Goldman Board Goes On Female Hiring Spree, Leaves Old-Boy Era Behind

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The boardroom of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) is finally catching up with the #metoo era.

The Wall Street firm, historically man-heavy in its executive suite as well as among directors, said Thursday it had named former U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Jan Tighe to its board. Her appointment boosts the share of women on the board to four out of 14 total directors, or 29%.

That’s above the 25% average for the Standard & Poor’s 100 index of large U.S. stocks and just below the threshold targeted by the 30% Club, a group that advocates for greater representation of women on boards and includes one of Goldman’s biggest shareholders, BlackRock Inc. (BLK) .  

For about 14 years under Chairman Lloyd Blankfein, the number of women on Goldman’s board had stagnated at two. But over the past year, as the #metoo movement — centered on sexual-harassment allegations against powerful men — tore through corporate America and shareholder-advocacy groups put pressure on companies to increase their boardroom gender diversity, the legendary Wall Street firm went on a hiring spree. 

In July, Goldman hired former Harvard University President Drew Faust as a director, a notable selection…

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