Apple’s VP of Diversity walks back recent controversial comments

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diversity Apple
Denise Young Smith shared her thoughts with colleagues following the comments.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity Denise Young Smith has apologized for comments she made about Apple’s commitment to inclusiveness.

Speaking at the One Young World Summit in Bogotá, Colombia last week, Smith made a comment defending diversity that’s not about skin color or gender, but rather lived experiences — therefore allowing a group of “12 white blue-eyed blond men” to be considered diverse.

However, despite meaning well with the comment, Young’s response was criticized by some commentators, who felt it undermined the need for greater diversity in tech by suggesting a company could remain overwhelmingly white and male, while still considering itself diverse. Read Denise Young Smith’s response letter to Apple employees below.

“Colleagues,

I have always been proud to work for Apple in large part because of our steadfast commitment to creating an inclusive culture. We are also committed to having the most diverse workforce and our work in this area has never been more important. In fact, I have dedicated my twenty years at Apple to fostering and promoting opportunity and access for women, people of color and the underserved and unheard.

Last week, while attending a summit in Bogota, I made some comments as part of a conversation on the many factors that contribute to diversity and inclusion.

I regret the choice of words I used to make this point. I understand why some people took offense. My comments were not representative of how I think about diversity or how Apple sees it. For that, I’m sorry.

More importantly, I want to assure you Apple’s view and our dedication to diversity has not changed.

Understanding that diversity includes women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and all underrepresented minorities is at the heart of our work to create an environment that is inclusive of everyone.

Our commitment at Apple to increasing racial and gender diversity is as strong as it’s ever been. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but there is much work to be done. I’m continually reminded of the importance of talking about these issues and learning from each other.

Best,

Denise”

The diversity of experience

To put Young’s recent comments in context, she told last week’s One Young World Summit panel that, “Diversity is the human experience. I get a little bit frustrated when diversity or the term diversity is tagged to the people of color or the women or the LGBT or whatever … There can be 12 white blue-eyed blond men in a room, and they are going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation.”

She continued that, to her, diversity is about bringing all of the voices into the room who have something valuable to add to a given scenario. While it’s a good overall message, it’s not difficult to see how some people were offended by it — particularly at a time when the subject of getting more people into tech from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds is being so heavily promoted.

What did you think of the comments, and the subsequent explanation? Drop us your thoughts below.

Source: TechCrunch

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