Shareholders voted overwhelmingly against assessing the risk of keeping the company’s DEI programs in place.
Costco shareholders have roundly rejected a proposal calling for a report on the risks associated with keeping its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in place, the wholesale club said Thursday.
Preliminary results show that some 98% of shareholders voted against the measure, according to the company.
Last month, Costco’s board of directors came out unanimously against the proposal, which was brought by activist shareholder the National Center for Public Policy Research, which raised concerns of risk from Costco’s DEI program after the Supreme Court’s ruling in SFFA v. Harvard that discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The proposal cites how attorneys general of 13 states have warned Fortune 100 companies that the ruling implicated corporate DEI programs, and a number of lawsuits have been filed.
But Costco’s board defended its programs.
“Consistent with our commitment to ‘obey the law,’ we regularly evaluate our practices concerning compliance with law, including evolving Supreme Court decisions,” the board wrote in response to the proposal. “We believe that our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are legally appropriate, and nothing in the proposal demonstrates otherwise.”
Costco’s and its shareholders’ continued embrace of DEI comes as support for the programs is faltering in the private sector as well as the public sector.
