Feb 16 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs GS.N is preparing to remove race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other diversity factors from the criteria its board uses to evaluate potential candidates, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the WSJ report.

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

((Devika.MadhusudhananNair@thomsonreuters.com))