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Apple's Response To Diversity Criticism: 'We Had a Canadian' Onstage at iPhone 7 Event (mic.com)

Mic published a report last week in which it criticized the gender divide at Apple's last two iPhone events. The reporter noted that at iPhone 7 event, women spoke for roughly eight minutes at stage compared to men, who spoke for 99. Furthermore, most of the women and people of color who appeared onstage weren't Apple representatives. An Apple spokesperson, who shared the information "off-the-record", had a weird response. The email read, "We may have different interpretations of diversity." The email continues, via Mic report, "he pointed to 'two African-Americans' who spoke at the keynote, neither of whom are actually employed by Apple. He also mentioned 'a Canadian, and a British woman.'"

The reporter has defended the use of "off-the-record" information, noting that Apple PR didn't warn her beforehand -- and as an important ethic in journalism -- they didn't reach an agreement before the Apple PR decided to share things.

Glenn Greenwald writes:They're 100% right. Nobody can unilaterally decree "off the record". Requires a mutual agreement or it doesn't exist.

21 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, speaking time should be determined by genitals?

    The real tragedy is that most of the talking time was taken up by brown eyed people. As someone with green eyes, I am offended.

    1. Re:Who cares? by NotInHere · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Also, the keynote was held in english. I demand that the keynote should be held in languages that match the language distribution in the population. Otherwise you will offend foreign speakers.

    2. Re:Who cares? by Cyberpunk+Reality · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What do you mean "foreign speakers"? Apple doesn't make its money in the US, according to Apple. Maybe the whole thing should have been Irish. Or Mandarin, but I really doubt Apple cares whether its slaves can understand the ritual or not.

      --
      Rule 35 of the internet: "If it can be hacked, it will be". - Charles Stross
    3. Re:Who cares? by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Power imbalance reinforced by exposure to stereotyped junior roles for women

      Oh, fuck off. Women at Apple work at all levels of responsibility, from interns to SVPs.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    4. Re:Who cares? by sinij · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was also not mentioned, that oppressive white cis patriarchy established society that unfairly exploited women and now to bring it back to historical equality the society must actively discriminate against all males. We should probably just put all men into re-education camps away from children, because why won't you think of the children?!

    5. Re:Who cares? by Kohath · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real point is to pressure Apple into giving money to some advocacy groups.

    6. Re:Who cares? by bfpierce · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "media events spotlighting"

      Pretty sure none of my role models in technology had any media spotlight what so ever. Most of that is at most a mention in a textbook.

      Maybe stop looking for role models on the tv or twitter. If you're idea of 'getting into IT' is 'standing up on a podium and talking about products and synergies' you're looking at the wrong degree. Get an MBA.

    7. Re:Who cares? by x0ra · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why should your brain eye color be determined by your physical eye color ? Don't you know that eye color is a social construct ? My blue eyes should not mislead you, I am truly brown eye colored !

    8. Re:Who cares? by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Funny

      The real point is to pressure Apple into giving money to some advocacy groups.

      How about the IRS to start?

      Amen to that. Unfortunately, Apple lacks the, uh, ... courage.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    9. Re:Who cares? by nitehawk214 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I sexually identify as an Irish person.

      Except during Oktoberfest, when I am German.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  2. What? Why? by freeze128 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I can see the reporter's view if (and only if) the presenters were a sample of the market demographic giving their opinions about the product. Of course you would want your demographic to include different colors/genders.

    But, if the speakers were knowledgeable individuals either working at Apple, or paid by Apple, then that goes all out the window. You don't stop racism by hiring someone just because of their skin color. You don't stop sexism by hiring someone based on their gender. I don't automatically get a job just because I'm a white male. I have to actually have the skills to do the job. Why should any other race/gender expect the same treatment?

  3. That PR guy really screwed up. by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's a HUGE mistake to give any attention at all to SJWs. He shouldn't have taken the bait, but he probably thought that pointing out facts would satisfy the SJW.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  4. Unfair to Apple by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I mean, 80% of the Apple speakers were gay men and the remaining 20% were bi-curious, so what's the problem? Or isn't that diverse enough for you?

    Aren't we in America? I thought this was America!

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  5. Gawker-level douchebag. by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "The reporter has defended the use of "off-the-record" information," ...because she wanted clickbait, and is too fucking stupid to know that having the trust of her sources is far more valuable.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  6. Not the point by SeattleLawGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But, if the speakers were knowledgeable individuals either working at Apple, or paid by Apple, then that goes all out the window. You don't stop racism by hiring someone just because of their skin color. You don't stop sexism by hiring someone based on their gender. I don't automatically get a job just because I'm a white male. I have to actually have the skills to do the job. Why should any other race/gender expect the same treatment?

    That's not the point of programs that encourage diversity in the workplace. Nobody wants to hire somebody who is unskilled. What they want to do is encourage people to apply and make sure the workplace is welcoming to everyone. If the skilled people are minorities, that helps the public image because it *shows* that minorities are welcome in the workplace. And it is NOT a given that minorities are welcome in a workplace. While most employers want anybody really good who can work with their teams (because good people can be hard to find), that doesn't mean that the team will understand how to relate to the new person or that the new person won't face a hostile work environment. Sure, people can make mountains out of molehills, but there are also things that are mountains if you're on one side of them and molehills if you're on the other and if you're standing on the molehill side you don't realize that the other side goes down for miles.

    --
    Real lawyers write in C++
  7. Re:Oh My by sexconker · · Score: 4, Funny

    you got downvoted, not because you are wrong, but because everyone knows you dont land on the sun, you just....burn up when you reach it

      still a great idea however

    Just time it so you arrive at night, idiot.

  8. Re:So it's OK, right? by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    You know, usually on things like this political/societal bent, usually it goes to an extreme, like we see today, and then usually the pendulum swings back.

    I sure as hell hope all this political correctness and "diversity everything" bullshit goes away and the pendulum swings back, and becomes mere background noise.

    I don't care who the fuck does something, as long as they do the job well!

    In a color blind, sex blind society like many profess to be working towards, then the FIRST thing we need to do, is STOP counting who is this, that or the other.

    Life is a competition out there, and only the best at a job should win. Who cares if this or that is diverse? If you don't like how the spread of their crown/workforce is....move to another, support another, etc.

    I mean, do you do this with your group of friends? Do you count exactly how many women/men/whatever vs black/white/green there are in your group and bitch and complain about you're missing X demographic?

    Hell, in the latter, you have MUCH more choice in that and can directly do something about it. But in the job market, and in a stupid product presentation, do we really need someone to count category and demographic of the presenters?

    Seriously, Who Give a Fuck...and why should they?

    Frankly, aside from one of the presenters that I had a hard time understanding, I didn't really notice who was of what sexual/racial category.

    If you watch something and THAT is all you see, then you really need to get a life and find more important things to ponder.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  9. Re:No Such Things As Off The Record by schnell · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is no such thing as "off the record". Anyone working PR knows this.

    Then you pretty clearly don't work in PR. "Off the record," "on background," "not for attribution" and other deals between sources and reporters are real and specific things and are used frequently every day in "grownup" journalism. These concepts "work" because of mutual self-interest: the journalist doesn't want to burn the source/PR rep/whatever and vice versa because they (or at least their respective organizations) will continue to have to work together in the future.

    Dealing with bloggers from sites nobody has heard of and hence have no reputation to uphold by adhering to agreements? Not so much. The PR rep should have known better than to treat a random blogger whining about speaking time/genitals/skin color ratios like a grownup, but that doesn't mean those concepts don't exist and aren't employed frequently.

    --
    "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
  10. Media has devolved into professional trolling by WaffleMonster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    MIC itself is a tribe of disproportionately intolerant young people who explicitly view attention whoring as a legitimate pathway to success.

  11. Re:So it's OK, right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And by inference, automatically be ashamed of his white maleness. He is guilty of something just by being born a certain way. We know his history, his personal circumstances all because he's white and male. Much easier to put individuals into nice buckets that fit your prejudices, but nobody else can do the same.

    He should know that only white males can inflict *-isms... everyone else gets a free pass.

    He should stop working hard doing his best long enough to realize that other are offended by his very breathing and he should do more to make them happy. Which is more to the point, he needs to dedicate his life to servitude of others' ideals and beliefs.

    Let's let him know it's not his best that's needed, just his compliance to what you think.

  12. Re:So it's OK, right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yep. Personally I don't give a fuck anymore. If somebody thinks I'm being sexist or racist, they can sue me. Really, they can. We have laws they can sue me under. We have government agencies they can contact to help them out. The fact that nobody is suing Apple indicates to me that Apple is not a sexist or racist employer.

    Until then "you're racist!" and "you're sexist!" are just so much "waaawaaawaaawaaawawawa." Just train yourself to hear only the teacher's voice from Peanuts waawaawawaaawaaawaaa any time somebody wants to say you're sexist. Don't tell me about microaggressions. I don't care. Don't expect me to roll over and go homeless so you can replace me with a diversity hire without paying me unemployment. Waawaaawawaaawaaawa.

    Does that sound mean? Does that sound cruel? Too fucking bad. Maybe people who don't understand computers themselves shouldn't have been lobbing "you're sexist!" and "this closed source 3rd party program wouldn't have bugs if a woman was promoted instead!" bullshit at me.

    You want to think I'm a sexist? You imagine I'm "sexually frustrated" because I don't date women? Go right ahead. If that's what makes you happy. Knock yourself out. Yep, I'm being a big sexist by personally filtering your internet connection in your home so you can't learn programming yourself just because of the body part between your legs. Waawaaaawawawawaaaa. You want to be serious? Sue me. Present your evidence in court.

    Oh, what's that? You don't have any evidence? You're just a washed-up never-was asshole who wants to hold me accountable because you never accomplished anything in your life? Waawaawawaaawaaawaa.