MW Deere shareholders reject anti-DEI proposal, as Trump pressures Apple to abandon diversity plans

By Bill Peters

Only 1.3% of the votes cast by Deere investors were in favor of the measure

Shareholders of Deere & Co. voted overwhelmingly to reject a proposal seeking to curb the farming-machinery maker's diversity, equity and inclusion plans - the latest sign of investor resistance to conservative efforts to end diversity practices.

At its yearly shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Deere (DE) said only 1.3% of votes cast were in favor of the proposal, which called on the company to generate a report on statistical differences in hiring across race and gender. The proposal came from the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group.

"If the Company discriminates, it will be obvious in its hiring numbers," the group said in Deere's proxy statement last month. "Deere should report on statistical differences in hiring across race and gender to prove it does not practice discrimination." The group, in that filing, expressed suspicions that corporations were discriminating against white job applicants.

Some major corporations - including like Walmart Inc. $(WMT)$, Target Corp. $(TGT)$ and Meta Platforms Inc. $(META)$ - have rolled back their DEI plans amid pressure from conservatives. But some signs of pushback have also emerged.

Apple Inc. $(AAPL)$ said Tuesday that shareholders voted by a wide margin against a proposal from a conservative group requesting an end to its DEI efforts. That followed a similar vote from shareholders of Costco Wholesale Corp. $(COST)$ Some activists have called for boycotts against Target after it changed course on DEI.

However, President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, said Apple "SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM."

Trump has called for government agencies to find potential ways to investigate corporate DEI initiatives, or otherwise persuade them to end the practice. The Federal Communications Commission this month said it planned to open an investigation into Comcast Corp. $(CMCSA)$ over its DEI programs.

Deere over the summer said it would stop participating in "external social or cultural awareness" events and take steps to "ensure the absence of socially motivated messages" in training materials and policies. It also said then that it was reaffirming that diversity quotas and preferred pronouns "have never been and are not company policy."

In response to those changes, the National Legal and Policy Center said in the proxy that "the Company cannot make empty promises without following through."

Deere had recommended that shareholders vote against the group's proposal. The company said it already "publicly reports substantial amounts of data about the composition of our workforce."

"Preparing a report on the statistical differences in hiring across race and gender globally would not provide a meaningful benefit to Deere or its shareholders," it said in the proxy.

"Rather, it would require us to dedicate valuable financial and human resources to provide data that is largely duplicative of the extensive workforce demographic data we already publish in our Business Impact Report and its accompanying appendices in service of advancing the political and social views of the proponent," the company continued.

Shares of Deere were down 1.6% on Wednesday.

-Bill Peters

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February 26, 2025 15:29 ET (20:29 GMT)

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