Apple shareholders reject ban on diversity programs

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Shareholders of Apple voted Tuesday against dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, rebuffing a conservative think tank’s recommendation.

The vote at the company’s annual meeting was highly anticipated, as many major companies have dissolved their diversity programs in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive orders forcing federal government agencies to abolish DEI programs.

But Apple did not acquiesce. Before the vote, Apple shareholders faced a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which said recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have raised significant legal concerns about DEI programs, including an uptick in DEI-related lawsuits that led to companies scaling back or dissolving the initiatives. It contended that Apple’s DEI platform could make the company vulnerable to litigation from workers. The final tally of the vote was not disclosed.

Apple responded to the proposal in its opposition statement by saying it was “unnecessary as Apple already has a well-established compliance program and the proposal inappropriately attempts to restrict Apple’s ability to manage its own ordinary business operations, people and teams, and business strategies.”

The same conservative group asked Costco Wholesale to report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives. The membership-only retailer’s shareholders voted strongly against the proposal at a meeting in January, with 98% of shareholders striking it down.

“We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members every day,” Costco Chairman Hamilton Tony James said. “It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers.”

Walmart, Target, Chevrolet, Exxon, McDonald’s and others have reshaped or dismantled their DEI programs. Other companies have also not been so steadfast in their DEI commitment. Goldman Sachs, for example, no longer requires companies it takes public to have a minimum of two diverse board members.

Silicon Valley companies including Meta and Google have drastically scaled back their DEI programs.

Apple’s shareholders apparently had similar sentiments, based on Tuesday’s vote, which supported the recommendation of the Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm that urged investors to vote against wiping out the company’s DEI policies