The Congressional Black Caucus has called for Apple and other Silicon Valley companies to
update or release federal data on workplace diversity, with California state representative Barbara Lee having met with Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier in the week on behalf of the group. She praised Cook and Apple's efforts thus far, saying "Apple seems to be moving in the right direction," but also met with several other tech firms that have been less transparent on the issue.
Lee and other CBC representatives also met with executives from Google, Intel, Pandora, and SAP among other firms to encourage tech companies to both issue reports on its current diversity status, and to engage in initiatives to encourage more outreach to traditionally-ignored groups such as African-Americans, women, and other groups to help increase diversity in the traditionally white-male-dominated industry.
Cook, who finds himself a minority of one of sorts in being the only openly gay Fortune 500 CEO, has been an
enthusiastic supporter of the idea of of increasing diversity, believing that it widens the pool of talent, strengthens American innovation, and increases the diversity of viewpoints and approaches that fuel inventiveness and problem-solving. Apple last year issued
a diversity report that showed that 55 percent of its 98,000-strong workforce is white, and 70 percent are males.
Cook promised to make efforts to increase outreach, and the company has engaged in some initiatives to reach out to traditional and non-traditional groups, from women to veterans and various minority groups and minority-centered universities and colleges as well. The company has spent
more than $50 million in efforts to encourage more diversity in tech.
Based on Lee's remarks, Apple is likely to issue a new report sometime this summer that will show increased hiring of Hispanic, African-American, and women employees at both retail and non-retail engineering positions. Apple Human Resources head Denise Young Smith
has hinted as much in public appearances, and Lee specifically noted that African-American hiring was up. "Tim Cook wants his company to look like the country, and I think they are very committed to doing everything they can do," she said.
Most firms with over 100 employees are required to file an annual EEO-1 report with the government, but Apple and some other tech companies have taken steps to be more transparent about both the figures, and what the companies are doing to encourage minority groups to enter the tech field, one of the country's most financially-successful sectors. While the exposure the CBC and other groups shine on tech hiring is seen by some as pressure to fill "quotas," Cook and others have refuted the charge, saying the exercise is more about changing attitudes among recruiters and employers to look at a more diverse workforce and consider candidates outside the traditional areas.
Cook and Apple have previously embraced an image that "inclusion inspires innovation," releasing
a video on the theme last year and fueling the company's outreach programs. Apple's senior leadership have made several minority hires in some executive and management positions since Cook took over as CEO in 2011.
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