ESG+ Newsletter – 12 March 2026

US companies fall behind on gender progress 

US companies are declining in global gender equality rankings, with only seven making the top 100 in 2026, down from 17 in 2023, according to diversity data provider Equileap. American businesses lag behind Europe in gender representation, with women holding just 32% of board positions compared to 46% in France and 44% in the UK. The US ranks among the lowest developed economies for gender equality, alongside Japan and Israel.   

Unlike the EU, which mandates gender pay gap reporting and has board quotas, the US lacks federal requirements, making progress difficult to track. The tech sector particularly struggles, with women holding only 35% of tech jobs. Emerging technologies like AI may worsen pay gaps, as women are less likely to pursue roles requiring new tech skills that command higher salaries. Additionally, AI systems risk embedding existing gender biases in recruitment and other sectors, while regulators increasingly scrutinize tech platforms for women’s safety concerns.  

As US companies retreat from diversity commitments and fall behind global competitors in gender equality rankings, an investment opportunity emerges for those who recognise that firms maintaining inclusive cultures are undervalued by markets, as explained in the article below.   

Gender-inclusive company cultures signal undervalued performance   

Continuing on the issue of gender, despite recent political backlash against diversity initiatives, particularly in the US, empirical evidence continues to link gender diversity with strong corporate financial performance. The conversation has evolved beyond mere representation to focus on whether corporate cultures enable diverse perspectives to translate into action and contribute meaningfully to innovation and decision-making.  

Progress on gender diversity is under threat, with US companies scaling back DEI programmes, the gender pay gap widening for two consecutive years, and female board appointments dropping to decade lows. However, this creates opportunities for data-driven investors to identify undervalued assets.  

Research from IMPAX Asset Management shows companies in the top quartile for women in leadership have significantly outperformed their peers. Increasingly, cultural indicators—such as pay gap transparency, talent development, and human capital management—are stronger performance predictors than representation metrics alone. IMPAX argues this backlash reinforces rather than undermines the investment case, as companies maintaining inclusive cultures will generate long-term value while being undervalued by markets focused on short-term political narratives.   

NZAM relaunches with more flexible commitments  

More than 250 asset managers have backed the relaunch of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM), following its suspension of activities in January last year, Reuters reports. The suspension followed a significant amount of external “ anti-ESG” pressure from political actors in the US, most notably President Trump. The 250 figure is down on the 325 peak, which the NZAM reached prior to its suspension. Whilst notable names are part of this group, such as UBS Asset Management, AMundi, and BNP Paribas Asset Management. There are still major omissions, with BlackRock, Vanguard, and JP Morgan Asset Management declining to return. In addition, there is a stark regional diversion, with only 12 of the 250 current backers being US-based. The requirements of signatories have also been cut back, with the commitment to reach Net Zero by 2050 dropped, as well as any interim targets by 2030. The cuts represent a significant step back from previously agreed-upon goals, and as put by Sloane Ortel, Chief Investment Officer at Ethical Capital, not organising towards a specific goal but rather “ in a general direction”. While this sentiment has been shared by others, there is a hope that the reduced stringency of commitments will attract a greater array of signatories, particularly those from outside of Europe. This may, in turn, encourage the reintegration of ESG considerations into mainstream discourse within the financial sector, even among investors who are not primarily focused on climate issues. Such a shift is essential for effectively addressing the growing climate risks that are becoming more evident each day.

New York pension fund to renew push for banks to report energy financing

Sticking with financial services, major US-based banks are facing increased pressure to improve their disclosure of the ratio of financing they provide to fossil fuels versus low-carbon alternatives, also known as the Energy Supply Ratio (ESR). According to a recent article from Environmental Finance, the New York City Comptroller has “resubmitted [its] clean energy finance ratio proposals to banks that [they] had done [in] prior years,’ according to Michael Garland,” New York City’s assistant comptroller and head of corporate governance and responsible investment in the asset management division. The New York City Comptroller is the investment advisor to NYC’s five pension funds, including the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) which, has c. US$97bn in AUM. Garland said that the Comptroller’s office was “in dialogue” with some of the banks, and expects its ESR proposals to go to a vote if they do not reach agreements. While support for environmental proposals declined in the 2025 proxy season, JPMorgan, Citigroup, the Royal Bank of Canada, BNP Paribas, and Scotiabank have all committed to disclosing their ESR,  ratcheting up the pressure for disclosure on other major global banks.  

SEC had ‘no alternative’ to shareholder proposal changes, Atkins says  

At the Council of Institutional Investors’ Spring Conference this week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said that the agency “didn’t have any alternative” to changing its Rule 14a-8 no-action letter process for companies seeking to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy statements. In last week’s ESG+ newsletter, we highlighted the uncertainty and heightened litigation risk that the rule change imposed on corporate issuers. Per a recent article from Responsible Investor, Atkins provided more clarity on the rule change, saying the agency prioritised processing a backlog of time-sensitive registration statements for prospective listings created by the US government shutdown last fall. Atkins also acknowledged the lawsuits against companies that have used this new process to exclude proposals, and said the SEC will use the 2026 proxy season as a benchmark for their future approach on this issue. As such, companies can expect persistent uncertainty and likely increased litigation around the exclusion of shareholder proposals through the 2026 proxy season.   

Nature loss drives rising bond yields   

“Nature degradation is no longer just an environmental issue … it is a clear fiscal issue, it’s an economic issue, and … it is a financial stability issue as well” commented Alexander Wollenweber, lead author of new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Following a study on 53 advanced and emerging economies between 2000 and 2020, researchers at Oxford and LSE found that ecosystem decline led to rising bond yields, which are strongly tied to higher interest rates. Research also suggests that there is a greater impact for shorter maturities at the two- and five- year end of the yield curve than for longer-dated, 10-year debt. Emerging markets were found to be hit hardest, where nature loss had a much bigger effect on their borrowing costs. Commenting on the findings, Bloomberg  notes that with sovereign debt rising, how much a country can absorb directly impacts its ability to enact policy, build infrastructure, and adapt to climate change. Whilst economic risk from climate change differs from the risk of damage to the natural world, this study demonstrates how they are strongly intertwined, calling for more research into the economic impacts of nature degradation with nature loss accelerating at an alarming rate.   

ICYMI 

• UK asset owners continue to see stewardship as both effective and financially meaningful, despite perceptions of an ESG backlash. According to IPE, a survey of 100 investors by Hymans Robertson found that 42% expect stewardship activities to add between 1% and 3% a year to financial outcomes.  
• Denmark has launched its first domestic flight route powered by sustainable aviation fuel, marking a practical step in the country’s effort to decarbonise aviation while relying on fuels compatible with existing aircraft and airport infrastructure, according to ESG News.