Feb. 24 at 6:58 PM
Colgate-Palmolive told a conservative shareholder group it plans to defend the use of race, gender, and sexual orientation as factors in identifying future board members, according to Bloomberg News. This comes as companies including Goldman Sachs , American Express, Deere & Company , and Johnson & Johnson have recently moved to scale back or remove DEI language from board criteria.
The National Legal and Policy Center submitted a proposal seeking a shareholder vote on the issue at Colgate’s upcoming annual meeting. Colgate intends to recommend voting against the proposal, stating that it “unduly interferes” with the board’s nominating committee, which aims to build a board with diverse experiences, skills, and perspectives.
Colgate, which generates roughly two-thirds of its sales outside the U.S., said integrating a range of backgrounds is critical to innovation, anticipating consumer trends, and driving global growth.
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