Best Buy, J&J, Lazard Are Among Companies Downplaying DEI Goals

A growing number of America’s biggest companies are revising diversity metrics for executive pay, a possible sign that conservative-led attacks on DEI are weighing more heavily on corporate culture.

A review of about 1,200 companies found that the proportion of corporations using a diversity, equity and inclusion metric to set compensation has dropped to 28% from closer to 33% in 2023, according to an analysis of regulatory filings by Farient Advisors. So far this year, 56 companies, including Best Buy Co., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, removed or de-emphasized DEI when setting executive pay, ...