What's Happening

By Sister Judy Byron, OP, Portfolio Advisory Board Member and 
Maxwell Homans, Shareholder Advocacy Associate for Mercy Investments

February 18, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – Beginning in 2024, several prominent companies announced that they are ending or modifying their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs aimed at hiring and supporting a more diverse workforce and supplier base. These announcements followed recent legal decisions regarding affirmative action programs, anti-DEI campaign rhetoric in the recent election cycle, and a flurry of anti-DEI shareholder proposals at companies in recent proxy seasons. 

Ford Motor Company was among the first to announce changes in its DEI programs, citing an “external and legal environment related to political and social issues [that] continues to evolve.” The Portfolio Advisory Board joined other investors in filing a shareholder proposal requesting that the company disclose analysis that the company undertook before making changes to its DEI policies and practices.
 
Ford’s announced changes included no longer participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) survey on corporate practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) employees; not linking compensation to diversity goals; and changing the focus of employee resource groups. 

In a subsequent meeting with Ford, the company assured investors that its commitment to diversity and inclusion is unwavering. The company said it has not put out a public clarification of its position because it wants to avoid feeding the media narrative grouping it with DEI rollbacks, but it immediately reached out to its largest investors to inform them of its continued commitment to DEI. 

Speaking with Ford to hear firsthand why the changes were made and how it plans to continue fostering a working environment based on belonging and individual potential was helpful. However, we anticipate that the proposal will remain on the proxy ballot and hope that Ford will use the opportunity to explain its decision publicly.

Walmart announced in December that it will be rolling back some of its DEI initiatives and modifying its DEI language while continuing to encourage “a sense of belonging” for its employees, customers, and suppliers. PAB and other investors have engaged with Walmart for more than 30 years, including numerous dialogues and proposals that flagged the business and financial risks to Walmart associated with systemic racism, discrimination, and inequity as well as the significant benefits of advancing DEI. 

On January 15, the PAB and other Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) investors sent an Investor Statement to CEO Doug McMillon and issued a press release expressing our deep disappointment regarding Walmart’s recent announcement about its DEI commitments. Subsequently, investors met with Walmart about its DEI program changes and we plan to continue engaging the company on that issue.

Early executive orders from the new Trump Administration have fueled fears that companies could come under federal investigation for their DEI programs and policies, and more companies, such as Target, have recently announced changes in their programs. We anticipate that urging companies to continue to prioritize DEI will be a significant focus for our engagements with U.S. companies for some time to come.
 

February 3, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – Ever since the Dominican Sisters of the Our Lady of Remedies Congregation, based in Pampanga, the Philippines, merged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters in November 2011, the Sisters in both countries have sought ways to get to know one another and to experience one another’s culture and country. Recently, an exchange was initiated in which Sister Nancy Jurecki, OP, was to spend about eight months in the Philippines and Sister Abegail Santos, OP, was to spend about three months in the United States. Below is Sister Abegail’s story.

Thanksgiving, snow, U.S. football – these are some novelties that Sister Abegail Santos, OP, has experienced since she came to the United States on November 25, 2024, to integrate with Adrian Dominican Sisters at the Motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan, and in Chicago. She reflected on her experiences, ways of being involved at the Motherhouse, and love for the Sisters as she prepared to return to the Philippines on February 19, 2025.

During her time in Adrian, Sister Abegail has been living in community in the Regina Residence with Sisters Lorraine Brennan, OP, and Victoria Dalesandro, OP. The small community has helped her to feel at home, making sure among other things that she has rice, a staple in the Philippines. 

Back home in Mining, Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines, Sister Abegail ministers as the treasurer and auditor of the Dominican School of Angeles City. She has used those skills in volunteer work with the Motherhouse’s Finance Office. She has also expanded her skills, serving as sacristan during Mass and helping the Resident Services Department present activities for the resident Sisters. “When they have activities like a birthday celebration, I join the staff in serving the Sisters,” she said. “I really appreciate being with the Sisters, knowing them a little bit. I’m so grateful for that.”

Sister Abegail also joins the Sisters in daily prayer – Mass in St. Catherine Chapel and the Divine Office, Dominican Praise, and the rosary in a small group every afternoon in the Regina Residence Hall. “What I like and really appreciate with our Rosary is, we pray it bilingually,” she said. “When it’s my turn to lead the mysteries, I pray in my dialect [Kapampangan] and they respond in English.” Other Sisters lead the rosary in Spanish and German.  

Highlights of her time in Adrian have included the Christmas liturgy. “It was sad missing my family and my Sisters [in the Philippines], but the Liturgy was so beautiful” in Adrian, she said. She particularly appreciated events she had never experienced in her home country: from Thanksgiving to snow. “We don’t have the experience of winter in the Philippines,” she said. “The snow made me thrilled. During my first snow experience, I took a picture and sent it to my family.”

Sister Abegail has also been exposed to a U.S. ritual – watching football. “I watch it with the Sisters and am starting to learn about it,” she said.

Sister Abegail has also taken the opportunity to visit other parts of the United States. Before arriving in Adrian, she spent time with family in Haywood, California. She also traveled to Chicago with Sisters Kathleen Nolan, OP, and Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, General Councilor who is also from the Philippines, to visit Sisters Mary Priniski, OP, and Mary Soher, OP.

“Sister Kathy toured us around the City of Chicago, particularly Navy Pier,” Sister Abegail recalled. “When we were there, it was raining, but we were able to see the city, the downtown. It’s a big place, with a lot of beautiful buildings.” 

Sister Abegail said her greatest challenge in the United States has been the difference in language. Although she speaks English well, it is not her first language. “You can’t spontaneously express yourself, what’s on your mind” in English, she said. “When I don’t know how to say something, I just keep quiet. It’s not as spontaneous as speaking in your own language.” She is grateful for the time she can spend with Sister Bless, speaking in her dialect, she said.

Still, Sister Abegail said, she has been inspired by the Sisters at the Motherhouse. “I love our liturgy – the Sisters sharing and preaching,” as well as the remembrances of the Sisters who have died. “They were so inspiring,” she said. “You want to be good and kind and holy. I love how our Sisters take care of our [elder] Sisters, and also the staff – so kind with the Sisters.”
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Abegail Santos, OP, serving as acolyte and sacristan, accepts a ciborium of hosts from Sister Lenore Boivin, OP, after Communion during the 2024 Christmas Liturgy at St. Catherine Chapel at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse.