1 of 2 | The proposed DEI rollback plan "inappropriately seeks to micromanage the company's programs and policies by suggesting a specific means of legal compliance," Apple’s board of directors, which includes CEO Tim Cook (seen in August in Venice, Italy) argued. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/ UPI |
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Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Tech giant Apple is asking investors to keep its diversity, equity and inclusion policies amid a sweeping reversal by other technology and business entities following President-elect Trump's November election win.
Claiming Apple's DEI efforts expose companies to "litigation, reputational and financial risks," the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research called on Apple to nix its policy, but Apple leadership rejected NCPPR's proposal, according to a proxy filing.
"The proposal is unnecessary as Apple already has a well-established compliance program," the company wrote in part to investors.
It will be voted on Feb. 25 by shareholders at Apple's next annual meeting to be held virtually.
The rollback plan "inappropriately seeks to micromanage the Company's programs and policies by suggesting a specific means of legal compliance," argued Apple's board of directors.
It follows a similar effort by NCPPR at shopping conglomerate Costco, which recently reaffirmed support for its own DEI policy as it approaches a Jan. 23 shareholder vote roughly a month before Apple is set to vote on the same topic.
It's one of several other large companies -- including colleges, universities and states -- that swiftly lined up to re-examine or ditch DEI initiatives amid a cultural backlash and a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively ended "affirmative action" policies.
According to Apple, its management team and board, which include CEO Tim Cook, "maintain active oversight of legal and regulatory risks and compliance for our global business."
The company added its approach to DEI "reflects careful determinations regarding our legal compliance and business practices that require complex analysis, extensive knowledge and understanding of the employment and other laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions," the board wrote in its urge to shareholders to maintain its current policy approach.
Meanwhile, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, announced last week it was ending its DEI programs.
"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the US is changing," Janelle Gale, Meta's vice president of human resources, wrote in an internal memo.
It joined others like Amazon, McDonalds, Alphabet, Walmart, Microsoft and Zoom in a reversal of DEI policies or other changes after threats of retaliation by right-wing groups.
Last year in March, Alabama enacted a law banning state and federal funding for DEI programs in the state's public schools and universities. Florida likewise banned the use of public money for DEI programming early last year in a long-standing fight against a so-called "woke" political agenda.
It came on the heels of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement on Tuesday that Meta will, among other things, end its third-party fact-checking program in order to shift to a user-generated "Community Notes" format similar to Elon Musk's X over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Home improvement chain Lowe's revealed in August its plan to end participation in Human Rights Campaign-sponsored surveys, and that it will place its diversity resource groups under one umbrella, according to a leaked internal memo.
That arrived after Lowe's recently earned a "perfect" rating by the pro-LGBTQ+ HRC, and CEO Marvin Ellison was named last June the "Ethical Leader of the Year" by the Society for Human Resource Management.
