Wells Fargo, Delta Join a Nascent Push Into Racial Hiring Quotas

After decades of failed diversity pledges and good-faith promises to hire more minorities, U.S. companies are taking a more aggressive approach. For the first time, some of the biggest corporations are setting concrete racial quotas.

As many as a half-dozen companies have said they’ve adopted workforce quotas in recent months. These include Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s third-biggest bank, which said it will increase Black leadership to 12%. The bank last week settled federal allegations of hiring bias. Meanwhile, fashion house Ralph Lauren Corp. said it aims to make 20% of its global leaders people of color, including Black, Asian ...