The proposal urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have recently rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Apple shareholders have rejected an attempt to pressure the tech giant into aligning with President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate corporate programs aimed at diversifying the workforce.
The proposal, drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research—a self-described conservative think tank—urged Apple to follow a series of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives currently under scrutiny by the Trump administration.
After a brief presentation on the anti-DEI proposal, Apple announced that shareholders had rejected it, though the company did not disclose the vote tally. Preliminary results will be detailed in a regulatory filing later on Tuesday.
The outcome validated Apple management’s decision to stand by its diversity commitments, despite Trump’s call for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether such programs discriminate against employees whose race or gender do not align with the initiatives’ goals.
However, Apple CEO Tim Cook has maintained a cordial relationship with Trump since his first term, an alliance that has so far helped the company avoid tariffs on iPhones manufactured in China. Following a meeting between Cook and Trump last week, Apple announced on Monday that it would invest $500 billion in the U.S. and create 20,000 new jobs over the next five years—a commitment praised by the president.
Tuesday’s shareholder vote came one month after the same group presented a similar proposal at Costco’s annual meeting, where it was overwhelmingly rejected.
That setback did not deter the National Center for Public Policy Research from challenging Apple’s DEI program. In a pre-recorded presentation, Stefan Padfield, executive director of the think tank’s Free Enterprise Project, argued that “forced diversity is bad for business.”
During the presentation, Padfield criticized Apple’s diversity commitments as inconsistent with recent court rulings, claiming the programs expose the Cupertino-based company to potential lawsuits for alleged discrimination. He cited the Trump administration as a potential legal adversary for Apple.
“The vibe shift is clear: DEI is out, and merit is in,” Padfield stated in the presentation.
‘Culture of Belonging’
The prospect of legal challenges was highlighted last week when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a federal lawsuit against Target, alleging that the retailer’s recently scaled-back DEI program alienated consumers and hurt sales, to the detriment of shareholders.
Like Costco, Apple argues that fostering a diverse workforce is good for business.
However, Cook acknowledged that Apple might need to adjust its diversity program “as the legal landscape changes” while continuing to maintain a culture that has helped the company achieve its current market value of $3.7 trillion—the highest of any business in the world.
“We will continue to create a culture of belonging,” Cook told shareholders during the meeting.
In its 2022 diversity and inclusion report, Apple revealed that nearly three-fourths of its global workforce consisted of white and Asian employees, while nearly two-thirds were men.
Other major tech companies have long reported similar workforce demographics, particularly in high-paid engineering roles, a trend that has spurred the industry’s largely unsuccessful efforts to diversify.
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