Citi is trailblazing a new path in the financial industry when it comes to being an advocate for human rights with its latest initiative to provide a sense of identity for transgender and non-binary people.
In partnership with Mastercard, Citi has created the True Name program, allowing transgender customers to use their chosen names on credit cards without having to go through the legal name-changing process. The bank's chief marketing officer, Carla Hassan, said that the program is just another step toward making the world a more inclusive place.
"The reality is, for us, anytime is the right time to be having the conversation and to be speaking up for LGBTQ+ equality and rights and we have been a longstanding advocate of the community," she told Cheddar.
Marketing for the initiative is set to launch in the coming weeks, but the program already has more than 1,000 applicants.
In a survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, nearly 70 percent of people said they did possess IDs with their preferred names. For Hassan, not being recognized as an individual is unimaginable.
"A name is kind of how you introduce yourself to the world, and so, if you can't use your chosen name the way you really see who you are, I can't imagine how that personally feels," the Citi CMO said.
True Name, according to Hassan, is the latest in a long list of efforts Citi has made on behalf of basic rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Other efforts include lobbying for workplace equality, "urging the Supreme Court to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity," Hassan added. The bank also signed a letter to the UK Prime Minister, advocating for trans equality.
As the program takes shape with Citi, Hassan said she hopes other banking institutions will adopt similar practices, making inclusion an industry-wide effort.
"In today's society, we at Citi believe brands have a role in standing up for issues and having a voice on issues that we think matter, particularly to us in our community," she stated.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
