JPMorgan just dropped the term ‘equity’ from its DEI program

JPMorgan Chase has long publicly championed diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Going forward, however, the bank will be embracing the term “opportunity” in lieu of “equity.” On Friday, the bank announced a notable change to the name of its DEI program. “We are changing ‘equity’ to ‘opportunity’ and renaming our organization to Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion (DOI) because the ‘e’ always meant equal opportunity to us, not equal outcomes, and we believe this more accurately reflects our ongoing approach to reach the most customers and clients to grow our business, create an inclusive workplace for our employees and increase access to opportunities,” chief operating officer Jenn Piepzak explained in a memo obtained by Reuters. The memo also outlined a number of changes, from cutting back on trainings to embedding certain diversity programs into other departments like Human Resources. In what seemed to be a reference to President Trump’s recent executive orders targeting corporate DEI programs, Piepzak reiterated JPMorgan’s commitment to merit-based practices. (When reached for comment, a JPMorgan spokesperson shared the full text of the memo and noted that the company had started making these changes following the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in 2023.) “We’ve always been committed to hiring, compensation and promotion that are merit-based; we do not have illegal quotas or pay incentives, and we would never turn someone away because of their political or religious beliefs, or because of who they are,” Piepzak said in the memo. “We’re not perfect, but we take pride in constantly challenging ourselves and raising the bar.” As the Trump administration has fixed its sights on DEI efforts in the private sector, leading finance companies have reevaluated their language on diversity. According to a recent report by Gravity Research, the risk of DEI-related litigation has been of particular concern to finance executives, and the Wall Street Journal reported last month that many banks (among them JPMorgan) were auditing their diversity programs and planning to adjust their public language on DEI in upcoming regulatory filings. In February, Citigroup—which also happens to be the only major bank with a female CEO—retreated from some of its diversity goals and renamed its DEI team. Even prior to the latest change at JPMorgan, its outspoken CEO Jamie Dimon had made several comments about the company’s DEI programs in recent months. Speaking at an internal town hall last month, Dimon said he was “never a firm believer in bias training,” seemingly a reference to unconscious bias trainings (which have been criticized as ineffective). Dimon also claimed that the company had overspent on certain DEI initiatives. “I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid shit, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said, according to a Bloomberg report. “I’m just gonna cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy.” All the while, however, Dimon has continued to preach support for diversity programs and underscored JPMorgan’s commitment to diversity and inclusion work. “We’re still going to reach out to the Black, Hispanic, LGBT, veteran, [and] disabled communities—we’re not changing that,” he said in a subsequent CNBC interview. “But if we did something wrong with DEI, we’re going to fix it. I never had a problem admitting that we did too much and we need to change something.”

Mar 21, 2025 - 19:45

JPMorgan just dropped the term ‘equity’ from its DEI program

JPMorgan Chase has long publicly championed diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Going forward, however, the bank will be embracing the term “opportunity” in lieu of “equity.”

On Friday, the bank announced a notable change to the name of its DEI program. “We are changing ‘equity’ to ‘opportunity’ and renaming our organization to Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion (DOI) because the ‘e’ always meant equal opportunity to us, not equal outcomes, and we believe this more accurately reflects our ongoing approach to reach the most customers and clients to grow our business, create an inclusive workplace for our employees and increase access to opportunities,” chief operating officer Jenn Piepzak explained in a memo obtained by Reuters.

The memo also outlined a number of changes, from cutting back on trainings to embedding certain diversity programs into other departments like Human Resources. In what seemed to be a reference to President Trump’s recent executive orders targeting corporate DEI programs, Piepzak reiterated JPMorgan’s commitment to merit-based practices. (When reached for comment, a JPMorgan spokesperson shared the full text of the memo and noted that the company had started making these changes following the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in 2023.)

“We’ve always been committed to hiring, compensation and promotion that are merit-based; we do not have illegal quotas or pay incentives, and we would never turn someone away because of their political or religious beliefs, or because of who they are,” Piepzak said in the memo. “We’re not perfect, but we take pride in constantly challenging ourselves and raising the bar.”

As the Trump administration has fixed its sights on DEI efforts in the private sector, leading finance companies have reevaluated their language on diversity. According to a recent report by Gravity Research, the risk of DEI-related litigation has been of particular concern to finance executives, and the Wall Street Journal reported last month that many banks (among them JPMorgan) were auditing their diversity programs and planning to adjust their public language on DEI in upcoming regulatory filings. In February, Citigroup—which also happens to be the only major bank with a female CEO—retreated from some of its diversity goals and renamed its DEI team.

Even prior to the latest change at JPMorgan, its outspoken CEO Jamie Dimon had made several comments about the company’s DEI programs in recent months. Speaking at an internal town hall last month, Dimon said he was “never a firm believer in bias training,” seemingly a reference to unconscious bias trainings (which have been criticized as ineffective). Dimon also claimed that the company had overspent on certain DEI initiatives. “I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid shit, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said, according to a Bloomberg report. “I’m just gonna cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy.”

All the while, however, Dimon has continued to preach support for diversity programs and underscored JPMorgan’s commitment to diversity and inclusion work. “We’re still going to reach out to the Black, Hispanic, LGBT, veteran, [and] disabled communities—we’re not changing that,” he said in a subsequent CNBC interview. “But if we did something wrong with DEI, we’re going to fix it. I never had a problem admitting that we did too much and we need to change something.”