Apple investors reject proposal against DEI policies

Apple shareholders rejected a proposal against its diversity, equity and inclusion policies at an investor meeting on Tuesday, handing a major victory to the tech giant as opposition against such efforts gains traction in the U.S.

The vote was a test of investor views about the value of DEI programs, which many companies added or beefed up starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

Growing conservative pushback has led large U.S. companies, including Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Amazon.com, to drop their DEI goals before and after Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency.

Apple shareholders also voted against an investor proposal asking the company to prepare a report assessing the risks of its work with artificial intelligence, while all management proposals were approved, a preliminary tally of the vote count showed.

Influential proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended earlier this month investors back Apple's DEI policies, saying the company already offers sufficient information about them and that there have been no controversies or signs of discrimination against employee groups.

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.