Tomorrow is the date of Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, and the company this year faces five shareholder proposals – and recommends voting against all of them.

The company went as far as trying to exclude one of them, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that it must be put to a vote …

Apple’s annual shareholder meeting

As a public company, Apple is legally obliged to hold an annual meeting in which shareholders get to vote on such things as the appointment or reappointment of the board of directors, and executive compensation. This year’s vote on the board will include the nomination of Dr. Wanda Austin.

But alongside management proposals, shareholders also have the opportunity to put forward proposals of their own.

A company has the right to try to block these proposals, which Apple has done more than once in the past. For example, it can argue that it is already working on the issue raised, and that is it therefore redundant. Apple tried to do this back in 2021, attempting to exclude three different proposals, including one relating to steps taken to guard against the inadvertent use of forced labor from the company’s supply chain.

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.

Virtual shareholder meeting

The meeting takes place online. Shareholders should have been issued a “control number” allowing them to login to the meeting, ask questions, and vote.

Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash