Wells Fargo Board Recommends Voting Against Median Gender Pay Gap Proposal

   By Patrick Thomas 
 

Wells Fargo & Co.'s (WFC) board of directors recommended shareholders vote against two proposals, including one that would require the bank to disclose its global median gender pay gap, the company said in a Monday securities filing.

The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between male and female median earnings expressed as a percentage of male earnings.

The bank's board said the proposed median pay gap does not reflect how it measures and monitors its progress in advancing women and increasing representation. The bank said the proposal doesn't take into account items such as geographic location or other elements of the company's structure. Wells Fargo said in its most recent proxy statement that female employees earn 99 cents for every $1 earned by a male employee.

The bank said in the filing that other metrics, such as percentage of female employees in senior roles, provide more relevant information to investors.

Investment firm Arjuna Capital, which focuses on sustainable and impact investing, submitted the proposal to the San Francisco bank. It also sent similar median gender pay gap proposals to 12 other companies that included banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo and Bank of America Corp.

The Wells Fargo board also recommends voting against a proposal that it report on incentive-based compensation and risks of material losses.

The shareholder vote is set to take place on April 23.

Write to Patrick Thomas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2019 12:23 ET (16:23 GMT)

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