"Apple shareholders reject plan to scrap DEI policies," 25 Feb. 2025

Apple shareholders on Tuesday rejected a proposal to abolish the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, bucking a trend of high-profile corporations abandoning such efforts in the face of growing cultural backlash and legal complications.

... Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the programs at the meeting, arguing, "Our strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate and create something magical for our users time and time again."

... He did note that Apple may need to tweak its diversity approach to remain in compliance with the law, in a likely nod to the Trump administration’s stance that DEI programs are discriminatory, as well as the 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down race-based affirmative action in higher education.

... [Apple's workforce] statistics mean that white, Black, and Latino people, as well as women, are under-represented in the company’s workforce compared to their share in the wider population.