Wall Street’s Grip on Secret Harassment Hearings Starts to Crack

Activists seeking to end secret hearings for harassment complaints against banks claimed a victory of sorts last month when they got almost half of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shareholders to back their proposal.

But their path to ending forced arbitration on Wall Street is seen as long and arduous. Much of the finance industry, including Goldman, remains committed to settling disputes behind closed doors, and change is unlikely to pass easily through a divided Congress.

Investors holding 49% of Goldman’s shares voted for a measure calling on the bank to issue a report on how mandatory arbitration for sex harassment ...