Latest news with #OpportunityandInclusion
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Even As Companies Retreat From Diversity Efforts, Many Quash Anti-DEI Shareholder Resolutions
Shareholders are voting down anti-DEI measures as companies quietly change websites and rollback DEI policies. Last month, 98% of Goldman Sachs' shareholders took the advice of the firm's board and voted against two anti-diversity, equity and inclusion proposals. Was Goldman Sachs boldly standing up for DEI, while some other big banks were retreating on the issue? (JPMorgan Chase, for example, renamed all its DEI efforts DOI, for Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion.) Not exactly. In fact, earlier this year GS quietly removed its entire diversity and inclusion section from its annual report this year and just last week it purged mentions of race in its signature 'Black in Business' program, suggesting that Black now meant profit i.e. in-the-black. But in addition to their general aversion to resolutions sponsored by individual shareholders, companies are resisting the urge to incorporate anti-DEI stances into their governance, just as they have generally resisted efforts by shareholders to mandate pro-DEI policies. 'I think what Goldman is doing (on the shareholder resolutions) is actually good business,' says Sonya Mishra, assistant professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business who teaches a course on leading diverse organizations. 'They are thinking about the long term reputational effects and signaling to the public—their shareholders and employees—that DEI is important and integral to their business.' Goldman's mixed choices are emblematic of the tricky balancing act employers are undertaking–when deciding what DEI measures, if any, to continue. They're being buffeted between intense pressure from President Trump's Administration to abolish what the White House has branded 'dangerous, demeaning and immoral' DEI practices; the anti-discrimination protections that are incorporated into existing case law; and demands (in all directions) from shareholders, customers and their own employees. Public companies across a range of industries, including such big names as Pfizer, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, have successfully recommended shareholders vote down anti-DEI proposals presented at their annual shareholder meetings. Even more, including Merck, Ford Motors and McDonald's, have recommended no votes on anti-DEI resolutions ahead of upcoming shareholder meetings. Yet that doesn't mean they aren't, in their own ways, responding to anti-DEI pressures. There is no consensus on what, or whom, to follow when it comes to DEI policies, says Joan Williams, founding director of the Equality Action Center and a professor (emerita) at UC Law/San Francisco. 'There are a lot of companies that are trying to reframe the work in a way that will lower regulatory risk.' The employer pullback from DEI measures started before Trump's reelection, following a smattering of legal decisions against alleged reverse discrimination and the August 2023 Supreme Court decision ending racial considerations in college admissions. By early 2024, investors (and conservative legal activists) were pressuring companies to abandon their DEI commitments. Conservative influencer Robby Starbuck led the charge–he claims credit for getting more than 15 companies, including Walmart, Toyota and Target, to roll back their policies. (The companies don't necessarily agree with his claims.) This annual meeting season, conservative groups like the National Center For Public Policy Research, The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the National Legal and Policy Center have offered anti-DEI proposals, largely focusing on removing DEI considerations from executive compensation. As of April, 13 anti-DEI proposals were filed at U.S. public companies, according to The Conference Board, where they now make up 40% of all DEI proposals filed so far in 2025, up from 23% of those filed in 2024 and 1% in 2021. Pro-DEI measures, which made up the bulk of all diversity-related shareholder proposals until this year, have also been widely rejected by shareholders at the recommendation of companies' boards. At car retailer Auto-Nation, for example, a proposal this year for a report on the effectiveness of the company's DEI measures was voted down following a recommendation of the board. Other pro-DEI proposals have been withdrawn, including one that called on John Deere to look at whether its rollback of DEI measures truly produced a meritocratic result. In the wake of the May, 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the protests that followed, companies began adding diversity hiring goals as a factor in determining executives' compensation. (They did this on their own, not as a result of shareholder measures.) The practice peaked in 2023, when 76% of S&P 500 companies integrated metrics related to diversity and inclusion into top executives' pay, up from 52% in 2021, according to an analysis of proxy statements by The Conference Board and data analytics firm ESGAUGE. But by mid-2024, only 65.5% of the S&P 500 integrated DEI into pay metrics, according to the same study. (It's worth noting that most proxies are issued in the first half of the year, with shareholder proposals due several months prior, meaning that the impact of the 2023 Supreme Court decision wouldn't have shown up in proxies until 2024, at the earliest.) So far this year, all of the shareholder anti-DEI proposals voted on have failed. In January, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a shareholder call for an audit into the 'litigation, reputational and financial risks' associated with the company's diversity measures. The retailer has emerged as a prominent supporter of DEI as competitors Walmart and Target have rolled back their DEI efforts. Target, which has been hit by consumer boycotts for rolling back DEI, has seen its foot and web traffic decline since the beginning of the year, while Costco's has continuously increased, according to data from Conservative advocates aren't convinced the vote results mean the companies–or their shareholders–are DEI champions. 'I reject any characterization of [the vote] being an embrace of DEI by shareholders,' says Stefan Padfield, executive director of the National Center's Free Enterprise Project which unsuccessfully pushed a shareholder resolution calling for an audit of Goldman Sachs' DEI measures. He argues that some shareholders generally disagree with the idea of more audits, no matter the subject matter. Natalie Norfus, a DEI consultant with her own firm, agrees that it's dangerous to read too much into the wholesale rejection–by corporations and their shareholders– of anti-DEI resolutions. While some companies are retreating from DEI efforts, she says, 'A lot of companies, and some of our clients, are just focusing on how they rename it so that they're not caught up in the fire of the villainization of the acronym.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Barclays abandons DEI targets after pledging ‘unwavering' commitment
Barclays is scrapping diversity targets at its US business just months after the bank's boss pledged its 'enduring and unwavering' commitment to DEI policies. The overhaul will see Barclays drop its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) quotas in the US after Donald Trump declared war on 'woke' in corporate America. C. S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays' chief executive who is also known as Venkat, said the move followed a review of its policies in the wake of Mr Trump's electoral victory late last year. The bank will retain its diversity targets in the UK and other markets. A Barclays spokesman said: 'We started reviewing our overall approach in late 2024 and that review is still underway. In the meantime, we have taken the decision to no longer have specific US representation ambitions. 'Our representation ambitions for the rest of the group will continue, and are being considered as part of the review.' The changes will see Barclays scrap ambitions to have 33pc of its director and managing director roles held by women by the end of this year, as well as plans to increase the number of ethnic minority executives by 50pc. In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Mr Venkatakrishnan said: 'The group executive committee has been carefully considering the changed environment in the US. 'As a global organisation, we have always complied with the local requirements in the jurisdictions in which we have operated. In doing so, we have remained faithful to our workplace culture.' Barclays' decision comes just months after Mr Venkatakrishnan in February told reporters the British bank was committed to creating an 'inclusive environment'. Speaking on the bank's fourth-quarter earnings call, the Barclays boss said: 'If you want to get the very best people, by necessity, you get a very diverse workforce. We want to provide equality of opportunity, and we want to create that inclusive environment.' The reversal follows the Trump administration's far-reaching campaign against corporate DEI initiatives that has seen the US president ban all diversity programmes in the US federal government. Top banks including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have watered down their own DEI programmes in response to the Trump administration's pushback. JP Morgan rebranded its own DEI initiatives under the name Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion (DOI) last month. Major British firms including Deloitte have also scrapped their DEI programmes in the US while keeping them in place in Britain, in response to President Trump's attacks. At the end of 2023, 30pc of Barclays' executives were women, while 5.1pc of its staff in Britain and 21pc of its employees in the US were from 'under-represented minorities', according to the bank's most recent DEI report. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
08-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Barclays abandons DEI targets after pledging ‘unwavering' commitment
Barclays is scrapping diversity targets at its US business just months after the bank's boss pledged its 'enduring and unwavering' commitment to DEI policies. The overhaul will see Barclays drop its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) quotas in the US after Donald Trump declared war on 'woke' in corporate America. C. S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays' chief executive who is also known as Venkat, said the move followed a review of its policies in the wake of Mr Trump's electoral victory late last year. The bank will retain its diversity targets in the UK and other markets. A Barclays spokesman said: 'We started reviewing our overall approach in late 2024 and that review is still underway. In the meantime, we have taken the decision to no longer have specific US representation ambitions. 'Our representation ambitions for the rest of the group will continue, and are being considered as part of the review.' The changes will see Barclays scrap ambitions to have 33pc of its director and managing director roles held by women by the end of this year, as well as plans to increase the number of ethnic minority executives by 50pc. In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Mr Venkatakrishnan said: 'The group executive committee has been carefully considering the changed environment in the US. 'As a global organisation, we have always complied with the local requirements in the jurisdictions in which we have operated. In doing so, we have remained faithful to our workplace culture.' Barclays' decision comes just months after Mr Venkatakrishnan in February told reporters the British bank was committed to creating an 'inclusive environment'. Speaking on the bank's fourth-quarter earnings call, the Barclays boss said: 'If you want to get the very best people, by necessity, you get a very diverse workforce. We want to provide equality of opportunity, and we want to create that inclusive environment.' The reversal follows the Trump administration's far-reaching campaign against corporate DEI initiatives that has seen the US president ban all diversity programmes in the US federal government. Top banks including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have watered down their own DEI programmes in response to the Trump administration's pushback. JP Morgan rebranded its own DEI initiatives under the name Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion (DOI) last month. Major British firms including Deloitte have also scrapped their DEI programmes in the US while keeping them in place in Britain, in response to President Trump's attacks. At the end of 2023, 30pc of Barclays' executives were women, while 5.1pc of its staff in Britain and 21pc of its employees in the US were from 'under-represented minorities', according to the bank's most recent DEI report.
Bloomberg
21-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
JPMorgan Drops the 'E' in DEI and Renames Program
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is changing the name of its diversity, equity and inclusion program at a time when DEI has been attacked by President Donald Trump's administration. The new program will be called Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion. Bloomberg's Simone Foxman reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JPMorgan makes changes to its diversity programs, memo says
By Nupur Anand NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Chief Operating Officer Jenn Piepszak said the bank was making some changes to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and the language it uses to describe them in an effort to keep up with the market and changes in regulations, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The bank was changing 'equity' to 'opportunity' and renaming it Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion, from DEI, the memo sent out earlier on Friday said. "The 'e' always meant equal opportunity to us, not equal outcomes, and we believe this more accurately reflects our ongoing approach to reach the most customers and clients to grow our business, create an inclusive workplace for our employees and increase access to opportunities," Piepszak said in the memo. The DOI organization will continue to report to Thelma Ferguson, she said. Some of the diversity programs that were managed centrally by the DOI organization will now be integrated into different lines of business including human resources or corporate responsibility. "This means some activities, councils or chapters may be consolidated to streamline our process and engagement strategy," Piepszak said. The bank also plans to reduce training on these topics. In a regulatory filing last month, the largest U.S. lender said it expected to face criticism on some of its business practices, including DEI. In its latest annual filing it had only one mention of DEI, in contrast with six mentions in the previous years. Several major U.S. and some European companies have dropped or altered their DEI policies following President Donald Trump's executive order to curtail such programs in the U.S. Even before Trump took office, big corporations were under increasing pressure from conservative groups to cut back or tweak their DEI policies aimed at boosting racial and ethnic representation in the workplace. Last month, Citigroup (C) said it will no longer require a diverse slate of candidates for job interviews and said it was changing the name of the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Talent Management" team to "Talent Management and Engagement." Similarly, Goldman Sachs (GS) canceled a four-year-old policy of exclusively taking public companies with at least two diverse board members. It also dropped an entire section dedicated to "diversity and inclusion" from its annual filing.
