Nike shareholders overwhelmingly reject challenge to its LGBTQ+ support

Nike shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that questioned the sportswear giant’s support for LGBTQ+ organisations and transgender inclusion. The proposal was put to shareholders at Nike’s annual meeting earlier this month, with Nike recommending that investors vote against it.

The proposal raised concerns about the company’s relationship with LGBTQ+ organisation the Human Rights Campaign and questioned some of Nike’s policies supporting transgender inclusion. It asked the company to carry out an additional review examining potential risks connected with its charitable support.

The result was overwhelming, with more than 1.07 billion votes cast against the proposal compared with just 7.36 million in favour. Less than one per cent of the votes cast supported it.

Nike argued that it already reviews the organisations it works with and that an additional report was unnecessary. Shareholders ultimately rejected the proposal by a substantial margin, meaning the company is not required to carry out the requested review.

Nike has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ communities through its BeTrue initiative, which dates back to 2012. The programme has included Pride collections, community partnerships and projects designed to make participation in sport more inclusive.

In the UK, Nike has worked with Not A Phase, a trans-led charity supporting trans+ adults through community programmes focused on areas including fitness and wellbeing. Nike has also supported LGBTQ+ organisations and projects in other countries through its wider BeTrue work.

The shareholder proposal did not directly ask Nike to end BeTrue, so the vote should not be presented as shareholders deciding whether the programme itself should survive. Instead, shareholders were deciding whether Nike should be required to conduct an additional review after concerns were raised about its LGBTQ+ partnerships and transgender inclusion policies.

With the proposal rejected, Nike’s existing approach to its LGBTQ+ work remains unchanged. The result also shows that the attempt to require additional scrutiny attracted support from only a very small proportion of the shareholders who voted.

Image credits: Nike