Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks on Diversity and Inclusion at Auburn University

[FasterQuieter]

It is troubling that when asked to give a speech this is the topic he chose. Unless he was specifically asked to talk about this. I would hope the CEO of Apple would be more passionate about technology and his vision of the future. Talking diversity in the most diverse and inclusive country in the history of the world just comes across as virtue signaling.

 

[gnasher729]

When he starts taking a stand in China, then he can get on his soap box.

I don't know where you've been, but Apple has been taking a stand in China for a long, long time.

Take child labour, for example. Any company in China doing business with Apple signs a contract that they are not allowed to use child labour (that is employ anyone under the age of 16). If it is found that they employed someone below that age, that child is sent back to school, and the company pays for it. And if it is found that they didn't just employ one or two kids that lied about their age (because some 15 year olds like to make money), but deliberately ignored the problem, then their contract with Apple is gone. Happened to at least two suppliers.

Take recruitment agencies requiring fees from employees. In China, employees used to be blackmailed to pay fees, usually a months salary or more, to recruitment companies to be able to get a job. Apple requires all companies that it uses in China to refund that money to the employees, and several million dollars have been paid out that way to employees. That's something that Samsung has a problem with right now in South East Asia, just worse: Companies working for Samsung hire employees from abroad, who have to pay a fee to get a job. When they arrive, they don't get the job they were promised but something at a lower pay. Passports taken away so they can't return home (and they would be out of money anyway if they did). Nothing that Samsung does about that.
[doublepost=1491558872][/doublepost]

What a shame. Sucks to be them.

There is this man: "Hassan Aden, 52, of Alexandria, Virginia spent 26 years with the Alexandria Police Department before leaving in 2012 to become chief of police in Greenville, North Carolina. He retired from the 250-person force in 2015. " This man was detained at JFK airport for four hours, for no other reason than his name.

If a man who has been with the US police for almost 30 years gets detained for no reason except blatant racism, why would anyone want to go there?

I suggest you should have laws that people get detained who use the names of Disney figures instead. Like Pocahontas, Donald, Donald again, ... Especially if there is evidence that they tried to change their skin colour, or change their appearance using fake hair, or if they are married to immigrants.

 

[Mathias Denichi]

I see all this hate for him. He is in no risk of being let go; have you seen the stock prices? He reports to his investors, and they are making a lot of money. If you are on MR, you are not the typical consumer. Fan the fire here, but people are buying their products, even when a product line is significantly outdated.

It's uncanny how close his reign as CEO is to Steve Balmer, albeit, way more political. But I feel that Tim is missing chances on future tech, playing too safe, or ignoring products out of pure hubris since they are top dogs.

To Tim, It's all about building a spaceport Mecca, and making sure everybody in the world is playing fair to Apples superior and evolved culture. Be just like us you savages!

 

[robjulo]

You completely miss the point. I'm not talking about Apple's dealings with individual companies, I'm talking about Tim Cook not being willing to call out the Chinese for their oppression and human rights issues. Courage isn't removing headphone jacks and courage isn't lecturing about diversity in a safe setting at Auburn. Courage is getting on that soap box with the very people who are engaging in oppression. When he starts doing that, then I'll be impressed, but it won't happen. $$$ > diversity and human rights in Tim Cook's mind.

I don't know where you've been, but Apple has been taking a stand in China for a long, long time.

Take child labour, for example. Any company in China doing business with Apple signs a contract that they are not allowed to use child labour (that is employ anyone under the age of 16). If it is found that they employed someone below that age, that child is sent back to school, and the company pays for it. And if it is found that they didn't just employ one or two kids that lied about their age (because some 15 year olds like to make money), but deliberately ignored the problem, then their contract with Apple is gone. Happened to at least two suppliers.

Take recruitment agencies requiring fees from employees. In China, employees used to be blackmailed to pay fees, usually a months salary or more, to recruitment companies to be able to get a job. Apple requires all companies that it uses in China to refund that money to the employees, and several million dollars have been paid out that way to employees. That's something that Samsung has a problem with right now in South East Asia, just worse: Companies working for Samsung hire employees from abroad, who have to pay a fee to get a job. When they arrive, they don't get the job they were promised but something at a lower pay. Passports taken away so they can't return home (and they would be out of money anyway if they did). Nothing that Samsung does about that.
[doublepost=1491558872][/doublepost]

There is this man: "Hassan Aden, 52, of Alexandria, Virginia spent 26 years with the Alexandria Police Department before leaving in 2012 to become chief of police in Greenville, North Carolina. He retired from the 250-person force in 2015. " This man was detained at JFK airport for four hours, for no other reason than his name.

If a man who has been with the US police for almost 30 years gets detained for no reason except blatant racism, why would anyone want to go there?

I suggest you should have laws that people get detained who use the names of Disney figures instead. Like Pocahontas, Donald, Donald again, ... Especially if there is evidence that they tried to change their skin colour, or change their appearance using fake hair, or if they are married to immigrants.

 

[doelcm82]

Yeah like he gives a **** when he sells in china and Saudi Arabia.

i was thanking the quoted commenter, not Mr. Cook. I have no idea whether the commenter sells in Saudi Arabia or China. Or buys things from those countries. I was just thankful for the commenter's supportive words for LGBT rights and against censorship.
[doublepost=1491569742][/doublepost]I know what you mean. For most of us, calling out China or Russia or Saudi Arabia requires zero courage. None. It's calling out oppression in our own communities (the ones we are a part of, not outside of) that is the true act of courage.

Tim Cook is in a position to increase diversity inside Apple, and to promote diversity in his sphere of influence. It's perfectly fair to call him out for not practicing what he preaches well enough. Still, many here are calling on him to not say anything unless it benefits his bottom line (stick to your job--it should be MORE about $$$). From my point of view, those people see more diversity as the true enemy.

You completely miss the point. I'm not talking about Apple's dealings with individual companies, I'm talking about Tim Cook not being willing to call out the Chinese for their oppression and human rights issues. Courage isn't removing headphone jacks and courage isn't lecturing about diversity in a safe setting at Auburn. Courage is getting on that soap box with the very people who are engaging in oppression. When he starts doing that, then I'll be impressed, but it won't happen. $$$ > diversity and human rights in Tim Cook's mind.

 

[WaxedJacket]

Tim's PR tour doesn't seem to be slowing down. Gotta get those feels in.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

It's uncanny how close his reign as CEO is to Steve Balmer, albeit, way more political. But I feel that Tim is missing chances on future tech, playing too safe, or ignoring products out of pure hubris since they are top dogs.

To Tim, It's all about building a spaceport Mecca, and making sure everybody in the world is playing fair to Apples superior and evolved culture. Be just like us you savages!

My problem with this situation is that while Tim was at the alumni talk, Craig and Phil were giving a 'sit down' with the press over the Mac Pro/iMac future. Why didn't they re-schedule it when Tim would be there with those two to talk to the press about it? After all, he's the CEO, he should be talking about it.

Hell, the late Jobs had the guts to face the media over certain things and discuss the company's philosophy and products.

I suspect Tim timed it on purpose because he wanted to wuss out from talking to the media, throwing Craig and "Punxsutawney Phil" to the bus. And yes I call Phil a groundhog for making false claims " Oh! I see more Macs! No shadow! ", "OH! I see a shadow! Everything's rosy here! We're all firing on four cylinders! ".

So, it's the timing of Tim being 'over there' while those two are giving the talk makes me wonder.

 

[phillipduran]

Wow nice change. Hes talking about diversity in terms of real differences between people based on mostly experience and character. Too long diversity has been intertwined with racism and has only focused on the difference in reproductive parts or skin color. Unless you think all white people or black people are the same, touting diversity should not be done via sex or skin color, but character and experience.

 

[convergent]

Translation: I don't agree with anything he says so he shouldn't say anything at all.

If you don't care, why even comment?

The reason TO comment is that many folks like myself have spent a substantial amount of money to buy into the Apple ecosystem. This man's job is to drive the value of that ecosystem, not to be a liberal activist. If he were doing a stellar job at the first, I don't think people would care about the second. But he's literally asleep at the wheel in his primary job for which he's being paid an absurd amount of money, and we sit watching Apple's flagship products become "also rans". So I find myself with each one of his political statements spending more time looking at how I can extract myself from the Apple ecosystem... something that will have a lot of cost and frustration since most of my family is in it. So yes, I think that customers of a company that has an ongoing cost to participate have a right to speak out when the CEO of that company is more interested in political causes than running the company. Look at how many things in the buyers guide here are recommended to not buy, because they have fallen behind or not been updated in years.

 

[Nefilim]

Tim just shut up. Your SJW act has been exposed for the complete BS it's always been. You never show this moxy in the Middle East where LGBT people are executed on daily basis or in China where censorship is the name of the game but so long as you can build your products on the cheap and sell em in despotic countries I suppose everything is fine...

I'll assume you will condemn Trump for meeting Chinese officials at this point and his daughter pushing the economy in China - and ultimately enabling the human rights abuses of the government - through her business?

 

[tshrimp]

I hope he mentioned that it is also important for those from other countries, etc. to do the same since they are the ones who should be changing to meet the customs and working environment in the US.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Translation: I don't agree with anything he says so he shouldn't say anything at all.

If you don't care, why even comment?

Its always conservatives who are complaining about snowflakes and SJWs. Now they are special snowflakes who can't handle Tim Cook and Apple having an opinion.
[doublepost=1491591843][/doublepost]

It is troubling that when asked to give a speech this is the topic he chose. Unless he was specifically asked to talk about this. I would hope the CEO of Apple would be more passionate about technology and his vision of the future. Talking diversity in the most diverse and inclusive country in the history of the world just comes across as virtue signaling.

That's boring and one dimensional. Tim needed to talk to everyone at the school and not just the tech geeks.

 

[iReality85]

Why is it that tech CEOs constantly feel the need to preach and expound the virtues of diversity in western universities and cultures? Why not express the same sentiments in China while visiting? Or Middle Eastern nations? Same goes for women's rights, or gay rights, or any number of western morals in non-western societies.

I know the answer, I'm merely being rhetorical. The hypocrisy is thick. And of course, diversity is only good if it involves the color of skin, gender, or culture, but never political ideology. Anyone to the right of left need not apply, or else you'll be shunned and ostracized and be considered a lemming in Silicon Valley.
[doublepost=1491600922][/doublepost]

Fire this man!

Did you just assume his gender in a post binary gender neutral society?

We need to send MellowFuzz off to the reeducation camp for some serious sensitivity training. I'm offended just reading it.

/sarc

 

[Cineplex]

Once again Timmy is telling us how morally superior he is. Everyone is equal.....expect in countries where equality effects sales, then who cares. I wish they'd show this guy the door.

 

[SBlue1]

Whats wrong with all of ya? Thought you all live in a land of free speech? Is he not allowed to have an own opinion on things that he cares about? I think people who are in the focus of the media and society have an even bigger responsibility to tell the public what is wrong. Public figures are like "do you job and shut up". Remember what people said about Colin Kaepernick how he should just play and stay out of politics? Why? I don't get it.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Once again Timmy is telling us how morally superior he is. Everyone is equal.....expect in countries where equality effects sales, then who cares. I wish they'd show this guy the door.

Actually you said that Tim Cook was morally superior. Tim Cook made no such assertions.

 

[sudo1996]

Tim literally has no ****ing clue what terrible 'cultures' some parts of the world have. To say we gotta celebrate that it's seeping into our civilization is a slap in the face of all the victims of the so called 'cultures'.

There are nations with barbaric cultures, but if you're talking about the Chinese or the Syrians, those aren't among them. They're more civilized than Americans or Europeans if anything, only their countries are worse off economically/politically. And if you're talking about a barbaric nation, I don't see how they're messing with our culture at all.
[doublepost=1491728299][/doublepost]

Whats wrong with all of ya? Thought you all live in a land of free speech? Is he not allowed to have an own opinion on things that he cares about? I think people who are in the focus of the media and society have an even bigger responsibility to tell the public what is wrong. Public figures are like "do you job and shut up". Remember what people said about Colin Kaepernick how he should just play and stay out of politics? Why? I don't get it.

Free speech just means the government won't prosecute you, not that people won't dislike you. France and the UK do not have free speech.
[doublepost=1491728420][/doublepost]

Wow nice change. Hes talking about diversity in terms of real differences between people based on mostly experience and character. Too long diversity has been intertwined with racism and has only focused on the difference in reproductive parts or skin color. Unless you think all white people or black people are the same, touting diversity should not be done via sex or skin color, but character and experience.

Experience, family background, personal and political views, maybe nationality. Those matter a lot more than skin color or sex, which mostly don't matter whatsoever.

 

[s2mikey]

Whats wrong with all of ya? Thought you all live in a land of free speech? Is he not allowed to have an own opinion on things that he cares about? I think people who are in the focus of the media and society have an even bigger responsibility to tell the public what is wrong. Public figures are like "do you job and shut up". Remember what people said about Colin Kaepernick how he should just play and stay out of politics? Why? I don't get it.

Because 99.9999% of the time whatever celebrity/CEO/athlete is doing the preaching is condescending and basically "telling the peasants how it is". Just because they got lucky in life doesnt make them authorities on politics or anything else. Just like Meryl Streep at the Oscars or Kaperstink - shut your !@#$% mouth and just entertain. Or, go on a political talk show and spew your crap. And I dont care if its right wing or left wing. I dont want to hear it and neither do most other regular people.

You're giving them way too much credit if you really believe that they "know better". They certainly do NOT. Most are spoiled brats and wouldnt know a damned thing about the "peasants" live. So, yeah, Shut the !@#$ up, Mr and Mrs celebrity. I like how Mark Wahlberg "gets it". He says that Celebs are out of touch with what regular people have to deal with. He is 100% right.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Because 99.9999% of the time whatever celebrity/CEO/athlete is doing the preaching is condescending and basically "telling the peasants how it is". Just because they got lucky in life doesnt make them authorities on politics or anything else. Just like Meryl Streep at the Oscars or Kaperstink - shut your !@#$% mouth and just entertain. Or, go on a political talk show and spew your crap. And I dont care if its right wing or left wing. I dont want to hear it and neither do most other regular people.

You're giving them way too much credit if you really believe that they "know better". They certainly do NOT. Most are spoiled brats and wouldnt know a damned thing about the "peasants" live. So, yeah, Shut the !@#$ up, Mr and Mrs celebrity. I like how Mark Wahlberg "gets it". He says that Celebs are out of touch with what regular people have to deal with. He is 100% right.

What about Donald Trump? I mean if you are going to criticize Meryl Streep for speaking out you should also criticize Donald Trump for speaking out and entering politics instead of just sticking to acting like a businessman on his old show.

Say what you want about liberals but at least they are consistent. Conservatives regularly criticize liberals for stuff they are actively doing themselves.

 

[SBlue1]

Because 99.9999% of the time whatever celebrity/CEO/athlete is doing the preaching is condescending and basically "telling the peasants how it is". Just because they got lucky in life doesnt make them authorities on politics or anything else. Just like Meryl Streep at the Oscars or Kaperstink - shut your !@#$% mouth and just entertain. Or, go on a political talk show and spew your crap. And I dont care if its right wing or left wing. I dont want to hear it and neither do most other regular people.

You're giving them way too much credit if you really believe that they "know better". They certainly do NOT. Most are spoiled brats and wouldnt know a damned thing about the "peasants" live. So, yeah, Shut the !@#$ up, Mr and Mrs celebrity. I like how Mark Wahlberg "gets it". He says that Celebs are out of touch with what regular people have to deal with. He is 100% right.

A celebrity does not have to know it better, he just has a bigger reach. So yeah, he should speak up. His voice may be heard, mine will not be heard.

And shut up and entertain me, really? LOL.

 

[s2mikey]

What about Donald Trump? I mean if you are going to criticize Meryl Streep for speaking out you should also criticize Donald Trump for speaking out and entering politics instead of just sticking to acting like a businessman on his old show.

Say what you want about liberals but at least they are consistent. Conservatives regularly criticize liberals for stuff they are actively doing themselves.

Ummm - Trump is the President. So, Ummm.... he would be discussing politics. Wow.

A celebrity does not have to know it better, he just has a bigger reach. So yeah, he should speak up. His voice may be heard, mine will not be heard.

And shut up and entertain me, really? LOL.

Ahhh - so even if said celebs are spewing garbage we should just listen because they have a longer reach? Hitler had a long reach too. Great.