Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. 

Apple’s board rejects diversity proposal as ‘unduly burdensome and not necessary’

Three people on Apple's eight board of directors are black or female

Alexandra Sims
Sunday 17 January 2016 16:37 GMT
Comments
Apple’s executive team is overwhelming white and male
Apple’s executive team is overwhelming white and male (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Apple’s board of directors has rejected a new diversity proposal calling it “unduly burdensome”, despite the board being predominantly made up of white men.

The proposal, submitted by Apple shareholder Antonio Avian Maldonado, called for an accelerated recruitment policy to change the organisational make-up of both the senior management and its board of directors.

Mr Maldonado’s proposal criticises Apple for being “painstakingly slow” to increase its representation of minorities in its leadership and board, urging it to prioritise the recruitment of Hispanic, African-American, Native-American and other people of colour in particular.

At present there are eight people on Apple’s board of directors. Two are women – Andrea Jung, president of Grameen America, and Susan Wagner, co-founder of BlackRock – and one is a black man – James Bell, former president of Boeing (BA). The rest are white men.

Apple’s executive team is also overwhelming white and male. Out of 18 positions three are women – two of whom are black. The other 15 are filled by white men.

In a proxy statement published on 6 January, ahead of a February shareholder meeting, the board said they voted “against” the proposal, believing it to be “unduly burdensome and not necessary because Apple has demonstrated to shareholders its commitment to inclusion and diversity, which are core values for our company.”

The rejection comes after Apple released a diversity report in August with the company's CEO Tim Cook noting, “we know there is a lot more work to be done”.

In 2015, Apple reported that 54% of its US employees, including its retail staff, were white – up only slightly from 54 per cent in 2014 .

Apple cite its on-going diversity efforts in the proxy statement, which include providing scholarships for black students attending historically black colleges and universities; giving iPads, MacBooks and Apple TVs to under-served US schools, and sponsoring the Grace Hopper conference for women in technology.

The company adds it “actively seeks out highly qualified women and individuals from minority groups to include in the pool from which Board nominees are chosen.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in