Apple shareholders rejected a proposal to scrap the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, reinforcing its stance on its policies following mounting pressure.
During a shareholder meeting, the National Center for Public Policy Research, a self-described conservative think tank, brought forward a proposal titled “Request to Cease DEI Efforts”. The bid was swiftly rejected by Apple shareholders with just over 210 million votes in favour and nearly 8.84 billion votes in opposition, according to Reuters.
The Guardian reported that during the meeting, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, Stefan Padfield, argued that Apple’s diversity initiatives could leave the company vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits, claiming “forced diversity is bad for business”.
He apparently further slated Apple’s DEI programmes as out of step with shifting legal and political trends, citing the Trump administration as a potential challenger. “The vibe shift is clear: DEI is out and merit is in,” Padfield added.
The latest development comes as US companies including Meta Platforms and Alphabet scale back their DEI efforts in response to a litany of discrimination lawsuits against companies and mounting pressure from the Trump administration.
Apple first defied the trend in January, when the tech giant opposed calls to abandon its diversity policies. In an SEC filing, the company rebuffed the bids as “unnecessary”, arguing its existing compliance programme was robust and the proposed measures would limit its ability to manage its own operations, workforce, and business strategy.