It looks like Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf definitely felt the heat from the backlash he received after it was revealed that he made some comments during a Zoom meeting over the summer that related to the bank having difficulty reaching their diversity goals.
As we previously reported, he reportedly stated, “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from.” His comment resurfaced after Reuters said that they saw his statement in a memo.
According to CNBC, Scharf issued an apology on Wednesday after the backlash.
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In his statement, he said, “There are many talented diverse individuals working at Wells Fargo and throughout the financial services industry and I never meant to imply otherwise. Across the industry, we have not done enough to improve diversity, especially at senior leadership levels.”
After his previous comment was published, one person he received backlash from was Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who said on Twitter, “Perhaps it’s the CEO of Wells Fargo who lacks the talent to recruit Black workers.”
As we previously reported, not everyone was upset with his comment. Alex David, president of the Black/African American Connection Team Member Network said, “I walked away being incredibly surprised at how genuine and sincere he is.”
Scharf continued to mention the appointments the bank has made recently as proof of its efforts to diversify and went on to layout details of the steps it was taking to recruit more from minorities.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
