Former Citigroup exec who hit bank with lawsuit slams industry’s gender-based ‘chasm of fairness’

The former executive suing Citigroup over the bank’s alleged “discriminatory and sexually harassing culture” says that women in the wealth management industry are held to a far different standard of behavior than their male counterparts.

Julia Carreon was global head of platform and experiences for Citi Wealth until she left the company in August 2024. In her lawsuit, Carreon says she was pushed out of Citigroup after allegedly persistent sexual harassment by the company’s wealth chief Andy Sieg, and what she describes as a biased internal investigation. Citigroup has rejected the claims, and in a court filing Tuesday said “there is absolutely no factual or legal basis for any such allegation against Mr. Sieg.” The bank is also petitioning the court to compel arbitration with regard to Carreon’s claims.

While Carreon declined to expand upon the lawsuit in an interview with InvestmentNews, she highlighted what she describes as “a double bind” across the broader wealth management industry. “The chasm of fairness believes the man who is ‘a strong leader’ can be a bully,” she said.

She also called on women with influence to help shift workplace dynamics. “Women with power need to be going out of their way to advocate for women, such as making sure that if you have a project from a consulting firm and they show you a slate of all men, you say no and say that you want to see women on the slate.”

“Women definitely need to start locking arms and helping each other in a meaningful way and not in a lip service way,” Carreon said.

Nonetheless, she sees women exerting a growing influence on both the economy and wealth management in the coming years. By 2030, women in the U.S. are expected to own $30 trillion, or approximately two thirds, of all the personal wealth in the country, according to McKinsey & Co.

“I think we’re totally underestimating what that means, that shift of money,” she told InvestmentNews. “Women are more likely to invest in communities, they are more likely to invest in healthcare, they are more likely to be anti-war.”

Carreon also expects the next generations of workers, both male and female, will create a very different working environment. “I think that the rise of next generations, meaning Gens Z and A, will lead the way for healthier workplaces because they have been raised by Gen X parents, whose mothers largely work,” the former Citigroup exec said. She also noted that Generations Z and A are socially conscious and less driven by money than previous generations, as well as being more interested in work/life balance.