“Publishing demographic data in SEC filings is different than publishing the same data via other avenues,” says Deb Lifshey, managing director at Pearl Meyer. “Some companies may worry that if they put it in [a filing] one year and take it out the next, people will notice—putting pressure on companies to explain why figures went down.”

“At the end of the day, CEOs end up getting rewarded for how they respond to external occurrences such as COVID-19,” said Jannice Koors Senior Managing Director and Western Region President of Pearl Meyer.

At certain points during the transaction, the valuation is liable to change significantly, so using outdated paperwork to calculate stock awards could be disastrous, said Robert James, a principal at Pearl Meyer.

“Linking executive pay to ESG initiatives isn’t very common yet, but with mounting pressure from shareholders and the general public, that will likely change over time,” said Jannice Koors Senior Managing Director and Western Region President of Pearl Meyer.

One study from advisory firm Pearl Meyer found that three in four companies, on average, assign job titles to their staff, but a quarter also give them “latitude in determining their external or working title."

“There has been a true cultural shift,” Aalap Shah, managing director at Pearl Meyer told Fortune. Companies’ actions on diversity get plenty of public scrutiny, which could fuel a virtuous cycle of adoption of concrete targets.