20 Companies Facing DEI Shareholder Proposals
This research was released on February 19, 2025. The post will be updated as new stories come out.
Here’s our latest free report on the changing discipline of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Below, you’ll find a list of 20 companies engaged in shareholder proposals related to DEI policies.
Please keep in mind: this is not an exhaustive list of DEI shareholder proposals, but rather a sample of 20 notable stories from the last few years.
Full list | Downloadable spreadsheet | Fortune 100 DEI Policy Database
👉 DEI-Related Shareholder Proposals 👈
Here are 20 notable companies facing shareholder proposals over their DEI policies since 2021. As new announcements come out, we’ll update the report.
- Want to access this list in a spreadsheet?
- Want to see our other research on DEI?
Walmart
- Action: Submitted DEI investor statement
- Status: No response received
- Date: 1/14/2025
- Headquarters: Arkansas
A group of more than 30 Walmart shareholders is requesting a dialogue with members of Walmart’s senior leadership and Board of Directors to explain its business case for retreating on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and the potential implications for the company, describing the decision as “disheartening.”
General Motors
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 12/19/2024
- Headquarters: Michigan
A shareholder proposal was submitted by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) requesting GM’s Board of Directors’ Compensation Committee to revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, to consider eliminating discriminatory DEI goals and aspirations from compensation formulas.
JPMorgan Chase
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 12/6/2024
- Headquarters: New York
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) and the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is targeting JPMorgan Chase for DEI incentives in executive pay and its general DEI programs, claiming the practices leave the bank open to reputational and legal risks. shareholders’ request that the company consider abolishing its DEI program, policies, department and goals.
Merck
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 12/2/2024
- Headquarters: New Jersey
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted a shareholders’ request to the Merck Board of Directors’ Compensation and Management Development Committee to revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, and to identify and consider eliminating discriminatory DEI milestones from compensation.
Lululemon
- Action: Shareholders filed complaint
- Status: Open case
- Date: 11/18/2024
- Headquarters: Texas
Shareholders filed a lawsuit against officers of Lululemon alleging alleging that the company’s failure to adopt a workable diversity program and to timely launch a new line of leggings caused its stock price to plummet.
McDonald’s
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 11/15/2024
- Headquarters: Illinois
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted a shareholders’ proposal requesting the McDonald’s Board of Directors’ Compensation Committee revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, and to identify and consider eliminating discriminatory DEI goals from compensation.
Levi Strauss & Co.
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 11/14/2024
- Headquarters: California
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) submitted a shareholders’ proposal to Levi’s requesting that the company consider abolishing its DEI program, policies, department and goal.
IBM
- Action: Requesting DEI report be produced
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 11/11/2024
- Headquarters: New York
The Heritage Foundation submitted a shareholder proposal requesting the IBM Board of Directors conduct an evaluation and issue a report within the next year. The report should assess how the company’s DEI requirements for hiring/recruitment impact the company’s risks related to discrimination against individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or political views.
American Express
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 11/6/2024
- Headquarters: New York
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is requesting that American Express remove DEI considerations from its executive pay formulas. American Express has moved to have the proposal excluded from its meeting.
Deere and Co.
- Action: Requesting DEI report be produced
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 10/22/2024
- Headquarters: Illinois
shareholders’ request that Deere report publicly on the effectiveness of its efforts to create a meritocratic workplace where no one is excluded from contributing to the company’s success because of an immutable characteristic, such as gender, race or ethnicity.
Coca Cola
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 10/18/2024
- Headquarters: Georgia
“A shareholders’ proposal submitted by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) requests that Coca Cola Board of Directors’ Talent and Compensation Committee revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, and to identify and consider eliminating discriminatory DEI goals from compensation.”
Apple
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: 9/1/2024
- Headquarters: California
Apple is urging shareholders to reject a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) requesting the company to eliminate DEI-related activities, including its diverse supplier initiatives.
Target
- Action: Shareholders filed complaint
- Status: Open case
- Date: 8/8/2023
- Headquarters: Minnesota
America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit against Target on behalf of shareholders claiming the board had misled investors about the financial risks of its DEI and ESG practices.
Coca Cola
- Action: Shareholders filed complaint
- Status: Closed complaint
- Date: 6/11/2021
- Headquarters: Georgia
America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit against Coca Cola on behalf of unidentified shareholders claiming the company’s board breached its fiduciary duty to stockholders. The shareholders alleged that Coke’s policies to promote diversity among outside lawyers exposed investors to potentially material legal liability.
Berkshire Hathaway
- Action: Requesting designated DEI board committee
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: Nebraska
An individual investor requests that Berkshire Hathaway designate a board committee to oversee the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy across its holding companies. The resolution states that human capital oversight at the board level will empower Berkshire’s companies to ensure meritocratic workplaces.
Bristol Myers Squibb
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: New Jersey
A shareholder proposal submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) requests that Bristol Myers Squibb consider abolishing its DEI program, policies, department, and goals.
Goldman Sachs
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: New York
A shareholder proposal was submitted by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) shareholders’ requesting the Board of Directors’ Talent and Compensation Committee to revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, to identify and consider eliminating discriminatory DEI goals from compensation inducements.
Mastercard
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: New York
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) has submitted a proposal to Mastercard over executive pay and DEI goals. The proposal asks the board of directors’ Human Resources and Compensation Committee to consider eliminating discriminatory DEI and ESG goals from compensation inducements.
Mondelez
- Action: Requesting DEI report be produced
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: Illinois
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted a shareholders’ request to Modelez Governance, Membership and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors to report by 3/31/2026 on the impact of the Company’s policy positions, advocacy, and charitable giving on social and political matters, and the effect of those specific actions on the company’s financial sustainability.
PepsiCo
- Action: Requesting company cease DEI-related activities
- Status: Pending shareholder proposal meeting
- Date: Proposal submission date not released
- Headquarters: New York
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted a shareholders’ request the PepsiCo Board of Directors’ Compensation Committee to revisit its incentive guidelines for executive pay, to consider eliminating discriminatory DEI goals from compensation inducements, to reduce risk exposure.
Access the spreadsheet for free
