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Investors press Nike to drop gender-transition surgery coverage for minors
Inspire Investing, which oversees $5.4 billion, plans to file a shareholder proposal at Nike’s annual meeting and argues coverage could trigger legal trouble and reputational damage as more than half of US states ban gender-affirming care for minors.
A group of conservative investors is pressuring companies to stop covering gender-transition surgery for minors through employee health plans, and Nike Inc. is the latest target, according to Insurance Journal.
Inspire Investing, which oversees $5.4 billion, is leading a campaign that involves Southern Baptists and the state of Nebraska and will present a shareholder proposal at Nike’s annual meeting on Tuesday. The group says offering coverage for gender-related surgery for minors could expose companies to legal risk and reputational harm, pointing to bans on gender-affirming care for minors in more than half of US states.
The campaign includes an audio recording shared with Bloomberg in which a former college soccer player argues Nike faces legal risk by supporting transgender surgery for minors. Inspire said it has already pressed Walmart Inc. and Charles Schwab Corp. to affirm they do not cover the surgeries for minors.
Nike is urging shareholders to reject the proposal and, when asked for comment, referred to its proxy statement stating its existing policies are already in the best interests of investors. The pressure arrives as the company faces an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation of its DEI practices, with the article noting Nike’s shares recently hit a 12-year low and are on pace for their worst year since 1993.