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Stockholders at Walmart (WMT) and PayPal (PYPL) on Thursday voted down proposals that would have upended how those companies deal with diversity, equity, and inclusion, an issue that has roiled companies across the corporate world amid shifting political and cultural pressures.
Walmart investors voted down shareholder proposals related to the company's DEI initiatives, while PayPal investors roundly rejected a proposal that would have required the company to analyze the risks of its charitable contributions.
An anti-DEI measure at Walmart proposed by the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project (FEP) asked for the retail giant’s board to explain why it held off on amending its DEI initiatives until after DEI opponent Robby Starbuck publicly pressured the company.
FEP also expressed concern that Walmart had “repackaged” rather than eliminated its DEI initiatives.
At PayPal, FEP sought disclosures on the impact of PayPal’s charitable giving, citing concerns that the company's association with organizations such as Human Rights Campaign increase its risk of discriminating against individuals based on speech or religious exercise.
Walmart has faced some repudiation for making changes to its own DEI policies, including from its own investors. More than 30 shareholders representing $266 billion in assets sent a message earlier this year to CEO Doug McMillon that called the retailer's DEI policy changes "very disheartening."
The company scaled back its diversity initiatives and said it would no longer use the DEI acronym late last year.
One shareholder, United for Respect, asked fellow shareholders to vote in favor of a measure that would bolster racial and equity inclusion, claiming Walmart is not addressing “the need of [a] diverse workforce.”
Walmart’s corporate secretary Rachel Brand encouraged shareholders to vote against the measure.
“We do not make employment decisions on the basis of race or gender,” she said, adding that the company hires from a broad pool of candidates, which is evident from its publicly reported data.
Dozens of companies this year have faced DEI proposals on both sides of the issue, and dozens have proactively announced about-faces on diversity, including Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), McDonald's (MCD), Amazon (AMZN), JPMorgan (JPM), Target (TGT), and Tractor Supply (TSCO).
Additional DEI-related proposals are pending this week at Netflix (NFLX) and Alphabet.
Tractor Supply is now looking to steer clear of the conversation completely.
