Resolved clauseShareholders request that Elevance Health Inc report on the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to create a workplace where all employees can contribute to the Company’s success. This disclosure should be done at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary information, and provide quantitative metrics for hiring, promotion, and retention rates of employees, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.
Whereas clauseGender and racial discrimination are prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Research indicates that investors benefit from companies with more diverse management. As examples:
McKinsey studies have consistently found that companies with higher diversity in corporate leadership are more likely to outperform peers on profitability. This includes a 39 percent greater likelihood of outperformance for companies in the top quartile for diverse executive teams, versus those in the bottom quartile.[1]Researchers from Whistle Stop Capital and As You Sow reviewed the manager diversity of over 1,600 companies. Statistically significant positive correlations were found for financial performance indicators, including: return on equity, return on invested capital, revenue growth, and, as illustrated above, share price performance. Researchers found that the positive relationship between management diversity and financial performance was particularly strong in the health care sector.[2]
A 2024 meta-analysis found that companies with diversity and inclusion initiatives experience a range of benefits that include increased innovation, enhanced employee engagement and satisfaction, and improved decision-making.[3]
Companies need to protect their workplace against discrimination; and investors must have meaningful data to monitor their effectiveness in doing so. Unfortunately, studies have also shown that diverse employees face barriers in recruitment, hiring, and promotion.[4]
Elevance has not yet shared sufficient hiring, promotion, or retention data to assess whether it will be able to build, utilize, and maintain successful, diverse management teams. Between 2021 and 2024, there was a 263 percent increase in promotion rate disclosure, a 189 percent increase in hiring rate disclosure, and a 175 percent increase in retention rate disclosure.[5] Companies that release or have committed to release more diversity and inclusion data than Elevance include, but are not limited to: AmEx, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Baxter International, Biogen, CVS Health, Discover Financial Services, KKR, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Supporting statement Quantitative data is sought so investors can assess and compare the effectiveness of companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. It is advised that this content be provided through Elevance’s existing sustainability reporting infrastructure. A specific, independent report is not requested.