Finally, shareholder activists have attempted to attack corporate DEI programs through the shareholder proposal process. The 2023 proxy season saw a significant increase in the number of so-called anti-ESG proposals submitted for annual meetings, including shareholder proposals opposing DEI initiatives. Sometimes the resolution language seemed facially neutral or supportive of a DEI initiative such as conducting a racial equity/civil rights audit or assessing the effectiveness of DEI programs, but the proponent identity or supporting language in the proxy statement belied a hostility to the applicable DEI program or initiative or implied that it was discriminatory or unjustified—at least in the view of a broad swath of investors and observers. DEI Shareholder Proposals in 2023 Below, we outline some of the more common DEI-related shareholder proposals from the 2023 proxy season. The data used in our analysis was provided by Proxy Analytics.