Twitter users are reminding Tim Cook that when it comes to workplace equality, actions speak louder than words. Apple held a Spring product event on Tuesday, which happened to be International Women's Day (IWD). Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted about the occasion saying that women are paving the way for a more equitable future, while Apple also featured all-female developers in a promotional video for the new M1 Ultra processor.
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Some applauded the company's showing off of female engineers, especially since it wasn't prominently displayed as a PR stunt the company pulled off because of IWD.
But people who identified themselves as former and current employees, as well as other Twitter, pointed out a problem: Apple's treatment of its female employees and its lack of response to sexism in the workplace.
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Cher Scarlett, a leader of the #AppleToo movement who ended up leaving Apple amid online harassment and alleged retaliation after she conducted a survey of Apple employee positions, demographics, and salaries, tweeted, “The video presentation is great, but it’s not enough.”
And those fighting the fight against equality criticized Apple. Timnit Gebru, the AI ethicist who ended up being fired from Google for challenging corporate demands she deemed unethical, tweeted about Apple’s “audacity” to pat itself on the back on International Women’s Day while allegedly mistreating women in the workplace.
Of course, some others also showed their support for the organizers of #AppleToo.
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There are currently labor movements happening at multiple levels of Apple, from engineers to Apple Store to overseas factory workers. If Apple really wants to “celebrate women,” perhaps it should take its calls for reform of an allegedly sexist workplace seriously.
Source of information: sea.mashable.com
