(Reuters) -Influential proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended on Friday that Apple investors vote against a proposal to consider eliminating the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Apple’s disclosures offer shareholders sufficient information about its DEI policies and there have been no controversies or signs of discrimination against employee groups, ISS said.
The company’s board has urged shareholders to reject the anti-DEI proposal, arguing it already has a compliance program in place and that the measure improperly seeks to limit its management of business operations, personnel and strategy.
Apple, which plans to hold its annual meeting on February 25, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Large U.S. companies including Meta, Alphabet and Amazon have dropped their DEI goals before and after Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, as conservative pushback against such initiatives intensifies.
Emboldened by a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, conservative groups have condemned DEI programs and threatened legal action against companies implementing them.
The proposal against Apple’s diversity policies was submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which describes itself as a free-market think tank.
The same group had asked Costco Wholesale to report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives. The membership-only retailer’s shareholders voted strongly against the proposal at a meeting in January.
Shareholder resolutions at U.S. corporations looking to counter DEI programs and other corporate social considerations garnered less than 2% support on average last year.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Devika Syamnath and Pooja Desai)
