Society members across sizes and industries weighed in on whether and how their companies engage on diversity and other social and public policy matters.
Among the key takeaways for public company respondents:
- “Speaking out” governance (n=96)—A large minority of respondents (41%) indicated that their company’s board or board committees had discussed whether and when the company or any of its officers or directors should speak out (externally) on the company’s behalf on environmental, social, political, or public policy (ESPP) matters over the past year, and an additional 3% said the topic is under consideration and/or on the agenda of an upcoming board or committee meeting.
- Speaking out prevalence (n=92)—While a majority of companies overall indicated that their CEO or other officers or directors had not made any public statement on any ESPP matter on the company’s behalf over the past year, this response reflects just 42% of large/mega caps compared to 72% of mid-caps, with large/mega-caps much more likely to have spoken out on such matters (usually in relation to the company’s industry or line of business).
- Stakeholder engagement (n=90)—Among large/mega-cap respondents, nearly three-quarters (72%) reported that their companies’ major shareholders had contacted or requested to engage, and 42% reported that their customers, employees, business partners, etc., had contacted or requested to engage, with management, the board/board committee, or individual directors on ESPP matters over the past year. This compares with 19% and 17%, respectively, of mid-caps.
- DEI activism (n=44)—While nearly two-thirds of companies represented by respondents have not received a shareholder, activist, or other call for instituting, modifying, or repealing their DEI initiatives in the past year, 18% were asked to modify DEI initiatives; 16% were asked to repeal DEI initiatives; and 11% were asked to institute DEI initiatives.
- DEI-related board reporting (n=83)—Over the past year, more than half of respondent management teams have provided information to the board regarding the company’s overall DEI strategy and progress against that strategy, as well as diversity metrics (e.g., leadership and workforce representation), equity metrics (e.g., pay and benefits), and inclusion metrics (e.g., engagement survey results) metrics, as detailed here:
- DEI-related practices (n=79)—Since 2022, more than half of companies have: (i) consulted legal counsel on company DEI-related initiatives and reviewed DEI programs and initiatives for compliance with applicable law, and (ii) established or enhanced company-wide DEI strategy and practices, while nearly half have enhanced and/or expanded workforce DEI-related disclosures.
- DEI backlash (n=70)—More than one-third of respondents indicated that their DEI-related actions or changes since 2022 were responsive to their company’s evaluation of the legal environment and/or DEI-related backlash.
Responses tended to vary by company size and type. Mega and large-cap company results are depicted on pages 14 – 24 of this presentation; mid-cap company results are on pages 25-35. Private company results (n=20) are on pages 36 – 46. Small-cap findings were omitted from the reports due to the limited respondent group but are available upon request.