it has distributed that $100 million in philanthropic efforts, from using it for nonprofits run by Black women to using it for expenses incurred by its now-rebranded Black In Business program.
The changes have been disastrous for Black nonprofits like Briana Franklin’s The Prosp(a)rity Project, an organization that offered financial coaching, student debt relief, and career services to Black women.
At one point, funding from Goldman Sachs made up almost 40% of her funding sources and when the bank ended its funding early in 2024, it wasn’t much longer before she had to close her doors in August.
Now, Goldman’s One Million Black Women program, despite its name, has been expanded from Black women to encompass low- and moderate-income populations as well, a change that stands in stark contrast to what it said in 2024even as it stripped funding from Franklin’s nonprofit and others.
Pompey, a Black woman, told The Guardian that Goldman Sachs was “aware of what’s out there,” a reference to the political climate around diversity, equity and inclusion, but said that despite this, “we are very focused on achieving the objectives of our program. Of course, we do that in operation and in compliance with laws, but our commitment to One Million Black Women is strong.”
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