Contacts:

CJ Frogozo, christine.frogozo@gmail.com, 310-570-2622

Michele Setteducato, mich12780@gmail.com, 732-614-3818

Oakland, CA — On February 26, Apple investors will be asked to vote on a shareholder proposal urging new recruitment strategies for the tech company. The proposal, introduced by shareholder Tony Maldonado, aims to ensure a more diverse workforce by increasing racial and ethnic diversity throughout Apple’s leadership, including the company’s board and senior executives.

Maldonado’s proposal urges Apple to adopt “an accelerated recruitment policy requiring Apple Inc. to increase the diversity of senior management and its board of directors,” citing specifically the low representation of Latinos, Black people, Native Americans and other people of color.

This proposal comes at a time when Apple has faced criticism for its appalling lack of racial diversity–just 8 percent of Apple’s employees are Black, in comparison with 13 percent of the U.S. population., Apple’s board of directors has opposed the resolution, stating that “the proposal is unduly burdensome and not necessary because Apple has demonstrated to shareholders its commitment to inclusion and diversity, which are core values for our company.”

While Apple’s proportion of Black employees is half that of the U.S. population, the numbers are even starker when considering the makeup, specifically, of Apple’s leadership. In 2015, Apple reported that just 3 percent of its leadership jobs were held by Black employees; six of the 8 directors on Apple’s board are white., Though the company has stated that it is committed to inclusion and diversity, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Statement from Color Of Change Managing Director of Campaigns Arisha M. Hatch:

“Apple, like many of the tech companies that we follow, is well into its second year of a supposed diversity effort. However, even with the commitments that the board says the company has made to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of its employees, its latest report shows that on these issues, Apple has barely moved the needle. From 2014, the amount of Black employees at Apple increased by 1 percent, and the proportion of Black workers in leadership remained stagnate at 3 percent. These are not signs of a company that should regard a diversity initiative as ‘not necessary’ or ‘overly burdensome.’ We hope that Apple’s shareholders seize on this opportunity to diversify one of the largest tech companies in the world and approve Maldonado’s proposal.”

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