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Denise Young Smith Takes on New Role as VP of Diversity and Inclusion at Apple
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This job is not made up. Jeffrey Siminoff had this role from September 2013 – January 2016
If skin color (and gender, for that matter) were incidental then wouldn't her new position and job description be unnecessary?
And I have had the same. But I have family members and friends who have experienced discrimination. From the looks of the interviewer who is shocked because the name and speech of the person during a phone interview doesn't "match" the person they just met.
Or the blatant idiotic reasoning that they got their jobs because of AA...
But weird and inexplicable things happen to all people nearly all the time. It's a problem if you are insecure about some characteristic or trait and rely on it as a reason to explain ambiguous situations. For example, one person might think it's their skin color, another their weight, or their voice, popularity, height, hobbies, education, age, marital status, acne...
Why not just hire whoever is qualified?
Then we simply fundamentally disagree.
I see a world that is getting better at this, but where the problem of inequality runs deep, and starts from an early age (still).
We're only just getting started, and it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I'm in it for the long haul though.
Good idea. And this is the person whose job it is to make sure that policy is implemented among all the various people with hiring authority.
I think I speak for everyone when I say, finally.
All jokes aside, diversity seems to be something Apple already has under control. I don't see this adding much value at Apple.
All jokes aside, diversity seems to be something Apple already has under control. I don't see this adding much value at Apple.
But that's not true, is it? She is a D&I employee first and foremost. What skills are relevant to that "role" anyway?
Completely disagree with you. Minorities have just as much opportunity (if not more, these days) as anyone else. The problem is, it's easier to play the victim than to work hard. That's the saddest part, and probably the biggest problem.
inequality? please not this again.
Proven success at bringing a diverse workforce together. My company used to be plagued by ageism and our D&I VP cleaned it up within a year. It's actually made me a believer in the importance of D&I as the teams now work more efficiently than ever. But as I said before, I don't suspect there are many issued with D&I at Apple. Although I could be incorrect as I don't work there.
You are right. Part of people just work hard and reach their goals, but even bigger part is just playing victim with all the nonsense like white privilege and so on.
I never said she was the first person ever to be employed as Apple's VP of Diversity?
The past affects the present, and while some see this as political correctness, PR nonsense or whatever, I think doing things like this today will make such beliefs more true in the future.
40, 50, 60 years ago and beyond, this country was a lot different, and the effects are still felt today, which is why things like diversity efforts are even needed in the first place. But, by taking such action, it will make arguments like mine harder to defend in the upcoming decades, which is a good thing.
You have mentioned a shade of white and black, there are many shades of gray in the middle, which is what I believe diversity efforts are trying to target.
40, 50, 60 years ago and beyond, this country was a lot different, and the effects are still felt today, which is why things like diversity efforts are even needed in the first place. But, by taking such action, it will make arguments like mine harder to defend in the upcoming decades, which is a good thing.
You have mentioned a shade of white and black, there are many shades of gray in the middle, which is what I believe diversity efforts are trying to target.
I'm not criticizing inclusion. What I'm criticizing is the fact that all too often "Inclusion" and "Diversity" are nothing more than code words for exclusion, quotas etc. How about Apple hires the best possible people it can REGARDLESS of what their skin color is, their sexual leanings are or what their gender is?
I would imagine that her department includes workplace policies that affect employees after they've been hired, too.
Where I work now, we're expected to reach a certain standard of dressing-up -- i.e., khakis are okay but shorts and T-shirts will get you the hairy eyeball -- but I don't think anyone would bother the African-American woman in the next cubicle about her long braids, or the Muslim woman at the help desk and her hijab, or my Indonesian colleague and his batik-colored shirt.
Getting hired is only one obstacle. Attitudes that are present during day-to-day operations, however, can become their own beast if they're not handled appropriately.
Denise has been grinding away at her job for 20 years? I had no idea. Good for her. Glad to see that she's made it as far up the chain as she has.
Where I work now, we're expected to reach a certain standard of dressing-up -- i.e., khakis are okay but shorts and T-shirts will get you the hairy eyeball -- but I don't think anyone would bother the African-American woman in the next cubicle about her long braids, or the Muslim woman at the help desk and her hijab, or my Indonesian colleague and his batik-colored shirt.
Getting hired is only one obstacle. Attitudes that are present during day-to-day operations, however, can become their own beast if they're not handled appropriately.
Denise has been grinding away at her job for 20 years? I had no idea. Good for her. Glad to see that she's made it as far up the chain as she has.
Why? You need best people for the job that's it. Nothing can be more simple.
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Too easy, too logical. Must have drama.
I think you are both correct. There are people in society who choose to play the 'victim' card to avoid hard work and there are people who works hard but faces discrimination. These are society's issues and individuals make up the society. Unless everyone is on board, on the same page, have the same goals, we will always have these issues.
It's good that Apple recognizes this issue but this could very well be a PR / marketing move. I think most people have issues is with this role... how exactly will this role help solve our society's problem?
So you're basically just denying that there's a problem then.
In that case you're part of the reason why we still need roles like VP of D&I, and people like Denise. That's the great irony here — you hate these roles, you shout that it's "PC nonsense", but attitudes like yours are what makes these roles necessary and keeps them around.
Congratulations on feeding your own source of misery!
In an ideal world that'd happen all the time, regardless of people's ethnic background. But unfortunately it does not.
So you're basically just denying that there's a problem then.
In that case you're part of the reason why we still need roles like VP of D&I, and people like Denise. That's the great irony here — you hate these roles, you shout that it's "PC nonsense", but attitudes like yours are what makes these roles necessary and keeps them around.
Congratulations on feeding your own source of misery!
Ok, i'll play this stupid game. Can you answer me one question - What is justice?
That's a fair point, but if Apple had a diversity problem why didn't that guy fix it? Hiring someone else is just Apple saying "hey, here at Apple we have a diversity problem, yes I know we project an inclusive message, but no, we played you for suckers but at least now we've finally got someone in to cure this rot"