Apple workforce mostly white and male

Similar to other Silicon Valley tech companies, Apple has a workforce that is composed mostly of men, and most of them are white.

The company this week published statistics on the makeup of its workforce of 98,000 employees in terms of race, ethnicity and sex. It said 30 per cent of its employees worldwide were women. In the United States, where Apple is based, 55 per cent of the employees are white, 15 per cent are Asian, 11 per cent are Hispanic and only 7 per cent are black.

Apple joins a number of American firms, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, that have recently released so-called diversity reports in response to pressure from the civil rights activist the Rev Jesse L Jackson, who has called on tech companies to release this data about their workforces.

Apple’s report shows it is slightly more diverse than other tech giants, at least in terms of ethnicity. Apple’s percentage of white American workers (55 per cent) is lower than Google’s (61 per cent), Twitter’s (59 per cent) and Facebook’s (57 per cent).

Letter

Apple published a letter from its chief executive,

Timothy D Cook

, alongside its diversity report. Mr Cook noted that Apple’s definition of diversity goes beyond ethnicity and gender and includes other personal qualities like sexual orientation, disabilities or veteran status.

Although Apple's overall workforce teeters heavily toward white men, Apple, under Mr Cook's leadership, has steadily added women or minorities to its executive roster. Crucial hires and promotions include Angela Ahrendts, who oversees Apple's retail operations, and Denise Young- Smith, who took over human resources. In July, Apple also added a woman, Susan L Wagner, to its boards.

Unhappy

Still, Mr Cook admitted he was not happy with the results of the report. “Let me say up front: As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page,” Mr Cook wrote. “They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them. We are making progress, and we’re committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products.”

In an interview, Mr Jackson said he was glad Mr Cook had chosen to reveal the report under his signature. He said the publication of reports by Apple and the other firms was a step in the right direction. In the autumn, he plans to hold a public forum, which will include the firms that have disclosed data, to talk about a plan of action to help close the diversity gap.– (Copyright The New York Times 2014)