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Apple CEO Tim Cook Writes Op-Ed in Support of U.S. Employment Nondiscrimination Act

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly spoken out in support of the pending Employment Nondiscrimination Act in the form of an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, stating the company's feelings toward the current issue of workplace equality in the United States. The legislation would prohibit many civilian, nonreligious employers in the United States from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity for the purposes of hiring or other employment practices.

Cook explains in his article that Apple has made it a point to create "a safe and welcoming workplace for all employees, regardless of their race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation", while also elaborating on employee rights to express identity in a working environment.
Apple's antidiscrimination policy goes beyond the legal protections U.S. workers currently enjoy under federal law, most notably because we prohibit discrimination against Apple's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. A bill now before the U.S. Senate would update those employment laws, at long last, to protect workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We urge senators to support the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, and we challenge the House of Representatives to bring it to the floor for a vote.
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A U.S. Senate vote on the act is currently scheduled for November 4, 2013.

Note: Due to the potentially controversial nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Writes Op-Ed in Support of U.S. Employment Nondiscrimination Act
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/04/apple-ceo-tim-cook-writes-op-ed-in-support-of-u-s-employment-nondiscrimination-act/
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mathcolo

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2008
860
16
Boston
This may have never happened if Steve were still around....

...but I'm not convinced that's all bad. Good for Tim.
 
musika

musika

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2010
1,285
459
New York
I love it when people in positions of power speak out. Because usually it can help change things. Even if only a little.
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
Sadly I think businesses will still discriminate; they will simply have another reason to disqualify someone.
 
C

citizenzen

macrumors 68000
Mar 22, 2010
1,543
11,786
This sounds almost exactly like the often vilified Affirmative Action—at least as its practiced in California.

AA doesn't require you to hire anybody based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

AA just says that you can't use those criteria against the person you're hiring ... you have to base your hiring choices on their ability to do the job.

I applaud Apple for embracing the values that Affirmative Action has championed for years.
 
M

maknik

macrumors regular
May 17, 2006
173
53
Hey, wow, I just noticed that after 7 years I finally have enough posts to contribute to the politics threads.

So rather than making my first such post in the midst of yet another political controversy, it's great to be able to start here, and just say that this is a great development, and I'm glad Cook is speaking out about this. Good work!
 
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mingoglia

macrumors 6502
Dec 10, 2009
486
69
I've employed hundreds of people since 2001, and know countless business owners that do as well. I've never personally witnessed this "inequality" that people "witness" these days. I know this existed at one time, but I haven't seen it in the years I've been in business. On one hand you have people say that business owners/managers are "evil" and are only looking after their bottom line. On the other hand you have people saying these "evil" business owners/managers are discriminating against people. Well, which is it? If they're really only looking for their bottom line, wouldn't they employ the very best person for the job? It just doesn't make sense.

You have some that want to see an approximate split of 50/50 men/women, and if it's not approaching that there's discrimination. Many of these people don't take into account that certain jobs attract men and certain jobs attract more women. How many women aspire to shovel coal into a coal fired train? Or work in coal mines? How many men aspire to work in the textile industry? More men go into computer science than women, and therefore less women are applying for computer science related jobs. It doesn't mean employers are discriminating.
 
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MultiMediaWill

macrumors 68000
Aug 1, 2010
1,634
378
Minneapolis
tbrand7 said:
Good for Tim! I'm glad he embraces the idea of equality for all. Especially for the employees at Apple.

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Your comparing apples to oranges. Obama is the president, Cook is a CEO.
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Cook is human, Obama is old an old 1980's graphic chip would be a better comparison
 
Nicky G

Nicky G

macrumors 65816
Mar 24, 2002
1,148
1,284
Baltimore
mingoglia said:
I've employed hundreds of people since 2001, and know countless business owners that do as well. I've never personally witnessed this "inequality" that people "witness" these days. I know this existed at one time, but I haven't seen it in the years I've been in business. On one hand you have people say that business owners/managers are "evil" and are only looking after their bottom line. On the other hand you have people saying these "evil" business owners/managers are discriminating against people. Well, which is it? If they're really only looking for their bottom line, wouldn't they employ the very best person for the job? It just doesn't make sense.

You have some that want to see an approximate split of 50/50 men/women, and if it's not approaching that there's discrimination. Many of these people don't take into account that certain jobs attract men and certain jobs attract more women. How many women aspire to shovel coal into a coal fired train? Or work in coal mines? How many men aspire to work in the textile industry? More men go into computer science than women, and therefore less women are applying for computer science related jobs. It doesn't mean employers are discriminating.
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What a completely un-nuanced view of how things work. Could it be that some businesses don't discriminate, and some do? This may come as a shock, but your experiences don't necessarily translate to the rest of the world...
 
JayCee842

JayCee842

macrumors 6502a
Jan 21, 2013
589
0
SJism23 said:
That picture of Tim Cook is so ominous looking. Stop using it! :eek:
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I think it's a great picture. It makes him look fresh. :)

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mingoglia said:
I've employed hundreds of people since 2001, and know countless business owners that do as well. I've never personally witnessed this "inequality" that people "witness" these days. I know this existed at one time, but I haven't seen it in the years I've been in business. On one hand you have people say that business owners/managers are "evil" and are only looking after their bottom line. On the other hand you have people saying these "evil" business owners/managers are discriminating against people. Well, which is it? If they're really only looking for their bottom line, wouldn't they employ the very best person for the job? It just doesn't make sense.

You have some that want to see an approximate split of 50/50 men/women, and if it's not approaching that there's discrimination. Many of these people don't take into account that certain jobs attract men and certain jobs attract more women. How many women aspire to shovel coal into a coal fired train? Or work in coal mines? How many men aspire to work in the textile industry? More men go into computer science than women, and therefore less women are applying for computer science related jobs. It doesn't mean employers are discriminating.
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wow! so just because you've never witnessed discrimination it doesn't exist? oh my. :rolleyes:
 
Krazy Bill

Krazy Bill

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2011
2,985
3
Interesting coming from Apple. Can't recall when I've ever seen a female Executive present anything at WWDC or any other Apple Event.
 
M

Millah

macrumors 6502a
Aug 6, 2008
866
515
mingoglia said:
I've employed hundreds of people since 2001, and know countless business owners that do as well. I've never personally witnessed this "inequality" that people "witness" these days. I know this existed at one time, but I haven't seen it in the years I've been in business. On one hand you have people say that business owners/managers are "evil" and are only looking after their bottom line. On the other hand you have people saying these "evil" business owners/managers are discriminating against people. Well, which is it? If they're really only looking for their bottom line, wouldn't they employ the very best person for the job? It just doesn't make sense.

You have some that want to see an approximate split of 50/50 men/women, and if it's not approaching that there's discrimination. Many of these people don't take into account that certain jobs attract men and certain jobs attract more women. How many women aspire to shovel coal into a coal fired train? Or work in coal mines? How many men aspire to work in the textile industry? More men go into computer science than women, and therefore less women are applying for computer science related jobs. It doesn't mean employers are discriminating.
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Ah yes, gotta love the "if I haven't seen it, then that must mean it doesn't exist" type of logic. Bravo!

That's wonderful if you are an employer and have never (consciously) committed in this sort of behavior. But this country and workforce is much larger than just your own personal area.
 
jnpy!$4g3cwk

jnpy!$4g3cwk

macrumors 65816
Feb 11, 2010
1,119
1,302
MacRumors said:
CEO Tim Cook has publicly spoken out in support of the pending Employment Nondiscrimination Act in the form of an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal[/url], stating the company's feelings toward the current issue of workplace equality in the United States. The legislation would prohibit many civilian, nonreligious employers in the United States from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity for the purposes of hiring or other employment practices.

Cook explains in his article that Apple has made it a point to create "a safe and welcoming workplace for all employees, regardless of their race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation", while also elaborating on employee rights to express identity in a working environment. A U.S. Senate vote on the act is currently scheduled for November 4, 2013.
Click to expand...

This is certainly good news, but, sadly, like the already existing prohibition on age discrimination, it is impossible to prove in an individual case unless the people involved are incredibly stupid. Statistically, you can't help but notice the improbability: that only people under 50 are competent enough engineers and programmers to get hired.
 
W

weing

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2007
164
0
Funny coming from a company that seems to have nothing but white guys in their 40s and 50's in senior positions.
 
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