Despite heightened political scrutiny, some major corporations are demonstrating steadfast support for DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, signaling broader implications for organizations, including higher education institutions.
Costco recently announced that over 98% of its shareholders voted against a proposal requesting an assessment of potential risks linked to maintaining DEI programs. The proposal, put forth by the National Center for Public Policy Research, argued that DEI efforts could lead to legal, reputational, and financial risks. Costco’s board opposed the measure, emphasizing that such a report would not offer “meaningful additional information” to shareholders.
This decisive vote underscores investors’ continued support for these policies, even as President Donald Trump and other conservative lawmakers push back against them.
Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives across federal agencies, contractors, and potentially private companies, asserting during a recent speech that his administration has “taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense.”
Lindsey Stewart, director of stewardship research and policy for Morningstar Sustainalytics, noted that Costco’s vote reflects a larger trend. “Even if the political environment on inclusion in the workplace is changing, investors’ low propensity to support anti-DEI resolutions is thus far unchanged,” she said.
While companies like Meta, Amazon, and Boeing have scaled back DEI programs, many corporate leaders reaffirm their commitment to the core values behind these initiatives.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve done, and what we’ve done is lift up cities, schools, states, hospitals, countries, companies, and we’re gonna do more of the same,” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, said at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week.
The corporate world’s stance has implications for higher education, where DEI initiatives have faced similar challenges. With many colleges relying on partnerships with businesses for funding, hiring pipelines, and research collaborations, the resilience of these policies in the corporate sphere could sustain, if not bolster such efforts on campuses. At the same time, political pressures may complicate these efforts, prompting institutions to balance stakeholder expectations with their commitments to fostering inclusive environments.
