Antonio García Martínez, the author of Chaos Monkeys and an ex-Facebook product manager, has been hired and apparently fired by Apple within a matter of weeks for sentiments expressed in his 2016 Silicon Valley memoir.
The book includes a description of women in the San Francisco Bay Area as “soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of sh*t.”
Apple has made plenty of public-facing moves to show its push for diversity in tech. But it’s making some behind-the-scenes changes, too — like tweaking the terms in its developer ecosystem to remove words the company no longer considers appropriate.
Examples include switching “master” code repository to “main” code repository, and changing “blacklist” to “deny list.” Here’s what Apple had to say in its announcement:
Apple is deepening its connection with historically Black colleges and universities to create “community hubs for coding and creativity.”
Under the heading of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, the partnership with an addition 10 learning institutes will allow Apple to expand its coding initiative — while also helping widen participation in tech.
Christie Smith, Apple’s vice president of inclusion and diversity, has left the company after two-and-a-half years in the role. Smith worked under Apple’s SVP of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien.
Smith’s departure was reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Apple. Her departure had been planned for a couple of months, but Tuesday was her last day.
Tim Cook came out as gay in October 2014 in a history-making essay for Businessweek. Now, half a decade later, he sat down with People en Español to discuss his decision. He also shared his thoughts on diversity and why he has pushed environmental issues at Apple.
After giving his commencement speech for Tulane University on Saturday, Tim Cook visited the nearby Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.
He met with founders Ellis Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. He also announced that Apple will be donating Apple products to help produce music in EMCM’s studios.
Denise Young Smith, a.k.a. Apple’s first ever vice president of diversity and inclusion, is leaving the company.
Young Smith won the role earlier this year, having previously been Apple’s head of worldwide human resources. She will be replaced by Christie Smith, who joins Apple from Deloitte.
Apple’s new video published this afternoon is a celebration of diversity, but according to a recent government filing, the company still has a long way to go before it can really call itself inclusive.
Over 80% of Apple’s senior ranking officials are white males, based on Apple’s updated Inclusion and Diversity report. Most of the numbers are stagnant compared to 2016, but there are a few spots to be proud of.
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.
Creating diversity at Apple isn’t just about making sure more people of color get added to the mix, according to the exec put in charge of creating a more diverse and inclusive culture at the iPhone maker’s offices.
Denise Young Smith, Apple VP of Diversity and Inclusion, was part of a recent panel discussion on fighting racial injustice where she talked about her mission at Apple. White men currently account for 56% of Apple’s workforce, but Young Smith says that doesn’t mean the company isn’t diverse.
