Files leaked exclusively to the New York Post reveal Costco is not the only big firm doubling down on its diversity-equity-and-inclusion programs in the new Trump era: Edward Jones, the largest American financial-services company, is secretly doing the same.
“Like a lot of other companies, leadership at Edward Jones cowered to the woke mob and DEI insanity several years ago,” a veteran employee told The Post. “The difference is a lot of other companies have now ditched DEI, but Edward Jones is moving full steam ahead.”
A former Edward Jones financial broker filed a class-action lawsuit against the company last month, charging the firm engages in “explicit, intentional, employment discrimination” against straight white men.
Bryan Winter of Suffolk, Va., alleges “non-white financial advisors are favored for advancement and termination even when merit / performance does not justify such actions.” His lawsuit says advisers who voluntarily identified as a “woman and/or diverse” get an additional 10% commission.
“The ‘women and/or diverse’ box . . . refers to advisors who are women, who identify as part of a minority race or ethnicity, and/or who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or other minority gender/sexual orientation,” the lawsuit states. “In other words, anyone who is not a straight, white, male.”
Edward Jones, with 15,000 offices nationwide and about 20,000 financial advisers — the most of any American firm — denies the allegations.
But documents an employee whistleblower provided to The Post reveal the extent of the company’s extraordinary continuing commitment to DEI.
Edward Jones had set a four-year goal in 2021 to significantly increase the number of financial advisors and partners who were people of color and women It set ambitious targets for hiring “unrepresented” groups and recruiting from a “more diverse pool of professionals.”
Its just released “Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report” — which it urges branch offices to have on display when clients visit — shows the firm is failing to achieve its diversity numbers goal by the end of this year. It also dials back on publicly embracing most of the details of its internal DEI programs.
Last year’s report, for instance, had touted the firm’s DEI activism.
“DEI 365 is our overarching strategic approach to strengthen cross-cultural understanding through a yearlong calendar of learning opportunities, programs and experiences. These moments that matter strengthen our culture of inclusion and encourage cultural awareness and empathy,” the firm’s “purpose” document stated.
“This program seeks to broaden the understanding that diversity, equity and inclusion are for everyone — branch teams, home office associates, our clients, and our communities. Our DEI 365 program featured monthly content and activities as varied as closing the wealth gap, sharing Asian Pacific Islander cultural narratives, men’s leadership and allyship, and urgency of the multi-generational wealth transfer.” (“Allyship” is standing in solidarity with marginalized groups.)
It trumpeted “More than 38,000 views of DEI 365 events” in three years.
The whistleblower told The Post that while the latest report had deemphasized DEI, “internally we still have a DEI program. The company prioritizes race and gender when it comes to recognition, instead of performance and merit. A lot of people who have worked there for a long time don’t recognize the firm anymore.”
As part of Black History Month this February, for instance, the firm’s internal DEI website highlighted a page on “inclusive language about Race and Ethnicity.” That instruction guide, from the Washington, DC, Office of Human Rights, provided “examples of racially or ethnically biased language,” including among others:
Brown bag “Historically was a form of racial discrimination that involved comparing a
Black person’s skin color to a brown paper bag.”
Grandfathered “Originated from a statute enacted by seven Southern states…to deny suffrage to Black Americans.”
English native “May exclude a person who speaks English as a second language and implies that to be fluent, you must be a native of that country.”
Minority “Unnecessarily defines people as lacking some quality that would place them in the majority.”
No can do “emerged in the 19th century to mock Chinese immigrants’ speech patterns”
Spirit animal “Is considered cultural appropriative and disrespectful when used outside of the Indigenous community.”
Underserved “has become synonymous with poor.”
“We are not required to avoid those terms,” one employee told me, but “it is safe to say it’s suggested we avoid them.”
The worker recalled a 2023 mandatory “workplace environment training” that included a segment on gender identity. “We were told to make sure we don’t misgender anyone and to use their preferred pronouns. After I took that training, I asked Human Resources what would happen if I refused to refer to a biological man as a woman or vice versa. HR told me ‘It’s hard to say.’”
After February’s Black History Month and March’s Women History Month focus, Edward Jones has April centered on “Men and DEI” and “Environment & Sustainability.”
The “Men and DEI” segment isn’t available until April 10. But the whistleblower reported the course description promises an “enlightening conversation” with participants discussing “the critical role of men in creating a workplace and society that is more inclusive and equitable.”
The employee has attended such conversations before. “The first was about race in America following the George Floyd incident, where we were asked to define ‘white privilege.
I would describe that one as a white guilt session,” the worker said. “People were crying, and one participant said she felt guilty being a white person. It was embarrassing, quite frankly. Another participant, a black financial advisor, seemed to admonish people, saying it ‘wasn’t enough’ to claim that you’re not a racist. He never clarified what exactly would be ‘enough.’”
The whistleblower added, “I would describe the conversations as pointless sessions where people talk about feelings and personal experiences. Nothing that relates to the firm’s mission.”
Edward Jones hammers home DEI on an internal company website. A DEI Learning Academy course launched last May, for instance, addresses “Unconscious Bias” and states, “While anyone can be disadvantaged as a result of bias, women, people of color, people with disabilities, people who speak with an accent, introverts, and members of the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately harmed by bias. Hiring and leading and succession are areas especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of unconscious bias.” Other courses include “Foundations in DEI” and “Allyship for All.”
The DEI courses are not mandatory. Some are dubbed “conversations.” But two veteran Edward Jones employees, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Post managers often encourage workers to take the courses or join the conversations as “a sign of commitment to a diverse and equitable work environment.” Edward Jones underwrites 12 Business Resource Groups, representing about 5,000 employees, “that contribute to our DEI objectives.”
The company also hosts an annual multiday DEI conference at its St. Louis headquarters. Actress Geena Davis was recent featured speaker; Edward Jones described her as an “Academy Award-winning actor, author, founder and chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Geena shared insights into why representation matters and the impact prioritizing inclusivity can have on society.”
When employees log into the company’s health platform, they are greeted by a slide that says in part, “Privilege is an advantage. You have it because of your social identity — by belonging to a group with historical power. Those who don’t belong to these groups do not have this advantage.”
One of the benchmarks about which Edward Jones boasts is its “100 Award” from the Human Rights Campaign. HRC was instrumental in getting corporate America to cover transgender medical care. Its Corporate Equality Index, launched 20 years ago, is intended to serve as a benchmark to assess whether mid-to-large corporations discriminate based on sexual orientation or sexual identity. HRC expanded the index in the intervening years to consider employee benefits, employer contributions to social causes, advertising, even public relations.
HRC added in 2018 that to get its top score and be listed on its annual “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality,” companies had to provide “health care for all medically necessary services for gender care and transitions, including sexual reassignment.”
Corporate America likes to brag about being on the HRC list. Only 13 companies scored a perfect 100% in 2002. That was at a time when there were far fewer requirements to satisfy. By 2022, 842 got the top score.
Little wonder Edward Jones qualifies for a top score. Its “LGBTQ+ Benefits Guide” — displayed on the firm’s internal DEI webpage — boasts of its “concierge resources and advocacy.” It offers a health plan through Anthem that covers the cost for “transgender-inclusive health benefits.” It includes puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for “eligible dependents” as well as “reconstructive chest, breast and genital surgery” and “other services, such as facial feminization surgery, voice modification, tracheal shave, thyroid reduction surgery, etc.”
The company’s health policy defines “eligible dependents” in the broadest terms as “legal spouse, Edward Jones-recognized domestic partner, children born to you, adopted by you or waiting to be adopted by you; stepchildren; children for whom you are the legal guardian; foster children; and children and stepchildren of your domestic partner.”
After President Trump entered office and signed — on Day One — executive orders targeting DEI programs that illegally discriminate based on, say, race or sex, many institutions have moved to wind down such programs. Not Edward Jones.
“We have set a benchmark to be in the top quartile of North American companies” for “diverse representation goals . . . focused on gender and race/ethnicity,” the company said to employees in a recent slide show.
“Edward Jones is committed to creating a place of belonging for all of our associates and clients and making a positive impact in our communities,” a company spokesperson told The Post when asked for comment. “To meet our strategic ambition, Edward Jones must remain a place where our clients and colleagues belong, where people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives are valued and respected.”
“A lot of us are beyond sick of it,” said one longtime employee. “Reverse discrimination is ruining our mission.”
Gerald Posner is the author of 13 books, most recently “PHARMA: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America.”