[Rewind] Nancy Levine Stearns: Riding and Reporting on the Tsunami of Support for DEI

We had to rewind this episode from just a few months back because Nancy’s reporting on DEI has become the Bible for those following this issue. In just the last week, Amazon, McDonald’s, and Merck shareholders and boards have all resoundingly rejected proposals to retreat or scale back on their diversity and equity initiatives! They join other powerhouses like John Deere, Yum! Brands, Levi’s, Costco, and Berkshire Hathaway, to name a few! Through relentless reporting and a mix of humor, history, and advocacy, her firm, Impactivize, is highlighting “DEI Job of the Day,” “DEI Employer of the Day,” and all these bold announcements. She also shares her playful book series about how pugs (the sweet, funny-looking dogs) can channel Zen in stressful moments. 

Key Takeaways:

• The cascade of corporate announcements proves that the data-driven metrics showing DEI programs positively impact the bottom line will not be ignored by boards and shareholders who have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the bottom line!
• A small but vocal group of shareholder activists is targeting DEI initiatives, but corporate boards and shareholders overwhelmingly reject their proposals. Again and again.
• Nancy’s approach to DEI advocacy—highlighting a “DEI Job of the Day” and “DEI Employer of the Day”—injects a level of positivity and engagement into a serious issue.
• Despite pressure from 19 state attorneys general, Costco and others remain committed to DEI, backed by a 98% shareholder vote. Stories like this are abundant.
• Play is always in fashion, and companies have long incorporated it into their culture (e.g., team-building exercises and humor), reinforcing the importance of joy in serious work.

"DEI is anything but on the ropes—it's in the center of the ring throwing counter punches." — Nancy Levine Stearns

"At the corporate level, at the board and shareholder level, there really is not much support for these anti-DEI initiatives. And the reason there isn’t much support is because the metrics do show that DEI initiatives are good for the bottom line, and that’s largely how they make their decisions." — Nancy Levine Stearns

"There is data. There are metrics-driven. There is data that DEI programs enhance bottom-line metrics, absolutely." — Nancy Levine Stearns

Episode References: 

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder: https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-tyranny-twenty-lessons-from-the-twentieth-century-timothy-snyder/16520165?ean=9780804190114&next=t&listref=bookshop-org-best-sellers-of-the-week&next=t

About Nancy Levine Stearns: Nancy Levine Stearns is a freelance journalist and author of The Tao of Pug book series (Penguin/Skyhorse). Her reporting has been cited by The New York Times, NBC News, and Forbes, among others. She was the No. 1 ESG Influencer on Twitter in 2020, according to a Commetric study. Nancy was a career executive recruiter, starting at American Express headquarters in New York, recruiting for companies and nonprofits, including the Knight Foundation and Autodesk, among many others. She is originally from Scarsdale, New York, and now resides with her husband in Eugene, Oregon.