Levi Strauss Shareholders Stand By DEI Policy Amid Political Pushback

Clothing major Levi Strauss & Co LEVI shareholders rejected a proposal to halt the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to a regulatory filing released Monday.

About 2.7 billion votes were cast to reject the proposal to dismantle the DEI program, compared to 5.67 million votes in favor.

The vote occurred against the backdrop of President Donald Trump‘s broader effort to roll back DEI policies in both government and the private sector following a January executive order.

Following the order, major corporations, including Walmart Inc. WMT, Meta Platforms Inc META, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, and McDonald’s Corp MCD discontinued and rolled back several diversity initiatives.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recently started reducing funding for research grants that fall outside its current priorities, with a particular focus on studies involving transgender communities and DEI initiatives.

Meanwhile, Costco Wholesale Corp. COST is holding firm on its DEI policies, as shareholders overwhelmingly backed the company’s current DEI policies in a recent vote.

This decision came despite a proxy proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which had urged the company to conduct an audit to evaluate potential legal, reputational, and financial risks.

Levi reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share, which beat the 28 cent analyst consensus estimate and said that the company does not reflect any impact from the recently announced tariffs.

Price Action: LEVI shares traded higher by 0.13% to $15.90 at last check on Tuesday.

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