As ESG investing continues to stir debate among shareholders, Vanguard’s latest proxy voting data reveals a powerful insight: younger and female investors are significantly more inclined to support ESG-focused voting policies. The data, drawn from Vanguard’s expanding Investor Choice pilot program, shows a clear divergence in voting behaviour based on age and gender, highlighting how values-driven investing continues to gain traction especially among newer generations of investors.

ESG Still Commands Loyalty Among Younger Investors

Although overall adoption of ESG-aligned proxy voting has declined slightly in 2025, Vanguard’s data points to a growing intensity of support from younger investors. Among participants under the age of 45, 42 percent chose the ESG-focused Glass Lewis policy, which advocates for improved environmental, social, and governance disclosures and risk mitigation. This figure contrasts starkly with just 17 percent of investors aged 45 and older, indicating a generational shift in how proxy votes are viewed as tools for driving corporate accountability.

Even with the addition of new policy options this year, ESG emerged as the top preference for younger investors, far ahead of the next most-selected option, Vanguard’s in-house stewardship policy, which garnered only 27 percent of selections in that age group.

Gender Preferences Mirror Generational Trends

Gender also appears to play a significant role in ESG policy adoption. Vanguard reported that 28 percent of female investors opted for the ESG voting policy, compared with just 16 percent of male investors. Men, by contrast, showed a strong preference for the newly introduced Egan-Jones Wealth-Focused Policy, which explicitly rejects ESG-related shareholder proposals unless they demonstrate a direct contribution to corporate revenue. Twenty-six percent of male participants chose that policy, compared with only 14 percent of women.

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This divergence suggests that perspectives on the purpose of investing whether purely financial or also values-aligned continue to influence voting behaviour in measurable ways. For many women and younger investors, ESG issues are not just abstract risks; they represent real-world concerns tied to corporate responsibility and long-term resilience.

Vanguard Expands Pilot to $1 Trillion in Assets

The Investor Choice pilot, which was first launched in 2023, is Vanguard’s answer to rising demand for shareholder voting rights among retail investors. Initially limited in scope, the program has since been broadened significantly, now encompassing 12 equity index funds and representing over $1 trillion in assets under management. Participation more than doubled in 2025, with over 82,000 investors making active selections, reflecting growing appetite for personalized stewardship.

Participants are offered a menu of voting policies to select from. These include the Company Board-Aligned Policy, which simply supports company board recommendations; the Glass Lewis ESG Policy, which emphasizes ESG risks and disclosures; Vanguard’s default in-house stewardship policy; and the Mirror Voting Policy, which reflects how the broader shareholder base votes. The addition of the Egan-Jones policy this year brought a more financially purist option to the table, catering to those who reject ESG considerations outright unless linked to clear economic returns.

Market Signals and Political Undercurrents

While the overall percentage of investors selecting the ESG policy dipped slightly from 24 percent to 18 percent in 2025, the underlying story is more nuanced. As investor choice expands and policy options become more granular, the spread of preferences is expected. What stands out is not just the persistence of ESG support but its concentration among those shaping the future of investing millennials, Gen Z, and women.

This data lands amid growing political scrutiny of ESG investing, particularly in the United States, where ESG frameworks have been subject to ideological backlash. However, the fact that younger investors continue to gravitate toward ESG in greater numbers may indicate that the long-term momentum is still intact, even if short-term sentiment is mixed.

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Aligning Portfolios with Purpose

Vanguard’s Global Head of Investment Stewardship, John Galloway, framed the results as a milestone in democratizing investor voice.

“Investor Choice carries forward that legacy by ensuring that investors and their fiduciaries can more directly align their investment portfolios with their goals and preferences,” he said. “The results from this proxy season reinforce that investor interest in proxy voting choice continues to grow.”

As the data show, those preferences are far from uniform. But they do reflect a growing demand for flexibility, transparency, and alignment between financial stewardship and personal values. Whether ESG voting will remain the dominant trend in years to come remains to be seen. For now, however, younger and female investors are making it clear that they view ESG not as a distraction, but as a critical lens for long-term investment.

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