Apple’s board has asked investors not to vote for a proposal that would abandon the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, claiming it has already put in place compliance procedures to handle any legal risks.
Apple has received notification that the National Center for Public Policy Research (a conservative think tank) intends to present a proposal to the company’s Annual General Meeting next month, to stop its DEI initiatives.
The NCPPR highlights the impact of two US Supreme Court judgements on positive actions. The court in Students for Fair Admissions Vs Harvard College ruled that discriminating based on race when it comes to college admissions is a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. In Muldrow vs City of St. Louis the court ruled the Civil Rights Act protects against discriminatory job transfer.
Apple has 80,000 employees. The NCCPR stated that “over 50,000 employees are likely to be victims of this discrimination”. They also said that even if only a small fraction of those employees were successful in their lawsuits, Apple’s costs could reach tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Meta and Amazon are among the other tech companies that have scaled back their DEI programs before Donald Trump returns to the White House, where he has been critical of policies that are “woke”.
McDonald’s has been accused of not taking DEI (Developmentally Enhanced Individuality) seriously, after it announced it would be rolling back its programs.
The board recommends shareholders vote against NCPPR’s proposed. The board’s voting recommendation to investors stated that the proposal was also an attempt to restrict Apple’s ability to manage ordinary business operations, teams and people, and business strategy.
Apple is an equal-opportunity employer. It does not discriminate on the basis of any law. Apple strives to comply with non-discrimination legislation in the US as well as in many other countries where it operates. It monitors, changes and adapts its policies and practices to meet compliance risks.
The proposal is an attempt to micromanage company programmes and policies, by suggesting specific ways of ensuring compliance with the law. Apple’s compliance program is already well-established, so the proposal is not necessary.
