Apple Releases New Diversity Numbers, Hired Over 11,000 Women in Past Year

[66318]

Even when we ask the recruiter to specifically send us women for very technical positions in networking, telephony and software development the numbers that we see are minuscule. In my case, when I graduated there was this stigma of IT being boring and difficult so I don't have an answer on how we can improve the odds of more women in IT.

For women, it's not the stigma of IT being boring. It's the reality of it being home to a lot of underdeveloped men who continue to see women as objects instead of people. Even at a more progressive company I worked for with a very LGBT friendly culture, IT still had people in it that made women uncomfortable. Why? First comment out of one of the IT employees mouths when he heard a woman was being hired for the group was "Is she hot?".

It's those types of comments, those types of views, and those types of actions that result in women avoiding IT like it's disgusting. Because unfortunately, it is.

Recruiters have to also be aware of some of the differences to be able to find candidates too. Many continue to use tactics that have been shown to only result in male applicants rising to the top.

None of this means anyone is a bad person, it's means that we have more work to do to help people become aware of their own unconscious biases. The victorian era view of gender still has a strong grip on many societies, including here in the US.

 

[Dargoth]

I understand what Tim is trying to do but the problem traces back to the education system. I work for a huge corporation and our IT dept is 80-85% male (very diversified: Asian, blacks, whites, Spanish, European, etc) with the rest of the women doing user training, project management and a few in managerial positions.

Even when we ask the recruiter to specifically send us women for very technical positions in networking, telephony and software development the numbers that we see are minuscule. In my case, when I graduated there was this stigma of IT being boring and difficult so I don't have an answer on how we can improve the odds of more women in IT.

Maybe we should just let women choose what they want to do with their lives? If they don't want to be in IT, let them do something else. Why does it matter to anyone else what they choose to do with their lives? Hell, if a woman wants to be a housewife, then I say, why not? Sorry if that last point is blasphemy...

 

[jasonklee]

i may get flamed for this but i never understood the american obsession with race and where people are from. like when i was studying abroad people kept asking me "whats my background?" and i didnt even get what they were talking about. "i am half this a quarter of that and a bit of this and that". i was like "i am german ... i guess?" (even though my dad is spanish but why point that out if i wasnt born there)

same thing when i had to sign some papers and it asked if i am caucasian or whatever (i didnt even know caucasian was a word before that)

Because some Americans expect immigrants to assimilate and assimilation means forgetting who you are culturally and where you came from. I have a neighbor who goes on spiels about how she despises the Muslims and Indians moving into our apartment building because "They wear those schmattas on their heads," and "dress in rags." And some immigrants take offense to that. They want to live here happily and freely but they also want to preserve aspects of their culture: food, customs, clothes, language, religion.

As for the diversity report, I hope Tim Cook isn't using Apple for some experiment in social engineering to appease his own sense of politics, but doing what sports teams do and just scouting for the best talent beyond the white male demographic. In addition to rather than at the expense of.

Bonus: found this old link a couple days ago.

http://www.urbanfaith.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-passion-for-diversity.html/

 

[ScottishDuck]

Ah yes the racists and misogynists out in force as always.

 

[peterdevries]

As a woman this bothers me. Hire the best person for the job whether it's a man, woman, green person, purple person, alien whatever..

You are missing the point. That is exactly what they are doing. These kinds of initiatives ensure that the vetting of resumes goes beyond checking the name, origin and education. It increases the likelihood of brilliant people from minority backgrounds to stand a chance when they would normally have had none due to their disadvantaged positioning in the resume hierarchy, or having attended a non- Ivy League university.

 

[Dargoth]

Ah yes the racists and misogynists out in force as always.

As are the race-baiters it seems.

 

[FieldingMellish]

I believe Tim Cook is using Apple for some experiment in social engineering to appease his own sense of politics.

 

[strider42]

for those saying just hire the best person for the job, being more diverse can be a big part of that. If you don't reach out to groups that aren't traditionally hired, you are missing out on talent. Youa re missing our on perspective that can help your company. I am sure all the people they hired are talented, intelligent people who are contributing. Assuming they are not is exactly part of the problem. A commitment to diversity just means a commitment to broaden your search for the best people.

 

[agsystems]

Maybe we should just let women choose what they want to do with their lives? If they don't want to be in IT, let them do something else. Why does it matter to anyone else what they choose to do with their lives? Hell, if a woman wants to be a housewife, then I say, why not? Sorry if that last point is
blasphemy...

Agreed..btw, no offense taken - my wife is proudly staying home caring for our two children and that's her choice. No pressure or suggestion from me, that's what she wants to do and I support her.

 

[inhalexhale1]

As a woman this bothers me. Hire the best person for the job whether it's a man, woman, green person, purple person, alien whatever..

I agree 100%. I am all for fairness and diversity. But when companies boast "hey, look we hired more woman this year, or more blacks this year", it looks like charity. It also alludes these populations aren't as good, and need be forced-inclusion instead of it happening organically. I'm also tired of media, business leaders, etc. referring to Americans as "the whites", "the blacks", "the gays", "gotta get the Hispanic vote"....but hey, gotta keep us divided, right?

 

[Mactendo]

I understand what Tim is trying to do but the problem traces back to the education system. I work for a huge corporation and our IT dept is 80-85% male (very diversified: Asian, blacks, whites, Spanish, European, etc) with the rest of the women doing user training, project management and a few in managerial positions.

Even when we ask the recruiter to specifically send us women for very technical positions in networking, telephony and software development the numbers that we see are minuscule. In my case, when I graduated there was this stigma of IT being boring and difficult so I don't have an answer on how we can improve the odds of more women in IT.

But why you should improve the odds of more women in IT? It's as someone said above is like improving odds of more men in nursery. What's the point of such artificial diversity. To each his own.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Wha

First they hire 11,000 women, then they give you 16GB storage in the base iPhone.

What are 11,000 women going to do with 0.00146 GB per woman?

 

[kupkakez]

I understand what Tim is trying to do but the problem traces back to the education system. I work for a huge corporation and our IT dept is 80-85% male (very diversified: Asian, blacks, whites, Spanish, European, etc) with the rest of the women doing user training, project management and a few in managerial positions.

Even when we ask the recruiter to specifically send us women for very technical positions in networking, telephony and software development the numbers that we see are minuscule. In my case, when I graduated there was this stigma of IT being boring and difficult so I don't have an answer on how we can improve the odds of more women in IT.

I don't think we need to improve the odds. If women want to get into IT they will and if they don't they won't. I work in IT now and I have my bachelor's in IT. I only chose IT because it was something I enjoyed doing and had been doing a majority of my life as a hobby.

I don't think we will ever change it, and I think that's okay.

 

[Gasu E.]

How many more qualified men we're ignored in favour of 'diversity'?

69% of Apple employees are male. So, I don't know-- how many do you think?

 

[iKrivetko]

First comment out of one of the IT employees mouths when he heard a woman was being hired for the group was "Is she hot?".

And that is a bad thing because… ?

 

[Four oF NINE]

How is it detrimental? To who?

I submit that it's detrimental because identity politics is perceived as a legitimate substitute for real economic left policies that would benefit the entire working class.

The true class divide in America is an economic class divide, not racial, gender or sexual identity.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Remember ..Steve Jobs was a college dropout. If you're going solely on qualifications one of the best CEO of our generation would NOT have made the cut anywhere.

 

[macintologist]

It's the quality of the people that matters. Not race or sex.

People who grow up constantly being discriminated against because of their race, constantly being belittled, it's hard for them to be able to say that race doesn't matter when it so clearly does to them.

 

[Dargoth]

I don't think we need to improve the odds. If women want to get into IT they will and if they don't they won't. I work in IT now and I have my bachelor's in IT. I only chose IT because it was something I enjoyed doing and had been doing a majority of my life as a hobby.

I don't think we will ever change it, and I think that's okay.

Bingo. Women tend to pick certain jobs, men tend to pick other jobs. Because of this, there will ALWAYS be an imbalance, and that's as it should be. As long as people have the freedom to choose, there is no problem.

 

[KdParker]

How many more qualified men we're ignored in favour of 'diversity'?

I've got a friend that runs a web development company and all but one of his employees are men. The government is on his ass that he needs to hire more women. So what's he supposed to do when there are so few (nearly none) women in the field... and even then, it's especially difficult to find ones that are more qualified than the rest?

Perhaps we should make some efforts to put in more men into hospitals as nurses? Or is feminism really only about benefiting one side only?

I would assume none.
Why would you assume a qualified woman was only chosen only because she was a woman.

 

[Gasu E.]

As a woman this bothers me. Hire the best person for the job whether it's a man, woman, green person, purple person, alien whatever..

Whites and males are over-represented compared to the US population as a whole. So what makes you think the best person is not being hired because they are white or male? If anything, the numbers, taken at face value, suggest the opposite.

 

[Dargoth]

Whites and males are over-represented compared to the US population as a whole. So what makes you think the best person is not being hired because they are white or male? If anything, the numbers, taken at face value, suggest the opposite.

Which is why only a fool takes numbers at face value, without looking deeper.

 

[scottsjack]

"Diversity is critical to innovation and it is essential to Apple’s future." What a bunch of B.S. It's that same old liberal drivel mouthed by people who think that non-white males are excluded because of evil white racism and sexism.

Tim you want diversity first and everything thing else second go hire a bunch of the thugs standing around on the street in Ferguson and Baltimore. I bet they would design some really great products! Hahahaha.

 

[Gasu E.]

Maybe we should just let women choose what they want to do with their lives? If they don't want to be in IT, let them do something else. Why does it matter to anyone else what they choose to do with their lives? Hell, if a woman wants to be a housewife, then I say, why not? Sorry if that last point is blasphemy...

Is someone forcing someone to take a job they don't want? Sorry, I didn't see any indication that was going on in THIS article. Maybe you were confusing this with an article on the sex trade?

Always amazes me that people can read some entirely non-existent thing into an article. Almost as if they want it to say something it doesn't, perhaps to reinforce their own preconceptions.

 

[agsystems]

But why you should improve the odds of more women in IT? It's as someone said above is like improving odds of more men in nursery. What's the point of such artificial diversity. To each his own.

Agreed..I meant in the context of what Tim/Apple are trying to do. If women/minorities don't like a particular industry why do they need to be forced into and why is Apple is being single out.