The news: Apple uses its lobbying clout to fight anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, per Politico, despite historically eschewing the spotlight when it comes to politics.
More on this: Fred Sainz, Apple's senior director of corporate communications, recently encouraged Fortune 500 CEOs to condemn a Texas governor's order calling for child abuse investigations of parents who provide transgender children with gender-affirming care.
Behind the numbers: These moves mark an uncommon foray into a contentious political debate by one of the world's most valuable firms. But is the issue really that contentious?
Compare & contrast: Apple’s lobbying stands apart from Disney’s public relations fiasco surrounding the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which led to an employee-led #DisneyDoBetter campaign.
The big takeaway: Studies have found that corporations in states that advance legislation seeking to restrict rights of LGBTQ+ individuals have a harder time recruiting and retaining staff, with this effect more pronounced on the younger, college-educated professionals that Apple relies on. And as noted above, LGBTQ+ issues are a big deal in California, where Apple employs 36,786—not to mention the hundreds of thousands of jobs within its greater ecosystem.