APPLE INC. | Racial and Gender Pay Gaps at APPLE INC.

Status
31.08% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Resolution details
Company ticker
AAPL
Lead filer
Arjuna Capital
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI)
  • Remuneration or pay
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Technology
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Resolved: Shareholders request Apple report on median pay gaps across race and gender, including associated policy, reputational, competitive, and operational risks, and risks related to recruiting and retaining diverse talent. The report should be prepared at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary information, litigation strategy and legal compliance information.

Racial/gender pay gaps are defined as the difference between non-minority and minority/male and female median earnings expressed as a percentage of non-minority/male earnings (Wikipedia/OECD, respectively).
Whereas clause
Whereas: Pay inequities persist across race and gender and pose substantial risk to companies and society at large. Black workers’ hourly median earnings represent 81 percent of white wages. The median income for women working full time is 83 percent that of men. Intersecting race, Black women earn 64 percent, Native women 51 percent, and Latina women 54 percent. At the current rate, women will not reach pay equity until 2059, Black women until 2130, and Latina women until 2224. (1)

Citigroup estimates closing minority and gender wage gaps 20 years ago could have generated 12 trillion dollars in additional income. PwC estimates closing the gender pay gap could boost Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries’ economies by 2 trillion dollars annually. (2)

Actively managing pay equity is associated with improved representation, and diversity is linked to superior stock performance and return on equity. (3) Minorities represent 58 percent of Apple’s workforce and 45 percent of leadership. Women represent 35 percent of Apple’s workforce and 32 percent of leadership. (4)

Best practice pay equity reporting consists of two parts:

1. unadjusted median pay gaps, assessing equal opportunity to high paying roles,

2. statistically adjusted gaps, assessing pay between minorities and non-minorities, men and women, performing similar roles.

Apple reports only statistically adjusted gaps but ignores unadjusted gaps, which address structural bias women and minorities face regarding job opportunity and pay, particularly when men hold most higher paying jobs. Median pay gaps show, quite literally, how Apple assigns value to employees through the roles they inhabit and pay they receive. Median gap reporting also provides a digestible and comparable data point to determine progress over time.

Racial and gender median pay gaps are accepted as the valid way of measuring pay inequity by the United States Census Bureau, Department of Labor, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and International Labor Organization. The United Kingdom and Ireland mandate disclosure of median gender pay gaps. For its United Kingdom employees, Apple reports a median hourly and bonus gender pay gap of 13 percent.
Supporting statement
Supporting Statement: An annual report adequate for investors to assess performance could, with board discretion, integrate base, bonus and equity compensation to calculate:

● percentage median gender pay gap, globally and/or by country, where appropriate

● percentage median racial/minority/ethnicity pay gap, US and/or by country, where appropriate

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation name Declared voting intentions Rationale
VidaCaixa For
Anima Sgr For As median pay gap statistics would allow shareholders to better compare and measure the progress of the company's diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Kutxabank Gestion SGIIC SAU. For
Rothschild & co Asset Management For
Wesleyan Assurance Society For Adopting disclosure on median pay gap statistics would provide a useful metric to the company and shareholders, allowing for a better assessment of any discrepancy in pay between genders/ethnicities. This disclosure would bring reporting in-line with the UK and help ensure the equal treatment of all employees, enhancing the level of diversity and inclusion at the company and decreasing the risk of any potential litigation.

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