Apple shareholders vote against pressure to scrap diversity policies

Apple’s shareholders objected to a push by Apple to appoint a technology trendsetter to support President Donald Trump’s plan to axe corporate initiatives aimed at diversifying the workforce.

The&nbsp, proposal&nbsp, drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research —&nbsp, a self-described conservative think tank — urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives currently in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

Apple announced that shareholders had rejected the anti-DEI proposal without making the vote count public. A regulatory filing will contain the preliminary findings later on Tuesday.

Despite Trump asking the US Department of Justice to investigate whether these kinds of programs have discriminated against some employees whose races or genders don’t fit the initiative’s objectives, the outcome confirmed Apple management’s decision to support its diversity commitment.

However, since his first year in office, Apple CEO Tim Cook has remained cordial with Trump, which has so far helped the company avoid Chinese-made iPhone tariffs. After Cook and Trump met last week, Apple on Monday announced&nbsp, it will invest $500bn in the US&nbsp, and create 20, 000 more jobs during the next five years — a commitment applauded by the president.

Tuesday’s shareholder vote came a month after the same group presented&nbsp, a similar proposal during Costco’s annual meeting, &nbsp, only to have it overwhelmingly rejected.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, Stefan Padfield, the executive director of the think tank’s Free Enterprise Project, who argued that “forced diversity is bad for business,” wasn’t wrong to confront Apple about its DEI program in a pre-recorded presentation.

In the presentation, Padfield attacked Apple’s diversity commitments for being out of line with recent court rulings and said the programmes expose the Cupertino, California, company to an onslaught of potential lawsuits for alleged discrimination. He cited the Trump administration as one of Apple’s potential legal adversaries.

“The vibe shift is clear: DEI is out and merit is in”, Padfield said in the presentation.

“Culture of belonging”

Last week, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a federal lawsuit against Target, alleging that the retailer’s recently reduced DEI program had alienated many customers and had harmed shareholder value.

Apple asserts that encouraging a diverse workforce makes business sense, much like Costco does.

Cook acknowledged that Apple may need to make some adjustments to its diversity policy “as the legal landscape changes,” despite making an effort to maintain a culture that has helped the business reach its $3.7 trillion current market value, which is higher than any other business in the world.

“We will continue to create a culture of belonging”, Cook told shareholders during the meeting.

In its most recent diversity and inclusion report released in 2022, Apple disclosed that nearly three-fourths of its global workforce was made up of white and Asian workers. The majority of its workers were men, roughly two-thirds.