Resolved clauseShareholders request that Global Payments Inc. publish a report, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, disclosing the racial equity actions and targets the Company has put in place, if any, and providing data reflecting the success of such actions in promoting and improving racial equity outcomes.
Whereas clauseFollowing George Floyd’s murder by police officers on May 25, 2020, a majority of Russell 1000 corporations made public statements expressing their plans to address racial justice, thereby taking an important step in acknowledging diversity, equity and inclusion, and racial equity, as core to their business. Global Payments Inc. (“Global Payments”) did not release a racial justice statement and has limited public disclosure related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
A McKinsey study[1] cites material corporate benefits associated with policies promoting racial justice:
• Companies with the strongest racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their industry medians for earnings before interest and tax;
• Companies with the most ethnically/ culturally diverse boards are 43% more likely to earn higher profits;
• For every 10% increase in racial and ethnic diversity among senior executives, EBIT rises 0.8.
• Yet, inequities in the workplace continue:
• People of Color comprise 33% of entry-level positions but 13% of the C-suite;[2]
• In 2019, among the Russell 3000, Black individuals accounted for 4.1% of Board members versus 13.4% of the U.S. population.[3]
Global Payments is falling behind its peers in its reported diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Global Payments earned a low score of 14% on a recent Racial Justice Scorecard.[4] Global Payment’s score ranks below that of peer companies Block and Fiserv, which scored 17% and 25% respectively. Global Payment’s low score is due, in part, to a lack of publicly accessible diversity, equity, and inclusion targets and disclosed data concerning recruitment, retention, and promotion rates of people of color within the Company.
Given heightened awareness around racism, failing to act on racial justice or to disclose related policies and quantifiable data raises the material risk of reduced brand value. Global Payments can reduce this risk and play an important role in furthering racial equity by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the Company.
Supporting statementThis resolution was filed by PCR Children's Tr FBO Ellen (S).
Investors seek quantitative, comparable data to understand if and how the Company is promoting a commitment to racial equity. Proponents suggest the report include:
• Quantitative diversity, equity, and inclusion information, including EEO-1 data and recruitment, retention, and promotion rates for people of color within the Company;
• Any plans to improve disclosures on the performance indicators that underlie the Company’s low scores compared to its peers on the above-referenced Racial Justice scorecard;
• Policies the Company could adopt to promote racial equity in its corporate workplaces and operations.