The intense focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) following executive orders from President Donald Trump earlier this year are shifting the balance of pro- and anti-DEI proposals compared to the full 2024 proxy season.
This article is based on data as of March 5, 2025, provided by Proxy Analytics, that assumes proxy seasons consisting of the period from July 1 through June 30.
For purposes of this article, we refer to “pro-DEI proposals” as those promoting or supporting DEI initiatives and we refer to “anti-DEI proposals” as those which are critical of DEI initiatives.
The following is a summary of the pro- and anti-DEI proposals submitted to companies in the 2025 proxy season and the early voting results.
These proposals generally ask a company’s board of directors to commission and oversee a civil rights audit, analyzing the bias and discrimination risks of the company’s policies and practices on talent recruitment, advancement and retention, customer and revenue growth, and other business objectives. Every pro-DEI proposal submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season expressed concern over the company’s recent pull-back from DEI efforts. Two of the four proposals have gone to a vote, receiving 29.5% approval and 7.3% approval.
For the full 2024 proxy season, 12 of these proposals were submitted and six of them were voted on, receiving average support of 13.5%.
This category of shareholder proposals consists of two types of proposals.
The first requests that the company’s board of directors provide quantitative workforce data related to gender, race and ethnicity.
One of these shareholder proposals has been submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season. It has not yet gone to a vote.
The second type of proposal requests that the company prepare and issue a report describing the research and analysis the board of directors undertook before cutting back or eliminating its DEI policies and practices. There have been three of these proposals submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season. None have gone to a vote.
We did not see this general category of proposal in the 2024 proxy season.
These proposals generally request that a company’s board of directors produce a report to shareholders on the effectiveness of its DEI efforts using quantitative metrics for employee hiring, retention and promotion, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.
There have been 13 of these proposals submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season (one of which was withdrawn). Only one of these proposals has gone to a vote, receiving 25.5% approval.
For the full 2024 proxy season, 27 of these proposals were submitted and 13 of them were voted on, receiving average support of 23.3%.
These proposals generally request a report on the disparity in compensation based on gender and/or race or ethnicity in a company’s workforce. The requested report would provide pay gap information (unadjusted median pay gap information and, in some cases, statistically adjusted pay gap information), and include associated policy, reputational, competitive, and operational risks, as well as risks related to recruiting and retaining diverse talent.
There have been four of these proposals submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season. Two of these proposals have gone to a vote, receiving 30.1% approval and 26.0% approval.
For the full 2024 proxy season, 17 of these proposals were submitted and 16 of them were voted on, receiving average support of 29.3%.
This type of proposal asks a company’s board of directors to commission a racial discrimination audit analyzing the company’s risks stemming from race-based initiatives.
Only one of these proposals has been submitted to a company in the 2025 proxy season, and it has not been voted on.
This type of proposal asks a company’s board of directors to commission a racial discrimination audit analyzing the company’s risks stemming from race-based initiatives.
Only one of these proposals has been submitted to a company in the 2025 proxy season, and it has not been voted on.
For the full 2024 proxy season, two of these proposals were submitted and both were voted on, receiving average support of 2.57%.
These shareholder proposal either ask the company to conduct an evaluation and produce a report on how the company’s DEI policies, programs, departments, and/or goals impact its risks related to actual and perceived discrimination against individuals based on their race, color, religion (including religious views), sex, national origin, or political views, or request that the company abolish or consider abolishing its DEI programs, policies, departments, and/or goals.
There have been 13 of these proposals submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season.
Eight of these proposals have requested a report. Two of these eight proposals have gone to a vote, receiving 1.7% and 1.4% approval.
Five of these proposals have asked the company to abolish or consider abolishing its DEI programs, policies, departments and/or goals. One of these five proposals has gone to a vote, receiving 2.3% approval.
For the 2024 proxy season, seven of these proposals were submitted and all seven were voted on, receiving average support of 2.2%.
These proposals generally request a report evaluating the company’s risks related to discrimination (which may be against employees, customers, and/or ad buyers and sellers) on the basis of political or religious status, views, or activities.
There have been 39 of these proposals submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season. Only two of the 39 proposals submitted have gone to a vote (receiving 1.3% and 1.9% approval).
For the full 2024 proxy season, 25 of these proposals were submitted in 2024 and 19 of them were voted on, receiving average support of 2%.
These proposals generally request a report detailing the risks associated with omitting “viewpoint” and “ideology” from a company’s written equal employment opportunity policy.
There has been one of this type of shareholder proposal submitted so far in the 2025 proxy season. It has not yet gone to a vote.
For the full 2024 proxy season, seven of these proposals were submitted and six of them were voted on, receiving average support of 2%.
While it is likely that DEI will remain a hot-button issue for the next several years, it is interesting to see the shift already showing this year, with anti-DEI proposals overtaking pro-DEI proposals (at least at this point in the proxy season).
If the number of pro-DEI proposals ends up being less than last year, perhaps the decrease could be explained by the lack of overall success of DEI proposals in recent years. Alternatively, it is possible that DEI-proponents may be better served engaging with companies outside the public arena, given the increased public and political pressure companies are now under to reduce or abandon their DEI efforts (or at least how they talk about them).
At the same time, anti-DEI proposals have historically fared far worse than pro-DEI proposals in terms of shareholder support (usually averaging less than 5% approval). It will be interesting to watch anti-DEI proposals over the next few years. Many have argued that the purpose of the anti-DEI proposals may not be passage in any case, but instead to put public pressure on companies to abandon these initiatives.