Marcela I. Pinilla
Director of Sustainable Investing
Zevin Asset Management continues to be an active voice in corporate engagement and in joining public statements of solidarity with human rights groups and other stakeholders. At this moment in history, it is critical that we persist in raising issues directly with corporate executives and boards of directors.
We stepped up to voice the concerns of human rights advocates, employees, and investors at Alphabet’s annual shareholder meeting, focusing on the risks of AI use in conflict zones. We are also shedding light on contracted data workers as we engage in dialogue with Microsoft and Accenture. Additionally, we wrote to Apple to raise investor concerns about recent attacks on shareholder rights by the Business Roundtable (BRT), where Apple is a prominent member, and urged the company to clarify its position and speak out against the BRT’s recommendations. We also joined several statements in solidarity with those standing up for working women and marginalized groups.
Reporting from Proxy Season 2025
During the 2025 proxy season, shareholder proposals addressing inclusiveness, worker rights, and human rights declined—likely due to mounting political pressure. This retreat threatens progress toward equitable workforce representation and economic opportunity, particularly when management oversight diminishes. For active investors like Zevin Asset Management, continued advocacy is essential—especially given the rising risks associated with technology companies whose products are used for surveillance and censorship both domestically and internationally.
Alphabet exemplifies this concern. Despite its public commitments to human rights, the company continues to fall short in governance and disclosure—particularly in conflict zones where its technologies may facilitate violations of international humanitarian law. As we noted in our memo to shareholders, heightened human rights risks should be met with robust due diligence to protect people, companies, and shareholders alike. If companies claim alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, investors must be able to evaluate the effectiveness of those policies.
Alphabet’s dual-class share structure skewed voting outcomes—resulting in only 4.5 percent support overall, or 12 percent among outside shareholders. In our view, this low support reflects a broader chilling effect caused by political and institutional pressures that inhibit investor action.
Despite these challenges, it’s encouraging to see that the bottom has not fallen out on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In Q1, Zevin Asset Management sent letters to all our companies with U.S. operations to understand how they are responding to pressure to shut down DEI initiatives. To date, over 30 percent have responded, many reaffirming their commitment to DEI as a workplace priority.
The Human in the Machine: Owning Our Technology
Behind the polished interfaces of platforms like YouTube and TikTok lies an invisible workforce of human moderators tasked with filtering millions of pieces of user-generated content—including cruel, violent, and sexually explicit material—so that users can engage with these platforms safely.
As online content continues to surge, companies increasingly outsource moderation work to poorly paid and tenuously employed workers, often in countries such as Colombia, Ghana, and Kenya. This quarter, we engaged Microsoft and Accenture to push for greater transparency and clear evidence of the effectiveness of their labor protection policies.
Partnering with investor members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, we relayed grievances reported by content moderators in six countries—describing burnout, PTSD, and lasting psychological harm.
We urged both companies to enforce labor standards, ensure freedom of association, and engage directly with workers and suppliers. As dialogue continues, we are encouraged by a new global initiative led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to develop binding global standards on decent work in the “platform economy,” or gig work. Meanwhile, content moderators themselves are organizing and calling on tech giants—including TikTok, Meta, Alphabet, and OpenAI—to adopt stronger mental health protections across their supply chains.
Who Gets a Say in Corporate Governance?
We believe that continued engagement between companies and investors promotes a shared interest in achieving higher standards of transparency and accountability. However, a new paper by the Business Roundtable (BRT) calls for reforms that would erode shareholder rights to engage companies through the proxy process and make filing resolutions virtually impossible.
We recently wrote to Apple, a BRT member, to express concern over these attacks on shareholder rights and to encourage the company to publicly support constructive engagement on social, environmental, and governance issues.
It’s not surprising that the BRT has set its sights on shareholder rights, as research shows that the number of shareholder proposals effectively captures investor dissatisfaction. One study found that negative public sentiment about financial, governance, environmental, or social issues is associated with a rise in shareholder proposals. Furthermore, these actions have real consequences: there is a positive relationship between the number of proposals and executive turnover, including CEOs.
Standing in Solidarity with Communities Targeted by the Trump Administration’s Racist Entry Ban
Zevin Asset Management joined over 260 organizations in opposing the Trump Administration’s racist 2025 entry ban and supporting the communities it targets. The entry ban is the latest in a series of harmful actions affecting Black and Brown immigrants and their families, both in the United States and across the Global South.
We also joined the National Partnership for Women and Families in signing An Open Letter to Working Women, also published as an ad in The New York Times. We stand with those resisting coordinated attacks on DEI—knowing that these efforts are part of a larger assault on working women. Extremist politicians and corporate billionaires may claim they are fighting “illegal DEI,” but we know the truth: this is manufactured hysteria aimed at undermining equity for all women in the workplace.
Thank you for reading and sharing. For more on this work and our broader advocacy, visit our website, and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. And please don’t hesitate to contact Marcela Pinilla, Zevin Asset Management’s director of sustainable investing, at marcela@zevin.com with your questions, thoughts, and suggestions.
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