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Apple, Amazon refuse to disclose federal diversity data
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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Apple and Amazon are two noteworthy holdouts among major technology companies refusing to share their EEO-1 diversity data with the media, says USA Today. US businesses submit an annual EEO-1 form to the Federal government, detailing the racial, ethnic, and gender lines of their workforces. While resistance to sharing that data has been common for years, in recent months, more and more companies have been bowing to pressure. Facebook, eBay, Google, Yahoo, and LinkedIn have made their EEO-1s public; Intel has been disclosing its data for a decade.
USA Today writes that it recently approached some of the holdouts. In response, Twitter chose to publish its EEO-1 on Friday; at its annual shareholder meeting last week, Microsoft stated that it would publish by the end of December. Only Apple and Amazon have declined to share data; Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet moreover refused to speak on the reasons for this, and an Amazon spokesman, Ty Rogers, simply hasn't responded to a request for comment.
In August, Apple released an internally-produced diversity report which confirmed views that the company skews overwhelmingly male, and in the US, white. An associated letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed that the company has been "working hard for quite some time" to improve diversity, and that it's been "making progress." If so, it's not clear why the company would skip publishing its EEO-1, but USA Today observes that tech companies often complain that the job classifications in the form don't match up with positions in the industry.
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Dec 10, 2014 at 06:06 AM.
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Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Prince George, BC, Canada
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Umm, maybe because focusing on race, gender, etc. actually IS the problem... it's racist, sexist, etc. If companies forget about all of that and just hire the best they can find, the problem goes away. If someone is intentionally NOT hiring from a certain segment of the population, then THAT is a problem, whether that person is a darker skinned female or a white-as-snow male. When you start 'working hard' to meet some percentage of people with particular physical characteristics, you can't help but be racist, sexist, etc.
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Senior User
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The fact is that doing nothing about the known problem actually doesn't result in positive change.
I don't think anyone is expecting perfect percentages from specific companies in a given region, but the idea is to promote inclusive practice.
Throwing out labels isn't constructive in the context of the goal.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maitland, FL
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Steve: the problem that these companies are trying to overcome is NOT "we don't have enough people of colour, so let's just go out and hire some willy-nilly." Apple has more Chinese employees than it does whites, almost certainly.
The problem is that here in the US (and to a lesser degree elsewhere) the whole structure of society is *designed* to prevent minorities and women from getting into these fields *at all.* The tech companies are trying to foster the *ambition* to work in tech among groups that have traditionally felt (or have literally been) excluded from it. This is called "leading from the top" and its a very laudable effort. The idea is to make it clear that traditionally-disenfranchised groups are welcome in these fields, but its an approach that doesn't change things overnight.
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
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Apple is in a tough spot here. On the one hand, the entire structure of society is set up to privilege white males; at the same time, no company can possibly succeed without the diverse perspectives that only women and non-white peoples can provide.
It is now clear from a bevy of empirical research by esteemed institutions that diversity is a strength. It follows that, in today's hyper-competitive economy, lack of diversity is a fatal weakness.
Since the problems are systemic, the obvious conclusion is that Apple needs to do whatever it can to help change the whole structure of society. Otherwise, it can't survive.
To that end, Apple ought to start looking to its successful, market-leading peers, like Microsoft and Yahoo!, for examples of what it needs to do in this regard. The problem is too many white males and the solution is fewer of them. Innovation cannot continue if Apple's "white-bread" culture is not changed.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
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As long as we ( especially the press) continue to divide people by whatever means, be by color, class, etc there will be just that, a divide. Work should go to the most qualified for the job, period.
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Beg forgiveness, not permission
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lindenhurst, NY
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As long as we ( especially the press) continue to divide people by whatever means, be by color, class, etc there will be just that, a divide. Work should go to the most qualified for the job, period.
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Beg forgiveness, not permission
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