Wells Fargo Quietly Rebrands DEI Efforts, Drops ‘Diversity’ From Public-Facing Language

Wells Fargo has quietly rebranded its diversity, equity and inclusion programming, removing all references to “diversity” from its website and reshaping how it presents its workplace initiatives, according to Fortune.

The bank’s website now highlights “inclusion and accessibility,” a notable departure from the company’s previous messaging. An archived version of the site, recovered through the Wayback Machine, shows Wells Fargo once promoted an annual DEI report, racial equity assessment and pay equity analysis — all of which no longer appear online.

In February, Wells Fargo announced it would end its policy requiring hiring managers to consider diverse candidate slates for senior roles, Bloomberg reported. At the time, the company did not signal wider changes to its DEI programming. That decision has faced pushback: On Aug. 15, protesters called on the bank to reinstate the requirement and strengthen its environmental commitments, according to WCNC Charlotte.

The shift in messaging began months earlier. In February, the bank removed a section highlighting its historic DEI commitments, including support for Japanese-Americans during World War II and its long-running Spanish-language services. By late May, its DEI landing page and subpages had disappeared entirely.

Despite the rebrand, some internal structures remain. Information about employee resource networks is still available, and Ebony Thomas, who was appointed head of DEI in May 2024, continues to oversee the program, according to her LinkedIn profile. Wells Fargo also maintains initiatives with perceived lower legal risk, such as its veteran and military spouse recruiting efforts, disability inclusion programs and its Neurodiversity Program launched in 2020.

The bank’s evolving stance marks a significant departure from just last fall, when it described DEI as “a business imperative.” Wells Fargo has faced scrutiny in recent years for its diversity practices. In 2022, the New York Times reported the company staged “fake” interviews with diverse candidates to satisfy internal requirements, and in 2020, CEO Charles Scharf drew criticism for comments about challenges in hiring Black talent.

Wells Fargo has not publicly explained the recent changes, nor clarified whether its DEI councils, once tasked with advancing companywide initiatives, are still active.