ISS ends diversity considerations for US boardrooms, citing Trump orders

Top proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services said on Tuesday it will no longer consider the gender, racial or ethnic diversity of U.S. company boards when making its voting recommendations.

In a statement posted on its website, ISS cited how in the U.S. "there recently has been increased attention on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, including the issuance last month of Presidential Executive Orders on DEI."

Tuesday's change by the influential proxy adviser marks a major step in how executives and investors react to efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to end DEI considerations in government and business.


Boardrooms across the S&P 500 have slowly grown more representative since the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, but gains for women and minorities lately have slowed as companies reach targets and look at other recruiting priorities.

Top investors BlackRock and Vanguard have already reduced the importance of diversity considerations in their proxy votes. BlackRock, for instance, recently eliminated a 30% diversity target for boards from late 2021, noting that 98% of S&P 500 boardrooms already meet that goal.

ISS said the change will apply both to its benchmark policy and to its specialty policies such as those used by ESG funds, for reports published after February 25.

It will continue to evaluate other director considerations including independence, accountability and responsiveness, ISS said.

ISS competitor Glass Lewis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, a representative said it "would reassess our approach if regulatory or legislative changes were to impact corporate issuers and investors."