The Apple Chief Tim Cook said his company might have to change his diversity practices as changing the US legal landscape.
His comments followed only a few minutes after most of the shareholders rejected a proposal that called for a technological giant to consider the end of their diversity policy, such as the use of race and gender in employment decisions.
Apple urged shareholders to vote against that measure, which the company claimed was “inappropriately” trying “to” for micro management “with her business.
The company’s review comes because US President Donald Trump has called on to stop the program of diversity, capital and inclusion (dei) in the government and private sector, including Apple.
In a Post on social media The day after the meeting, Trump increased the pressure on the company.
“Apple should get rid of Dei rules, not just adapt to them,” he wrote in a post for all capital. “Dei was a fraud that was very bad for our country. Dei is gone !!!”
Trump’s orders of Dei have ran into legal blockages, but many companies in the US, including big names like Meta, Amazon and Goldman Sachs, have already completed or returned their own policies, referring to legal risks.
Apple’s decision to fight the shareholder’s proposal has collected that tide.
The measures of shareholders who are opposed rarely succeed, so the outcome of voting was expected on Tuesday.
He marked the second high defeat of a shareholder proposal, which targets Dei, after a similar rejection at Costco seller.
However, despite the vote, Mr. Cook admitted on Tuesday that the company may have to change some of its practices.
“As the legal landscape develops about this issue, we may need to make some changes in order to adhere to, but our northern stars of dignity and respect for everyone and our work will never break through that goal,” Mr. Cook said during the question I- Responsible session at the annual meeting of the company shareholder.
He noted that Apple did not use “employment quotas” – a practice that came for some of the fiercest criticisms – while saying that the company’s strength came from a culture in which “people with a variety of origin and perspectives merge.”
“We will continue to work together to create a cultural culture in which everyone can do their best,” he added, saying that the company would remain “committed to the values that have always made us like that.”
The proposal aiming for Apple’s Dei policy was supported by the National Public Policy Research Center, the Conservative Research Center, which also made a proposal in Costco.
He stated that the existence of Apple’s diversity and involvement programs exhibited a “civil, reputational and financial risks”, pointing to the wider corporate withdrawal and Noticing that recent lawsuits have facilitated the workers for discrimination.
Stefan Padfield of the Freedom Company project, which made a proposal at a meeting on Tuesday, said the risks for Apple increased after Trump’s administration recently ordered staff to explore Dei in the private sector.
“The shift of the vibra is clear,” he said. “Dei is out there and she is merit.”
Apple’s decision to withdraw against the shareholder’s proposal, at the same time opening the door to change his policy, is an effort to meet both sides of the fight, said Angela Jackson, a senior project advisor to the Harvard University and the Author’s Book, Win-Win work.
But she warned that Apple had left “defense playing”. She said she wanted to see the company to run a stronger business case for programs.
“They made the right moves. One step that could go on … It’s really to say,” Yes, these are our values, we believe it is right to do it, but it’s also an economic imperative. “
The Fighting of Dei in the United States has asked questions about whether such policies will face similar challenges in other countries.
Catherine Howarth, Executive Director of Responsible Investment Charity Shareaction, said she thought she was an Apple – a global company facing consumers – gave a bet that the advantages of going against the shareholder’s proposal exceeded the risks.
“It is not popular with consumer and it is not popular with employees to leave what they are allegedly in this area until recently,” she said.
“They think it would have been very bad – and that would – with their global consumer base.”
The shareholders also rejected proposals that would require Apple to report on his privacy practices AI, charity and policies to combat the abuse of sex sex.
They supported the members of the Committee supported by the company, as well as its executive fee, including the salary package for Mr. Cook worth more than $ 74 million.
