During Pride Month, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli highlighted recent actions taken by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) to support LGBTQIA+ equity and inclusion for employees at portfolio companies, including new requests to major corporations seeking information on how they support LGBTQIA+ employees in the workplace.
“June is Pride Month, when millions of Americans come together to honor and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community,” DiNapoli said. “I have worked hard to make my office one of fairness and inclusion and as an investor will continue to call on companies to treat all of their employees with dignity and respect. We know that fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce can enhance innovation, creativity, and problem-solving capabilities, and ultimately lead to improved shareholder value. That is what we are after.”
The requests, directed to 17 companies including Caterpillar Inc., Albertsons Companies Inc., and Aflac Inc., seek information about equity and inclusion efforts in their workforce management strategy. Specifically, they ask how the company supports its LGBTQIA+ employees through nondiscrimination policies, equal and inclusive health and other benefits, and employee resource groups.
The Comptroller also asks the companies to disclose whether they collect anonymized sexual orientation and gender identity data to guide talent development, increase productivity, and communicate to consumers that inclusive teams are serving them. Disclosures such as those requested above would assist shareholders in assessing whether the companies are bringing in new talent, whether these employees are retained, how effectively their talents are fostered, and whether there is overall improvement of their workforce management.
This latest request follows ongoing engagement with Best Buy Co., questioning whether the company has retreated from its longtime commitment to inclusivity and support for the LGBTQIA+ community, which could negatively impact the company. A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that Best Buy offered to screen donations to LGBTQIA+ charities following pressure from a shareholder. Media reports also stated that Best Buy agreed to prohibit donations from its employee resource groups to a specific list of six LGBTQIA+ causes. DiNapoli recently contacted the company’s incoming board chair seeking more clarity on the company’s actions.
This proxy season, the Fund also filed new proposals with Lennar Corp. and International Paper Co. to ask the companies’ boards of directors to report on their LGBTQIA+ equity and inclusion efforts in their workforce management strategy, citing the rising number of LGBTQIA+ individuals entering the workforce and the benefits they provide to businesses. The proposals received support from 17% and 23% of shareholders, respectively.
The filings noted that while 10.5% of Millennials identify as LGBTQIA+, almost twice that number, 20.8%, of Generation Z identify as LGBTQIA+. About one-third of LGBTQIA+ individuals report experiencing harassment or discrimination in the five years preceding 2021 and 45.5% experienced harassment or discrimination at some point in their lives, according to a national study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
The Fund engages with companies on LGBTQIA+ equity and inclusion because companies with robust workforce management practices that focus on recruiting from the widest pool of candidates and retaining talent are better positioned for long-term success. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 2023 report Business Success and Growth Through LGBT-Inclusive Culture, “companies that adopt LGBT-inclusive policies financially outperform their sector peers within five to ten years of policy adoption.”
The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.
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