US multinational bank Wells Fargo has caused controversy after allegedly holding sham interviews to meet diversity targets despite the vacancies already being filled. The bank is facing a federal investigation after current and former employees spoke up about the unethical hiring practices.
A number of the bank’s employees came forward and alleged that the company held interviews with women and minority candidates for positions that had already been filled in an attempt to reach their diversity hiring quota.
The report, published in the New York Times, revealed how the bank’s talent acquisition team had been ordered to conduct the sham interviews to adhere to a Diversity & Inclusion policy and has prompted prosecutors to launch a probe into the bank’s hiring practices.
As a result, Charles Scharf, CEO, Wells Fargo, was prompted to issue a company-wide announcement that assured employees that upper management had listened to employees’ feedback and has since halted its diversity hiring policy. According to Scharf, the suspension is, “A chance for us to review our guidelines and processes and to make improvements.”
Commenting on the pause in policy, the bank said that it will be conducting a review to ensure that, “Managers, senior leaders and recruiters fully understand how the guidelines should be implemented.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
