Apple Goes Against the Grain, Urges Investors Retain Diversity Programmes

Apple wants investors to cast votes against the option of scrapping equity, diversity, and inclusion programs. Tech rivals such as Meta are scaling down similar schemes weeks before the Trump administration.

According to Yahoo Finance, the National Center for Public Policy Research wants Apple’s diversity programmes terminated due to reputational, financial, and litigation risks. Apple shareholders will take a vote on this proposal on February 25, 2025 during the annual general meeting.

Restrictive and Inappropriate

Apple chose not to scrap diversity programmes because it already has procedures for dealing with different risks. In a notice sent to shareholders, the board terms the proposals as restrictive.

The proposal “inappropriately attempts to restrict Apple’s ability to manage its own ordinary business operations, people and teams, and business strategies,” Apple board members stated in the notice.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes outline measures that companies put in place to ensure that people from all backgrounds are included and supported in the workplace irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or sexuality.

The conversation on the strategies for enhancing diversity in the workplace gained global attention following the George Floyd murder in 2020. Floyd was murdered by a police officer. This case pushed businesses into examining their policies amidst widespread protests.

Going Against the Grain

Apple’s block DEI proposal appears to go against the grain in the big tech space. This past week, Meta platforms announced that it was terminating all diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes with immediate effect.

“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the US is changing,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s VP for Human Resource said in an internal memo.

Meta referenced US supreme court decisions made recently and the charged perspectives held by some people in its memo. In 2023, the supreme court overturned affirmative action rules. Universities had sought to alter admission requirements in order to accommodate disadvantaged racial minorities.

Another big tech that rolled back on diversity programmes is Amazon. The AWS owner announced that it was terminating these programs last week. Other US businesses that have taken similar steps include McDonalds and Walmart. McDonalds has allocated 45% of its leadership positions to women with 35% of US leadership positions going to underrepresented groups.

Last November, Walmart terminated DEI training and application. The giant retailer also announced a stop to gender and race considerations following boycott threats by conservatives.

Impending Legal Action

The concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion has captured the interest of rightwing politicians. The incoming US President Donald Trump has said that he’ll ban the programmes in both the public and private sector. As US companies seize the supreme court ruling and terminate DEI programmes, a lobby group is planning to take legal action to protect civil rights gains.

“Even though most of the country supports efforts to address racial inequality, Trump promises to eradicate many of those efforts and thereby worsen racial disparities,” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in November.

Lobby groups see efforts to scrap diversity, equality, and diversity programmes as a strategy to avoid attacks.