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Update: Apple shareholders reject proposal to end DEI efforts
Apple (AAPL+0.25%) shareholders on Tuesday are set to decide whether the iPhone maker should keep its diversity practices, even as other major companies move to scrap or roll back their own.
Ahead of Apple’s annual investors’ meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the National Center for Public Policy Research is expected to submit a proposal requesting the technology company to halt all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The self-described conservative think tank was also behind a similar push at Costco (COST+1.27%), which was overwhelmingly defeated by shareholders.
“It’s clear that DEI poses litigation, reputational and financial risks to companies, and therefore financial risks to their shareholders, and therefore further risks to companies for not abiding by their fiduciary duties,” the group writes in its proposal.
The think tank estimates that “likely over 50,000" workers were potentially discriminated against, without elaborating.
Apple, like Costco, has defended its DEI practices, citing its established compliance program and a desire to create a “culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work.” The company’s latest inclusion report shows that almost two-thirds of its global workforce is male, with a similar breakdown for North America and South America, and that 42% of U.S. employees are white.
Apple said its practices have been instrumental to its success over the years. The tech giant’s market capitalization is $3.7 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world.
“We believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple’s success as making the best products in the world,” Apple said in a statement.
The push against DEI programs comes as President Donald Trump’s administration and conservative activists have taken a hard-line stance against such programs. In January, the president directed federal agencies to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of public groups and attempted to ban contracts for implementing “illegal DEI” programs.
About 20% of companies in the S&P 100 have retreated from DEI commitments, Bloomberg reports. Amazon (AMZN-0.82%), Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL-1.46%), Target (TGT+1.08%), McDonald’s (MCD+0.75%), Walmart (WMT+3.62%), Boeing (BA-1.28%), Walt Disney Co. (DIS-0.85%), and several others have made such commitments, sometimes for fear of a boycott from conservative consumers.