The tech giant has said that inclusion initiatives make good business sense, although a wave of firms are now rolling back diversity pushes.
Apple shareholders on Tuesday are expected to reject an attempt to pressure the technology trendsetter into scrapping its corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce.
The proposal drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a self-described conservative think tank, urges Apple to follow several high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump.
It comes a month after the same group presented a similar proposal during an annual meeting held by Costco, a multinational bulk-buy retailer. The motion was overwhelmingly rejected.
A similar outcome is expected during Apple’s annual meeting despite the objections of critics.
As is the case for Costco, Apple has steadfastly stood behind diversity and inclusion efforts that its management says are good for business.
But the National Center for Public Policy Research’s proposal has criticised Apple’s diversity commitments for being out of line with recent court rulings and said the programs expose the Californian company to an onslaught of potential lawsuits for alleged discrimination.
The group estimated that about 50,000 Apple employees could file cases against their employer – although it didn’t explain how it arrived at that figure.
“It’s clear that DEI poses litigation, reputational and financial risks to companies, and therefore financial risks to their shareholders, and therefore further risks to companies for not abiding by their fiduciary duties,” the National Center for Public Policy Research says in its proposal.
The threat of potential legal trouble was magnified last week when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a federal lawsuit against supermarket Target.
He alleged the retailer’s recently scaled-back DEI program alienated many consumers and undercut sales to the detriment of shareholders.
In its rebuttal to the anti-DEI proposal, Apple said its program is an integral part of a culture that has helped to elevate the company to its current market value of $3.7 trillion (€3.5tn) — greater than any other business in the world.
“We believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple’s success as making the best products in the world,” the company said in its statement against the proposal.
“We seek to conduct business ethically, honestly, and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” it added.
In its last diversity and inclusion report issued in 2022, Apple disclosed that nearly three-fourths of its global workforce consisted of white and Asian employees. Nearly two-thirds of its employees at that juncture were men.
Other major technology companies for years have reported employing mostly white and Asian men, especially in high-paid engineering jobs – a tendency that spurred the industry to pursue what have been largely unsuccessful efforts to diversify.
