Zone1 Prosecutors investigating if Wells Fargo conducted fake interviews with Black, female job applicants

NewsVine_Mariyam

Platinum Member
Mar 3, 2018
9,250
6,113
1,030
The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
I have no doubts that this is true, particularly knowing the company known as Wells Fargo, who was caught opening fraudulent accounts in their customers' names without their knowledge or consent.

Wells Fargo interviewed me just to meet its diversity criteria. I felt less than human when I found out.​

Urooba Jamal​
Wed, June 22, 2022, 4:29 AM·3 min read​
Don Banks (L) had two fake interviews with Wells Fargo.
Don Banks (L) had two interviews with Wells Fargo that he, was later told, were conducted to meet the bank's diversity policy.Don Banks/Pablo Monsalve/VIEWpress via Getty Images/Insider​
  • In 2016 and 2017, Don Banks had two job interviews with Wells Fargo but never heard back.
  • The New York Times later told him he was among those interviewed to fulfill diversity requirements.
  • This is Banks' experience of those interviews, as told to Insider's Urooba Jamal.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Don Banks, a financial advisor from Monroe, Louisiana, about his experience of being interviewed by Wells Fargo and later learning the bank only conducted these to fulfill a policy of interviewing more diverse candidates. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2016 and 2017, I interviewed for financial-advisor roles at Wells Fargo. Both times, I had a general interview and was told I would be advancing to the next stage with the hiring manager.​
The meetings were due to be on the phone and were scheduled, but never happened. I didn't receive any response after they didn't take place.​
At the time, I thought those were interviews that just didn't work out. But later, The New York Times reached out to me and said someone had given them my name as one of the victims of Wells Fargo's false interviews. They told me someone — who remained anonymous — had knowledge about false interviews conducted by the bank for diverse candidates like me, which included other people of color and women.​
I thought back on what happened, and it made sense why I never got a response.​
It's frustrating to know that I was a part of this process; it made me feel less than human. How are we having this issue in 2022?​

I thought I was an actual candidate Wells Fargo was considering

There were some opportunities at the company that were close to where I lived, and I was supposed to speak to someone about the next step.​
When the scheduled meetings never happened, I didn't get any message about rescheduling or anything else.​
I tried to call the recruiter back, but I was never able to get hold of them.​
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: IM2
"he, was later told, were conducted to meet the bank's diversity policy."

Told by whom?

The hiring process of any company if often inequitable. But, I'm personally acquainted with Black (and Hispanic and Asian) executives in large financial firms. Including Wells Fargo.

I suspect, there is more to this story that we see here. I welcome an investigation.
 
When you set stupid goals, people will do stupid things to meet them.
They were doing the same stupid shit even before, just without the window dressing (the play "pretend").

When black people say that there are still far too many white racists who don't want black people in their environs, perhaps you could at least give them the benefit of the doubt and not dismiss their concerns out of hand.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: IM2
I have no doubts that this is true, particularly knowing the company known as Wells Fargo, who was caught opening fraudulent accounts in their customers' names without their knowledge or consent.

Why must everything—everything under the blood cursed sun—be about skin color for some people? If one cannot get past the color of one's own skin one will never reach any destination beyond it.
 
I have no doubts that this is true, particularly knowing the company known as Wells Fargo, who was caught opening fraudulent accounts in their customers' names without their knowledge or consent.



thats what happens sometimes when you set artificial goals. The Wells Fargo over here where I live in Richmond Ca had three African American loan officers in there last time I checked ... at least. I think all the rest are black, Asian or Hispanic , Maybe there was one white person

the BofA where I usually go though has a few more whites. Sometimes theres no rhyme or reason, I bet these things vary from branch to branch and state to state. If you want to look for injustice, you will always find it somewhere
 
When you set stupid goals, people will do stupid things to meet them.

Warren Buffett said something similar about companies meeting targets and how weary he was in trusting their data. I paraphrase, basically, "if a department is told they must meet a target of 15% increase in sales in order to be given a budget, sure enough, by end of the year they achieve 15.1%"

That isn't a reason to celebrate just as it isn't a reason to celebrate "diversity" when said goals are reached in nefarious and disingenuous ways. It's not a benefit to the company nor the applicant.
 
I have no doubts that this is true, particularly knowing the company known as Wells Fargo, who was caught opening fraudulent accounts in their customers' names without their knowledge or consent.
What would Wells Fargo get from fake interviews? This story makes no sense.
 
What would Wells Fargo get from fake interviews? This story makes no sense.

They decided that they had to interview a certain number of minorities so they could
brag about their commitment to diversity. Even though those candidates weren't
going to be hired.
 
What would Wells Fargo get from fake interviews? This story makes no sense.
I would imagine the same thing that they got from opening those fraudulent accounts. They have goals or threshholds that they're apparently required to meet but I don't know if that's a government requirement or one of their own making. Whatever the case, they are alleged to have conducted interviews with "diversity" individuals in order to satisfy the requirements without ever having any intentions of hiring any of them.

Wells Fargo Home Page
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion​

group-of-business-people_overhead-shot-in-office-chatting-ipad_413x185.png

We value and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our business and at every level of our organization​

Meeting the increasingly diverse needs of Wells Fargo’s global customer base is critical for our company’s long-term growth and success. We’re committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion by helping ensure that all people across our workforce, our communities, and our supply chain feel valued and respected and have equal access to resources, services, products, and opportunities to succeed.​
We define diversity as the unique combination of various dimensions that makes each of us different from and similar to others. Those dimensions can include — but are not be limited to — age, gender, ethnic heritage, race, physical or mental abilities, sexual orientation, values, religion/spiritual practice, income, family status, education, and geographic location.​
...

The Enterprise Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council is chaired by our CEO and President and is comprised of senior leaders who have been identified by our Operating Committee.
The council meets quarterly and is responsible for:​
  • Partnering with the Operating Committee to establish goals and set direction in the areas of employee diversity, equity, and inclusion, market segment diversity, supplier diversity, and regulatory and external reputation.
  • Developing and implementing action plans.
  • Supporting alignment and linkages with diversity councils and Employee Resource Networks.
  • Championing diversity, equity, and inclusion-related behaviors.
  • Ensuring supporting infrastructure and measurements are in place to drive results across the company.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: IM2
They were doing the same stupid shit even before, just without the window dressing (the play "pretend").

When black people say that there are still far too many white racists who don't want black people in their environs, perhaps you could at least give them the benefit of the doubt and not dismiss their concerns out of hand.
He dismisses it because he participates in doing it.
 
A company can claim that they interviewed but couldn't find qualified people of color or they can claim that not enough applied. Now I know it's hard for some white men, who get most preferred status to understand how this kind of thing can happen. However, after reading some of the bilge posted here, I find that any doubt is just a person being disingenuous.
 
Why must everything—everything under the blood cursed sun—be about skin color for some people? If one cannot get past the color of one's own skin one will never reach any destination beyond it.
Why do you live as a racist? This is the race and racism section and I don't ever see you asking this of whites.
 
Wouldn’t this be counterproductive if their goal was to make them look all progressive or something?

Now it looks like they interviewed a bunch of minority candidates but didn’t choose to hire any of them.
 
Wouldn’t this be counterproductive if their goal was to make them look all progressive or something?

Now it looks like they interviewed a bunch of minority candidates but didn’t choose to hire any of them.
It's not about a look. That's the problem.
 
It's not about a look. That's the problem.
So was it was about fulfilling some mandated quota?

Those quotas don’t actually help anybody. I know places I’ve worked at were under pressure to hire more minorities because we were “too white”, but people of color simply didn’t apply to the company. Maybe Wells Fargo literally didn’t have enough qualified minorities filling out applications, so they had to cook the books.
 
So was it was about fulfilling some mandated quota?

Those quotas don’t actually help anybody. I know places I’ve worked at were under pressure to hire more minorities because we were “too white”, but people of color simply didn’t apply to the company. Maybe Wells Fargo literally didn’t have enough qualified minorities filling out applications, so they had to cook the books.
So you're fine with a quota of 100 percent white.

Quotas don't happen unless the company has been found practicing racial discrimination. Have you ever considered the possibility that unqualified whites get hired>
 
So you're fine with a quota of 100 percent white.

Quotas don't happen unless the company has been found practicing racial discrimination. Have you ever considered the possibility that unqualified whites get hired>
With many small-medium sized companies, they very possibly might not have any minorities applying at all.

A company as big as Wells Fargo, yeah of course they must have many applicants from all races. But it’s still possible they don’t have enough viable candidates to fulfill some arbitrary quota placed upon them.
 
With many small-medium sized companies, they very possibly might not have any minorities applying at all.

A company as big as Wells Fargo, yeah of course they must have many applicants from all races. But it’s still possible they don’t have enough viable candidates to fulfill some arbitrary quota placed upon them.
That's not always the case. There are no arbitrary quotas.
 

Forum List

Back
Top