Apple, Lyft speak out against Trump's transgender ruling

[NEW YORK] President Donald Trump's decision to rescind protections for transgender students has provoked one more outcry from Silicon Valley. Companies including Apple, Facebook and Microsoft released statements and tweets following the administration's announcement on Wednesday to withdraw legal guidance put in place by the Obama administration in May. The guidance had directed schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.

Alphabet Inc said: "We've long advocated for policies that provide equal rights and treatment for all. We're deeply concerned to see a roll back in transgender students' rights."

Apple Inc said: "Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination. We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections."

Dell Inc said: "Dell team members receive fair treatment in the workplace regardless of race, gender identity or religion. We mirror that commitment in our corporate diversity and anti-discrimination policies. We look forward to working with state and local officials on policies that encourage fairness, economic growth and business development."

Facebook Inc said: "Facebook is a strong supporter of equality. We stand for ensuring equal rights for everyone, including transgender students, and will continue to advocate for more rights instead of fewer."

International Business Machines Corp said: "IBM has had an explicit policy of non-discrimination based on gender identity or expression since 2002, and we are opposed to discrimination in all its forms, including any policies that discriminate based on gender identity in education."

Lyft Inc said: "Removing protections for transgender students is wrong. We oppose this action and, as always, stand in support of the LGBTQ community."

Pinterest Inc said: "We oppose the decision to weaken protections for transgender students. We believe everyone deserves to live, work and learn in an inclusive environment."

Yahoo! Inc said: "Yahoo has and always will recognize the inalienable right to equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. The action taken by the Administration is troubling and goes against all that we believe in."

Zenefits said: "Our goal at Zenefits is to help businesses and their employees thrive, and a part of that is recognizing the diversity of the employees who work for these companies. Employees who on-board with the Zenefits platform have the option of choosing male, female or a custom gender option. This is something that was coded into our product in early 2016. We also make our transgender policy from our own employee handbook available to all customers so they can adopt as they see fit."

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