Ex-Wall Street MDs created a secret site to share female bankers' horror stories
Citi is a major US bank run by a woman. It is also a major US bank that's been subject to negativity concerning the experiences of women. Now, some of its female employees have set up a whistleblowing website for themselves and the industry at large.
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Titled WallStreetDiscriminates, the site was launched quietly before Christmas. It's not clear who its mother is, but an introduction suggests there are several. "We are a group of former Citi Managing Directors who have come together to create a safe space for women to share unfiltered stories about what life on Wall Street is really like, for women at all levels in financial services," they say. "Enough is enough."
The women concerned claim to have been motivated by "a wave of senior women leaving Citi." They don't explain who they're referring to, but there have been well-documented exits from the wealth management team following the arrival of Andy Sieg and Ardith Lindsey, a former MD in the equity sales business, is still thought to be battling the bank over her unrelated claims - which Citi strenuously denies - including sexism, harassment and assault.
A spokeswoman for Citi said the bank is "committed to a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and has equal opportunity to succeed," and that it's proud of a "track record of attracting, developing and retaining women across all levels of our workforce." The spokeswoman added that, "we are aware that certain individuals threatening litigation against Citi are attempting to leverage the media to help their efforts. Rather than addressing their allegations in the press, we instead plan to provide our response in the appropriate legal venue."
Stories shared by women on WallStreetDiscriminates are entirely anonymous and don't include any names. Nor are users required to submit an email address, making validation impossible.
Of 14 stories shared so far, nine relate to Citi. They include allegations of biased HR investigations and claims that men are able to behave in ways that a woman couldn't get away with. "She would be fired after the first complaint," says the writer of one.
The site isn't only for Citi MDs, though. "This is a space for truth-telling, solidarity, and accountability — not to adjudicate disputes, but to surface patterns that have remained hidden for too long," claim the founders. If they're right, there could be hundreds of industry-wide stories posted before long.
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