Another Goldman Perk: Sex Changes
Fortune Magazine, February 8, 2008
Fortune Magazine: Unusual Perks
Goldman Sachs bankers and traders enjoy famously big bonuses and, this year, a little extra job security thanks to their firm's ability to steer clear of the worst effects of the subprime mortgage debacle.
Now, they can add something else to the list of reasons why life is great at Goldman: free sex-change surgery.
Fortune.com reported Friday that Goldman added coverage of sex-reassignment surgery to its medical plan last year. The article was part of a sidebar on “unusual perks” that came with 
Fortune's latest ranking of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States. (Goldman was No. 9, up significantly from No. 36 last year.)
Goldman employees can undergo the procedure, which normally costs anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000, and have it paid for entirely by their medical insurance.
Goldman isn't the first financial firm to cover sex-change surgery for its workers. A recent 
survey of more than 1,000 employers conducted by the Human Rights Campaign found that many banks, law firms and other large companies have added at least partial coverage of transgender treatments to their medical plans.
Bank of America, Wachovia and Deutsche Bank are among the firms who now cover such treatments to some extent, Fortune.com said. Goldman and Bank of America will cover the cost of the actual operation. At Wachovia, sex reassignment surgery is considered elective, and so the operation is not covered but related prescriptions and post-operative counseling are.
Goldman's enhanced medical coverage is part of the firm's efforts to “recruit and retain a more diverse workforce,” a Goldman spokesperson told Fortune.
The expanded coverage may cost employers a bit more in the short term, but it's a small price to pay to attract and keep top talent, Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, told Fortune. “[A]ny employer that does not clearly include gender identity in their employment policies may send a signal that they're not supportive,” she said.
