Deere & Company faces shareholder votes on DE&I policies

Shareholders in Deere & Company, also known as John Deere, will vote at the firm’s February 26 AGM on two contrasting proposals concerning the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts after the company unsuccessfully requested that the SEC allow it to omit one of them from its 2025 proxy statement.

A proposal filed by As You Sow asks Deere to ‘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… provide transparency on outcomes using quantitative metrics for workforce diversity, hiring, promotion and retention of employees, including data by gender, race and ethnicity.’

As You Sow writes that in July of last year Deere ‘announced an ambiguous and inconsistent shift in policies and practices regarding its workplace diversity strategy. If the company has dismantled key [DE&I] policies and practices, this exposes it to financial, competitive, legal and reputational risks.’

The shareholder advocacy group writes that Deere had previously made public statements on the importance of its DE&I efforts, including in its 2023 proxy statement. It adds that Deere has not yet disclosed ‘sufficient hiring, retention or promotion data to allow investors to determine the effectiveness of its [DE&I] programs’ and says the company is falling behind peers that are releasing more diversity and inclusion data.

‘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,’ As You Sow says, noting that many studies have found that investors benefit from companies with diverse management.

The announcement As You Sow refers to was posted to X, formerly Twitter. In it, the company wrote that ‘based on ongoing conversations’ it will ‘no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals or events.’ It also said the company was committed to:

•    ‘Auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages, while being in compliance with federal, state and local laws’
•    ‘Reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.’

It added: ‘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.’

Deere’s announcement came during a year when several major US companies have faced pressure from conservative lawmakers and activists over their DE&I policies.

Apple’s board is currently urging shareholders to vote at its February 25 AGM against a proposal asking the tech company to consider dropping its diversity efforts. The National Center for Public Policy Research, which filed the proposal, is one of the most active of the conservative groups that have been submitting anti-DE&I and other anti-ESG resolutions in recent years.

No-action request
Deere had filed a no-action request with the SEC arguing that it should be allowed to exclude the As You Sow proposal because, per Rule 14a-8(i)(11), it ‘substantially duplicates another proposal previously submitted to the company.’

The company stated that several days before receiving As You Sow’s filing it received a proposal from the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), another conservative group that files anti-ESG shareholder resolutions. The NLPC proposal asks Deere to ‘produce a report on statistical differences in hiring across race and gender globally and/or by country, where appropriate, including associated policy, reputational, competitive, operational risks and risks related to recruiting and retaining talent.’

However, the SEC’s staff concluded: ‘We are unable to concur in your view that the company may exclude the [As You Sow] proposal under Rule 14a-8(i)(11). In our view, the proposal does not substantially duplicate the proposal submitted by the [NLPC].’

Proxy statement
Deere’s board has now urged shareholders to vote against the As You Sow proposal, writing in its proxy statement: ‘[The company] is committed to treating our employees, who propel us toward achieving our business ambitions, fairly and inclusively. Deere is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free of harassment and discrimination… We also believe that a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve is essential to our long-term success…

‘We already publish substantial amounts of data regarding our workforce, including differences in race and gender across various subsets of employee groups… Preparing a report on the effectiveness of Deere’s efforts to create a meritocratic workplace would not provide a meaningful benefit to [the company] or its shareholders. 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.’

The NLPC proposal is also included in Deere’s 2025 proxy statement. The group notes the US Supreme Court ruling that effectively barred race-based affirmative action in college admissions programs and that, in the wake of that decision, Republican attorneys general from 13 states sent a letter to large US companies warning that continuing with their DE&I efforts would put them at legal risk.

‘The risk of litigation for [discrimination against white employees] is rising, and companies have begun to reconsider whether their [DE&I] programs perpetuate prejudice rather than alleviate it,’ the NLPC writes. It adds: ‘If [Deere] discriminates, it will be obvious in its hiring numbers. [The company] should report on statistical differences in hiring across race and gender to prove it does not practice discrimination.’

Deere’s board is also recommending that shareholders vote against the NLPC proposal, again arguing that the company is committed to treating employees ‘fairly and inclusively’ and that it already reports ‘substantial amounts of data about the composition of our workforce,’ including via its EEO-1 report.

‘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,’ the board states. ‘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.’

A request for comment from the company was not returned immediately.

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