Apple faces five shareholder proposals, and doesn't like any of them
Apple faces five shareholder proposals, and doesn't like any of them
Tomorrow is the date of Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, and the company this year faces five shareholder proposals – and...
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Five shareholder proposals With three management proposals, the shareholder proposals are numbered 4 to 8 inclusive.
4: Employment protection for opinions differing from Apple policy This argues that Apple doesn’t promise not to discriminate against applicants and employees on the basis of “viewpoint” and “ideology.” The proposal expressed a concern that those with conservative views are disadvantaged.
Apple responds by stating it has a commitment to “a culture where every great idea can be heard and where everyone belongs, including those with differing viewpoints and ideologies.” It says that the company’s existing policies and practices already address this concern.
5: Report on the company’s removal of religious apps in China Another proposal demands a report into the company’s removal of religious apps from its Chinese app store, and threatened removal of the social network X.
Apple says that it already offers transparency on this issue, and must comply with the laws of each of the jurisdictions in which it operates.
6: Report on unadjusted pay gaps for women and minorities Apple currently reports on weighted pay gaps between men and women, and between minorities and non-minorities. This reporting adjusts for factors like time spent out of the workplace for things like childcare. The proposal calls on Apple to also report on unadjusted pay gaps, in order to make visible “structural bias” in pay differentials.
The company responds that it believes its own reporting provides “more meaningful” data, and that Apple achieved gender pay equity globally by 2017, and full pay equity “at the intersections of gender and race and ethnicity” in the US by 2022.
7: Prepare a transparency report on Apple’s use of AI The proposal asks that Apple disclose its use of AI, as well as any ethical guidelines it has adopted to govern such use.
Apple asked the SEC for permission to exclude this proposal, on the basis that it would risk disclosing commercially-sensitive information about the company’s plans. The SEC denied this, and the company now asks shareholders to vote against it for the same reason.
8: Report on human rights policies The proposal points to “inconsistent” application of Apple’s stated values when it comes to complying with legal demands in China to remove apps and adopt other policies, like introducing a timeout for AirDrop. It calls for the company to issue a report on this.
Apple says that it already does so.
LOL at trying to make Conservative the equivalent of a protected class.
Wonder if they ever get tired of playing the victim?
Unadjusted pay figures is an interesting one. On the one hand adjusted pay scales makes it really clear whether people are being paid the same for the same work, on the other hand unadjusted could potentially highlight areas for improvement in terms of adjustments for new mothers etc. That's tricky though as if the father works for a different company and can't take time off to look after a new born then the mother will likely have to. Why not release both along with the weightings?