Summary
Costco’s board rejected a shareholder proposal to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, arguing they foster respect, innovation, and cultural alignment with customers and employees.
Shareholders claimed DEI could lead to lawsuits citing “illegal discrimination” against white, Asian, male, or straight employees, referencing legal cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Costco countered that its DEI efforts comply with the law and enhance its culture, rejecting claims of legal risk.
The proposal will be voted on at Costco’s January 23 shareholder meeting.
Doubt it. Costco as a corporation has been very employee-friendly for a long time. I’ve heard Costco employees call the job a career killer because many who have aspirations for another career after they finish their degree (I’ve heard they have good education programs too) wind up working for Costco corporate because the pay and benefits are so good and Costco prefers to promote from within when possible.
How would that be a career killer? That’s a career.
Kills the career they intended to have before working at Costco
But it’s not necessarily the career you set out to have.
Nowadays, if you set out to have a specific career and aren’t willing to adjust, you’re likely going to be missing out on opportunities.
I graduated university in 2011, and besides a few people who went on to develop for FAANG and have been there since, almost nobody is where they expected at graduation. Many are very successful, but in very different ways than they could have foreseen: The engineer who’s now the CFO of a charity; the English major who became an AI developer; the golf pro who became a sales rep and moved up from there in a billion dollar company.
There’s so many other similar stories just in the people I know. In the economy now, you have to roll with the punches and carve your own path, some which didn’t exist a decade ago.
Definitely not trying to say it’s a bad thing. We need more businesses like Costco.
Golden Handcuffs