Colgate Pushes Back on Proposal to Remove DEI Guidelines for Board Appointments

Colgate-Palmolive is standing firm on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria for board appointments, rejecting a proposal from a conservative shareholder group that sought to remove such guidelines.

The company said it will ask investors to vote against the measure at its upcoming annual meeting, according to a letter viewed by Reuters.

The proposal comes from the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which opposes DEI policies and argues that race, gender, and sexual orientation should not influence board selection.

Conservative activists and former President Donald Trump have also been pressuring companies to scale back or eliminate DEI programs, claiming they discriminate against White men.

In its response, Colgate emphasized that board diversity is key to its global strategy. About two-thirds of the company's net sales come from markets outside the US, the company noted, making a broad range of skills, experiences, and perspectives crucial for understanding consumer trends and driving innovation.

"It is important that our directors bring a broad range of skills, experiences, perspectives and backgrounds to the Board," the company said in its letter to the NLPC.

DEI at Colgate Contrasts With Other Corporations

Colgate further stated that considering "race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and cultural background" in selecting future board members is "both legally appropriate and important to fulfilling the Company's strategy."

The toothpaste maker highlighted that three of its director nominees in its 2025 proxy statement were "members of underrepresented communities," though the NLPC criticized the lack of a clear definition of "underrepresented."

Colgate's stance contrasts with several major US companies that have reduced or removed DEI language from their board selection criteria, including Goldman Sachs, American Express, and others.

According to Bloomberg, recent surveys show that the share of S&P 500 companies explicitly considering race or gender in director selection fell from roughly 50% in 2024 to under 14% in 2026.

"Colgate is doubling down on DEI when top US corporations realize the problems it presented," said Paul Chesser, director of the Corporate Integrity Project at NLPC.

"Corporate employment and business policy flows from leadership, so keeping DEI at the board level signals to everyone at the company that discrimination is still acceptable."

The company noted that the NLPC proposal "unduly interferes with the judgment" of its nominating committee, which is tasked with assembling a board that reflects diverse experiences and perspectives.

Originally published on vcpost.com