Resolved clauseShareholders request that Deere report publicly on the effectiveness of its efforts to create a meritocratic workplace where no one is excluded from contributing to the Company’s success because of an immutable characteristic, such as gender, race or ethnicity. The report should be done at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary information, and provide transparency on outcomes using quantitative metrics for workforce diversity, hiring, promotion, and retention of employees, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.
Whereas clause In July, 2024, Deere & Company (Deere) announced an ambiguous and inconsistent shift in policies and practices regarding its workplace diversity strategy.[1] If the company has dismantled key diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) policies and practices, this exposes it to financial, competitive, legal, and reputational risks.
Prior to these recent changes, Deere has made public statements on the importance of its DEI efforts. These include, but are not limited to:
2023 Proxy Statement: “We are committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and we believe that a diverse workforce is essential to our long-term success and solving our customers’ most pressing challenges.”[2]
Code of Business Conduct: “Each day we strive for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture with our colleagues, customers, suppliers, and distribution channels. In doing so, experience tells us we will be more engaged, innovative, and successful.”[3]
Many research studies indicate that investors benefit from companies with management diversity:
McKinsey studies underscore that companies with higher diversity in corporate leadership have a greater likelihood of outperforming peers on profitability.[4]
As You Sow and Whistle Stop Capital have reviewed the workforce diversity of 1,641 companies between 2016-2021. Linear regressions found statistically significant positive correlations between manager diversity and return on equity, return on invested capital, and 10-year revenue growth, among other indicators.[5]
Multiple studies have shown the need for action. Diverse employees, such as Black and female employees, still face significant barriers in recruitment, hiring,[6] and promotion.[7]
As of the date of the filing of this proposal, Deere has not shared sufficient hiring, retention, or promotion data to allow investors to determine the effectiveness of its DEI programs. Deere is falling behind peers. Russell 1000 companies have increased disclosure of these indicators by seventy-six percent in the last two years.[8] Companies that release more diversity and inclusion data than Deere include, but are not limited to Ford, General Dynamics, General Motors, Union Pacific, and Raytheon Technologies.
Without data on the outcomes of its workplace equity efforts, investors will lack confidence in Deere’s ability to build, use, and maintain an effective and meritocratic workforce.
Supporting statementQuantitative data is sought so that investors can assess and compare the effectiveness of companies’ efforts to ensure meritocratic workplaces through DEI efforts. It is advised that this content be provided through Deere’s existing sustainability reporting infrastructure. An independent report on this topic is not requested.