It used to be easy for the Goldman Sachs bankers. At least over their wardrobe they did not have to worry much: suit and tie - in everything else one would not have been able to look at one of the largest investment banks in the world. It took a lot of money, but little imagination. In the future, however, financial experts will need to analyze which clothes are best for their job. Her boss David Solomon (read here a portrait of DJ D-Sol) has announced that tie and collar are now from yesterday, but waived a new dress code.
Of the 28,000 gold men and women, the only expectation is "to dress as it meets customer expectations." So it says in a memo from the board room. The management of the bank has less the personal freedom of their employees in mind. It's about business. What else? And that's mainly based on trust in the banking industry.
The new strategy looks like this: Will Goldman continues to appeal to a broad clientele, the financial house must meet many expectations. Because the pinstripe is always respectable in certain industries, it is rather unusual among the tech billionaires in Silicon Valley. Here, like-minded people recognize hoodie and jeans. (Former "picture" boss Kai Diekmann soon realized this, leaving not only his lard hairdo but also the double-breasted suit in California when he returned from his study trip to Entrepreneurship in 2013).
And it's mainly those hoodie wearers who will be able to make big money in the future. Soon there will be several lucrative IPOs from start-ups that need to be accompanied with expensive financial expertise. Among other things, Lyft, Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest want to raise fresh capital at the trading venues.
But the tech industry is responsible for another reason that now at Goldman Sachs the clothing culture is brutalized. The bank wants next to the money and the human capital from the Valley. As an employer, she competes with the big Internet companies for the smartest minds. They know that money is not everything. Already in 2017, this became apparent. Even then, the company relaxed its dress code, but only for the computer specialists of the bank.
Women are the losers
Nice new world, one might say. However, the smart-casual philosophy is not only problematic for those who lack in judgment (has someone here said a financial crisis?) Or style.
Especially women could be the losers of this reorientation, outlines Susan Scafidi, director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University in New York. Adapting male dress codes has made it easier for women to be taken seriously by men, she told The Washington Post. "Women now have to find a different way to dress technically."
Female employees are underestimated if they dress casually, Laura Sherbin also told the newspaper. She needs to know, because she advises companies on issues of equality and diversity. Sherbin says, "If a woman dresses less severely, she's more likely to think she's a junior."
Clothes do not only determine the image, their salary also influences them. According to sociologist Jaclyn Wong, attractiveness is generally rewarded with up to 20 percent higher salary. How men and women perform, but depends on different factors. So a well-groomed appearance is only positive for women. Men, on the other hand, just had to look good, but otherwise they could be carelessly dressed.
Ultimately, however, the newly won freedom also means a greater risk of missteps. For men and women. In that respect, maybe not so much will change at Goldman Sachs. Then the action has brought one thing above all else: good PR.