Shareholders of software giant Intuit voted today to defeat an anti-DEI proposal, adding to chorus of companies saying DEI is a business imperative. The company, which serves approximately 100 million customers worldwide with TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, called the proposal’s requests “unnecessary and wasteful.” Today’s shareholder vote continues a trend, as Intuit joins 31 corporations collectively valued at more than $13 trillion whose shareholders voted to reject anti-DEI proposals in 2025.
By Nancy Levine Stearns | January 22, 2026
Shareholders of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) voted at the company’s annual meeting today to reject an anti-DEI proposal. The company will announce the voting tally within the next several days. The proposal, brought by a conservative shareholder activist group, asked the company to report on ROI (return-on-investment) related to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and assess legal and reputation risks related to DEI.
In its proxy statement, Intuit’s Board of Directors unanimously recommended shareholders vote to reject the anti-DEI proposal, calling the proposal’s request “unnecessary and wasteful.”
The shareholder voting results at Intuit today continues a trend, handing defeat after defeat to anti-DEI shareholder activists. Last year, shareholders of 31 out of 31 corporations, including Costco, Apple, and Goldman Sachs, collectively valued at more than $13 trillion, voted to reject anti-DEI proposals, most by 99 percent of voting shares.
The anti-DEI proposal, brought to Intuit by conservative activist group National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), was similar to anti-DEI proposals the group brought to other large corporations in 2025 and lost by overwhelming margins.
A representative from NCPPR presented the anti-DEI proposal to Intuit shareholders at the meeting today, arguing, without evidence, that DEI initiatives do not support financial outcomes and create legal risk.
As for financial outcomes, multiple studies reveal the positive impact on corporate bottom line arising from DEI practices. And, while anti-DEI proposals presented to corporations by conservative nonprofit groups in 2025 focused largely on legal risks arising from potential litigation — which the proposal presenters seem hopeful to spur — research shows that risks of retreating from DEI are weighty.
A 2025 study, Risks of retreat: The enduring inclusion imperative by Catalyst and the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law, revealed companies that retreat from DEI incur risks along four pillars: financial, legal, reputation, and talent.
During the Q&A session of today’s meeting at Intuit, a shareholder asked CEO Sasan Goodarzi about the company’s relationship with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and its Corporate Equality Index. Goodarzi confirmed that Intuit maintains a relationship with HRC, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Intuit received a 100 score from the HRC on its Corporate Equality Index in 2025.
A study released last year by the HRC and Whistle Stop Capital, analyzing 15 years of data, showed that companies that embraced LGBTQ+ inclusion policies reaped positive financial performance across multiple metrics, including higher revenue, stronger profits, and steadier market performance.
Dr. Solange Charas, Professor of Practice at Columbia University School of Professional Studies wrote for Forbes, “investors want to see how companies are managing their people as a way of driving higher profitability and market value, employees want to know that their development and well-being are prioritized, and customers increasingly care about how companies treat their workforce as a deciding factor in purchasing intent.”
Dr. Charas has developed proprietary approaches for quantifying the return on investment of human capital (HCROI); her academic research focuses on the relationship between human capital management and financial performance. Dr. Charas told Impactivize in an interview, “Human capital must drive profitability,” and “diversity is profitable.”
The Intuit Board responded to the anti-DEI proposal from NCPPR, urging shareholders to reject it, writing in its proxy statement:
“We consider our employees one of our four key True North stakeholders because they are critical to delivering for our customers, our stockholders, and the communities we serve. To deliver on our mission to power prosperity around the world, we are guided by our company values as we strive to create an inclusive, safe, and respectful workplace where all employees can do the best work of their lives and be empowered to make an impact, learn and grow, and feel connected.”
NCPPR submitted a very similar proposal to Cisco last month, where shareholders of the tech giant voted to reject the proposal by a tally of 99-1 percent.
Trump admin escalates war on corporate DEI despite business imperative
Despite unalloyed messaging from investors, boards and CEOs saying DEI is a business imperative, as supported by data and research, the Trump administration continues to escalate its ideological war against America’s largest corporations, weaponizing the levers of government against businesses.
The Trump administration’s war on DEI is a centerpiece of his second presidency. On Day One, Trump issued an executive order targeting DEI in publicly traded corporations. The order hinged on the specious argument and debunked theory saying merit and diversity initiatives are opposed.
The president and his allies appear to be following the mandate of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s 920-page blueprint for white Christian nationalist regime change, dismantling democracy.
In the Project 2025 chapter about the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), author Adam Candeub incorrectly calls DEI in publicly traded corporations “moral beliefs” (Page 874).
As for his credibility, Candeub called the 2020 election “crooked.” He wrote about the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol: “There was no insurrection. There was a political demonstration to protest a crooked election that got out of control.” Seven deaths were linked directly to the Jan. 6 attack, NPR reported.
After the clean sweep of shareholders voting to defeat anti-DEI shareholder proposals in 2025, the Trump administration launched an attack on shareholder democracy itself.
In December, Trump signed an executive order targeting the proxy advisory industry. The White House misleadingly said that top advisor firms often “advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas.”
Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow told Reuters, “What the administration seems to want is no oversight. They’re trying to take away the property rights of shareholders.”
A 2023 study from As You Sow revealed “a diversity benefit” in publicly traded corporations. Higher percentages of BIPOC (non-White) management are positively correlated with increases in enterprise value growth rate, free cash flow per share, income after tax, long-term growth mean, 10-year price change, mean return on equity (ROE), return on invested capital (ROIC), and 10-year total revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Despite the business imperative of corporate DEI initiatives, the Trump administration continues to weaponize the levers of government against America’s largest corporations.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched investigations into corporate giants including Google and Verizon over companies’ DEI, the Wall Street Journal reported in December.
But investors, board members and CEOs remain steadfast, reiterating the business case for DEI initiatives.
The CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, Rob Davis, told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting last year: diversity and inclusion is “a strategic imperative,” echoing the collective voices of investors, boards and CEOs of companies across multiple industries.
James Loduca, VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Intuit says on the company’s website: “Diversity and inclusion fosters an environment where our employees can bring their authentic selves, do the best work of their lives, and fuel innovation. This leads to better solutions for our customers and ultimately helps us in powering prosperity for all. Our Stronger Together value isn’t just something we live, it’s who we are and is part of Intuit’s DNA.”
This reporting will be updated with the tally of Intuit shareholder vote on the anti-DEI proposal as soon as it becomes available.