Apple’s board is recommending that shareholders vote against the proposal to end the Reuters diversity program
(Reuters) – Apple (NASDAQ: )’s board of directors has recommended that investors vote against a shareholder proposal to end the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, according to the company’s proxy filing.
The National Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, has submitted a proposal that the company consider eliminating its “Inclusion and Diversity Program, Policies, Departments and Goals.”
The proposal cited recent Supreme Court decisions and argued that DEI poses “litigation, reputational and financial risks to companies” and could make Apple more vulnerable to lawsuits.
Apple responded that it has a well-established compliance program and that the proposal was unnecessary. It added that the shareholder proposal was an inappropriate attempt to micromanage Apple’s business strategy.
“Apple is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment, hiring, training or promotion on any basis protected by law,” the iPhone maker said in the filing. The news was first reported by TechCrunch.
Several major companies, including Meta (NASDAQ: ) and Amazon (NASDAQ: ) are scrapping diversity programs ahead of Republican Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency as conservative opposition to such initiatives grows louder.
Conservative groups have condemned the DEI programs and threatened to sue the companies over them, emboldened by a 2023 US Supreme Court ruling that struck down affirmative action in university admissions decisions.
The changes show how some of America’s biggest businesses have responded to a larger conservative backlash against diversity initiatives, which has multiplied following widespread protests following the police killings of George Floyd and other black Americans in 2020.
