Just Doing It: Nike Commits to Release Recruitment and Promotion Data by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Stefanie Spear, [email protected], 216-387-1609
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—JULY 27, 2022—Almost one year after 35% of its shareholders requested that Nike release its recruitment and promotion rates of its diverse employees, Nike has committed to publishing this information by the end of 2024 parsed by gender, race, and ethnicity (against categories defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Investors had also requested retention rate data, but Nike has not yet agreed to release this information.
Non-profit advocacy organization As You Sow led the filing of a shareholder resolution in 2021 requesting the company provide more information on the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion programs. With the company's agreement to release recruitment and retention rate data, As You Sow withdrew its request that a similar request be put before investors in 2022.
"Investors were concerned that Nike might be seen as inconsistent in its external marketing image and its internal policies and practices if it continued to advertise themes of race and social justice without providing detailed data on the effectiveness of its own internal diversity programs," said As You Sow’s CEO Andrew Behar.
Supporters of the resolution say the release of diversity and inclusion data increases alignment with Nike’s marketing around racial and social justice themes which historically includes athletes and celebrities of color. Nike recently released workforce composition data through its EEO-1 form for the first time, a standardized data set currently released by more than 85% of the S&P100.
“Nike has allocated significant capital into building its reputation as a leader on social justice issues,” said Meredith Benton, workplace equity program manager at As You Sow and founder of consultancy Whistle Stop Capital. “Investors have been seeking reassurance that its own practices are sufficiently implemented to protect its very valuable brand."
With its commitment to future reporting, Nike joins other companies As You Sow has held constructive conversations with about their disclosure of diversity and inclusion metrics. These include American Express, CVS Health, Gilead, Hasbro, JPMorgan Chase, Lululemon Athletica, Mastercard, McDonald's, MetLife, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, NextEra Energy, Oracle, PayPal, Pfizer, Ross Stores, Union Pacific, and Visa. Each of these companies agreed to meaningful increases in their diversity reporting.
"Generally speaking," Benton added, "we're not seeing resistance from companies around sharing diversity and inclusion data. We're hearing 'We know we need to figure out how to do this.' When we contact a company or escalate by filing a resolution, we help to speed up its timeline to get their data ready to be seen."
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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder advocacy nonprofit, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here for As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.
Whistle Stop Capital is a consultancy that offers outsourced sustainable investment services, working with asset owners and advisors to assess and address material social and environmental exposures within their investment portfolios.