Apple Music's 'Head Diva' Bozoma Saint John Speaks at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit

[brvhrt]

I find it breathtakingly remarkable how threatened white men can be by a professional black woman. Seriously? You do know Apple is a global company, right? And the globe is comprised of more than just white men?

Good grief people, step out of your tiny bubbles. Outside, you'll find a vibrant, rich, diverse sea of perspectives, beliefs and people from all walks of life. Evolve. Just a tad. I know it's scary. But you can do it. I think. Be brave, white men. I'm pulling for us.

OK, genius. What are the ethnicities of all the people posting on this thread? Same goes for their spouses? Their friends?

You and others are making sweeping generalizations about people which is incredibly ironic.

 

[Zanton68]

Beats and Music has become an embarrassment and the Music App a shambles. The presentation was certainly memorable but not in a good way

Music was my reason for becoming an Apple customer and, the way it's going, will be my reason for going elsewhere. Already dumped Apple Music for Spotify and the Music App for Ecoute

 

[lazyrighteye]

OK, genius. What are the ethnicities of all the people posting on this thread? Same goes for their spouses? Their friends?

You and others are making sweeping generalizations about people which is incredibly ironic.

I never claimed to be a genius, just shared a different perspective. If that makes me a genius, that seems a pretty low bar for entry. And I don't personally know anyone in these lovely forums that I've been enjoying since 2001. But considering this is the internet, I assume every walk of life is represented here. Hope so.

I don't post here with anyone's particular ethnicity, race, religious beliefs, sexual preferences, etc. in mind. I'm less interested in compartmentalizing individuals. I've always felt humans are more alike than they are different. In the end, we all want the same basic things. In this particular case, I posted not in some crazy effort to convert anyone to a particular way of thinking, but to offer another perspective to consider vs. that which was was being conveyed. Ying, yang. Balance. Considering other perspectives is actually a healthy exercise in which I recommend more humans engage. The more diverse one's consideration set, the more likely one is to arrive at more effective solutions. This increasingly smaller planet is incredibly diverse. It's crucial we open our consideration sets if we're to effectively move forward.

That said, thanks for expressing your opinion. My only ask is that you remain open to other perspectives that might differ form your own. Keep the dialogue going. I'm confident we can achieve more though discussion than we can through silence.

Cheers.

 

[Analog Kid]

People here clearly don't understand Silicon Valley culture or the point of this article. Why is she being held up as an example of a powerful woman executive? Because she was being interviewed for Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit.

This article in itself isn't about Apple putting her forward, it's about her being brought forward by a third party.



Silicon Valley has a diversity problem, and they're finally starting to recognize that. Intelligence is not an X chromosome trait like male pattern baldness, and it's not linked to melanin deficiency.

This is important, for all of us. If companies are biased toward hiring only white men, then they're willfully leaving the bulk of a statistically equi-talented pool untapped. That means they simply will not be as successful as businesses, we will not have the products and technological advancements that we could, and our economy suffers as a result.

There is a definite bias in hiring, but that's not the only problem-- the problem is in education and in individual incentives. We aren't educating a diverse enough population in science and technology in part because people self-select based on society's expectations. Most people do what's expected of them. We follow our role models, and our role models often look like us.

So it is critically important for everyone that we make the extra effort to push examples like Ms. Saint John to the stage if for no other reason than to prime the pump and get some other young person who doesn't fit the mold of Jobs/Gates/Ellison/Chambers to pursue their talents. Thankfully she seems to have the strength to stand out and to put up with the kinds of nonsense this thread has generated in the first few posts.

So if you really think Apple is in decline, and if you're one of these people who keep blaming a perceived lack of vision on their current leadership, maybe you should give the over-tall Ghanaian who's not afraid to try and make a geek audience bust a rhyme a chance to drive.

And if you believe immigration is a problem, then maybe if a broader cross-section of the US population felt empowered to pursue a career in engineering and technology there'd be less visas and foreign development offices needed to keep that industry running.

I hate to bring up an overused line, but I really don't think Steve would have embraced giving someone a "head diva" role on the team while he was steering the ship.

That's probably a title that came from Beats. It's not uncommon for tech companies to use unconventional titles to make a stressful workplace more interesting and to convey a sense of iconoclasm to the outside world. Apple hasn't followed that model, but it's probably common in their acquisitions.

What Jobs would have embraced though is this attitude: "become just all of everything that I have". He was a believer in individual talent and often said the reason he was so hard driving is because he knew what his people were capable of and wouldn't settle for less.

 

[brvhrt]

I never claimed to be a genius, just shared a different perspective. If that makes me a genius, that seems a pretty low bar for entry. And I don't personally know anyone in these lovely forums that I've been enjoying since 2001. But considering this is the internet, I assume every walk of life is represented here. Hope so.

I don't post here with anyone's particular ethnicity, race, religious beliefs, sexual preferences, etc. in mind. I'm less interested in compartmentalizing individuals. I've always felt humans are more alike than they are different. In the end, we all want the same basic things. In this particular case, I posted not in some crazy effort to convert anyone to a particular way of thinking, but to offer another perspective to consider vs. that which was was being conveyed. Ying, yang. Balance. Considering other perspectives is actually a healthy exercise in which I recommend more humans engage. The more diverse one's consideration set, the more likely one is to arrive at more effective solutions. This increasingly smaller planet is incredibly diverse. It's crucial we open our consideration sets if we're to effectively move forward.

That said, thanks for expressing your opinion. My only ask is that you remain open to other perspectives that might differ form your own. Keep the dialogue going. I'm confident we can achieve more though discussion than we can through silence.

Cheers.

All great stuff but your previous statement presumed all the critical posts were being made by white males because of the woman in question's ethnicity. You were wrong in at least one case which is why I called you out on it. The irony in this prejudgement and generalization is overwhelming.

 

[Analog Kid]

All great stuff but your previous statement presumed all the critical posts were being made by white males because of the woman in question's ethnicity. You were wrong in at least one case which is why I called you out on it. The irony in this prejudgement and generalization is overwhelming.

Their post was addressed to white men and didn't reply to any post in particular. They didn't assume anything about anyone.

 

[brvhrt]

Their post was addressed to white men and didn't reply to any post in particular. They didn't assume anything about anyone.

Ok, so he just randomly inserted a criticism of white men addressed to white men in a thread where people were critical of a woman of color? Yeah, right. Play with semantics all you want but it is clear the hypocrisy is stunning. I get that this doesn't fit with the narrative people are swallowing and regurgitating without a thought of their own so there's not much more I can say.

 

[Digital Skunk]

This is the best thread I've read in a long time. I'm just LOADING my ignore list up with names.
[doublepost=1480538298][/doublepost]

I find it breathtakingly remarkable how threatened white men can be by a professional black woman. Seriously? You do know Apple is a global company, right? And the globe is comprised of more than just white men?

Good grief people, step out of your tiny bubbles. Outside, you'll find a vibrant, rich, diverse sea of perspectives, beliefs, and individuals from all walks of life. Evolve. Just a tad. I know it's scary. But you can do it. I think. Be brave, white men. I'm pulling for us.

This, and let's not forget that Steve Jobs wasn't a white man himself.

The idea that someone feels threatened or thinks that women are taking all of the jobs even though they are unqualified sits right up there with millennial participation trophies. If the black woman, gay black man, Arab paraplegic, etc. got the job over you, then you weren't qualified pure and simple.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Diva? How sexist.
Where is the feminist outrage?

 

[lazyrighteye]

All great stuff but your previous statement presumed all the critical posts were being made by white males because of the woman in question's ethnicity. You were wrong in at least one case which is why I called you out on it. The irony in this prejudgement and generalization is overwhelming.

It's interesting that on the heels of waging your finger at me for not knowing the ethnicities of all of the individuals in this forum, their spouses nor that of their friends, you can also pretend to know what I presumed. Both impressive and typical.

It could be that I simply chose "white men" as one potential critic of a professional black woman, to illustrate my point. I know, an improbable stretch on my part. Forgive.

What's actually overwhelming, is how easily things like racism, sexism and bigotry are swept under the rug, written off as "no big deal," or any other number of "out of sight, out of mind" tactics that helps some cope with the challenges reality can present. From casual innuendos that have slowly woven themselves into our human fabric, to more brazen, unapologetic examples - this stuff is as prevalent as ever. Which, while not the least bit surprising, is truly sad. So many brave individuals before us have fought - and even died - in the name of equality and opportunity. Yet here we sit, appalled that a black woman could be an executive. Even taking issue with her job title. Laughable. Fact is, people will conveniently believe whatever it is they need to believe in order to adhere to their engrained belief system. For better, or worse (I'd argue the latter). We're becoming increasingly lazy. Automated. Challenging oneself can be difficult, uncomfortable, maybe even inconvenient. And if there's anything people distain, it is the inconvenience of uncomfortable difficulty. Delusion is a powerful numbing agent.

But hey, you're your own person. You woke today, put on clothes, made decisions, contributed. Congrats! Again, I simply posted here to offer a counter perspective to that which was running rampant in this thread. No more. No less.

As you were.

 

[alexgowers]

Can't help but think she was hired, in large part, because she's black. When I hear her speak I'm not overly impressed. Apple would, unconsciously, make a hire like this due to their PC nature.

I feel sorry for you.

 

[radiology]

Excuse me but the racism seems to be solely and rampantly among all the people making accusations of racism where there is none. You know nothing about me. It is ironic you jumped to wildly incorrect and prejudicial conclusions about me when there is literally nothing in what I wrote to lead to it.

"Hair Force One" is equally nauseating but for different reasons. At least it is self deprecating. "Head Diva" is self aggrandizing and narcissistic. That's why I dislike it. I dislike the focus on the person and not the product. I dislike the cult of personality. I dislike treating corporate executives like pop stars. I dislike this particular one because her presentation was cringeworthy and self promoting when the product went backwards under her stewardship. I dislike the way corporate keynotes are pitched like pop concerts. I dislike forced diversity to make a point.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am not and never have been a racist, homophobe or misogynist. I am, however, absolutely against manufactured diversity when you end up with people like this particular executive and the presentation which she gave (edit: I actually believe she was picked due to her good looks which is also unacceptable). I am against it when it takes precedence over the raison d'etre of the company.

Contrast Apple's self conscious keynotes with the recent Microsoft presentation where the inclusion of minorities and women seemed entirely natural and in keeping with reasonable diversity in a modern company.

Hope that clears up my position. Now please grow up and stop seeing racism where there is none.

Well said my friend...well said...drop the mic...

 

[burgman]

Can't help but think she was hired, in large part, because she's black. When I hear her speak I'm not overly impressed. Apple would, unconsciously, make a hire like this due to their PC nature.

Arizona huh, who would have thought you would think that way given your picture and location. Sitting in your quiet little corner and international music scene are slightly different. That you can't even consider such an obvious difference Is typical. Dinosaur comes to mind.
[doublepost=1480570079][/doublepost]

Ok, so he just randomly inserted a criticism of white men addressed to white men in a thread where people were critical of a woman of color? Yeah, right. Play with semantics all you want but it is clear the hypocrisy is stunning. I get that this doesn't fit with the narrative people are swallowing and regurgitating without a thought of their own so there's not much more I can say.

So in summary your point of view is correct and others are swallowing and regurgitating without a thought of their own? Sounds like you have swallowed the same amount just a bit more bitter acid.

 

[macTW]

... and let's not forget that SteveIf the black woman, gay black man, Arab paraplegic, etc. got the job over you, then you weren't qualified pure and simple.

Ehh I'd say it depends on the industry... One would hope for and dream of a meritocracy-driven job market, but both employee compatibility (same language, culture, etc.) and, more prevalently, government/private grants or perceived approval due to diversity statistics. If two employees are similarly qualified, applying for one job at a tech industry company, the woman/non-white is more likely to get the job. The appearance of diversity can be more important than a marginal improvement in skill, because the public reception of the diversity.

Hence, affirmative action in universities.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Ehh I'd say it depends on the industry... One would hope for and dream of a meritocracy-driven job market, but both employee compatibility (same language, culture, etc.) and, more prevalently, government/private grants or perceived approval due to diversity statistics. If two employees are similarly qualified, applying for one job at a tech industry company, the woman/non-white is more likely to get the job. The appearance of diversity can be more important than a marginal improvement in skill, because the public reception of the diversity.

Hence, affirmative action in universities.

But that's illegal.

Not that I disagree. It's just that it's 100 illegal to hire based on quotas and with the intent to fudge your diversity numbers.

Almost every affirmative action specifically say NOT to do this.

Additionally, AA isn't just for non-white Americans. In Baltimore, white males benefit more from AA in regards to the thre HBCUs that are nearby. They get free college at the university level and heaps of money for living expenditures.

AA was always supposed to be about seeking a more diverse pool of candidates, not hiring people to look more diverse.

Again, that's not to say that your case doesn't happen at all. Although, I doubt that such a thing happened with Bozoma.

 

[macTW]

But that's illegal.

Not that I disagree. It's just that it's 100 illegal to hire based on quotas and with the intent to fudge your diversity numbers.

Almost every affirmative action specifically say NOT to do this.

Additionally, AA isn't just for non-white Americans. In Baltimore, white males benefit more from AA in regards to the thre HBCUs that are nearby. They get free college at the university level and heaps of money for living expenditures.

AA was always supposed to be about seeking a more diverse pool of candidates, not hiring people to look more diverse.

Again, that's not to say that your case doesn't happen at all. Although, I doubt that such a thing happened with Bozoma.

Agreed and agreed, despite illegal... it happens. Most notably at private universities like Stanford.

She was a high ranked employee (board member? I forget) at Beats and they kept her through the acquisition.