98% of John Deere & Apple Shareholders Reject Anti-Diversity Proposals
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 579-2188
98% of John Deere & Apple Shareholders Reject Anti-Diversity Proposals
Near unanimous shareholder votes against attacks on equal job opportunities for everyone are the latest public failures by anti-business groups attempting to inject political culture wars into standard business practices
BERKELEY, CA—February 26, 2024—Today, shareholders of Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) sent a strong signal to the Board and management by voting nearly unanimously against a shareholder proposal from a conservative think-tank looking to undermine the company’s diversity and inclusion programs. Over 98.7% of shares voted against the anti-diversity Proposal 4, according to Deere & Co during today’s annual general meeting.
“Shareholders understand that diversity and inclusion are material to profitable growth,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “Anyone who's looking at the data, which the companies and shareholders are, comes to the conclusion that greater diversity leads to financial outperformance.”
The Deere vote was the third rebuke from shareholders of the anti-DEI crusade after a similar 98% vote at Costco (NASDAQ:COST) on January 23, 2025, and yesterday’s 97.7% vote against at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on February 25, 2025. All three proposals attempted to stop company management from continuing policies and practices to optimize their human capital by hiring and promoting employees based on merit without regard to their gender or the color of their skin.
“This string of epic failures sends a powerful signal to all of those trying to use the shareholder proposal process to manipulate the free markets,” added Behar.
A recent As You Sow report analyzed 1,641 companies over five years and shows a statistically significant correlation linking diverse management teams to financial outperformance across key indicators, such as return on equity and return on investment. The data clearly indicates that building a productive and meritocratic workforce is essential to the long term success of the company and all stakeholders.
“We are not surprised by the vote tally,” said Meredith Benton, As You Sow Program Manager and founder of consultancy Whistle Stop Capital. “These resolutions have been filed for several years with negligible investor support because they lack a sound business rationale. Investors have been clear: we wish to see sound business practices that will help John Deere outperform.”
As Deere publicly stated, “We fundamentally believe that a diverse workforce enables us to best meet our customers' needs and because of that we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organization. We believe our employees’ unique perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences contribute to innovation and our ability to create value for our customers. We also believe that a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve is essential to our long-term success. Deere is committed to treating our employees, who propel us toward achieving our business ambitions, fairly and inclusively.”
“These anti-DEI resolutions are thinly veiled attempts to protect White males from having to compete on a level playing field with women and people of color,” added Behar. “Shareholders are smart enough to look at the financial data and avoid politics that should not be part of profitably running a business.”
About As You Sow
As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. Its focus areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, the Rights of Nature, racial justice, and workplace diversity. Click here to view As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.