Apple’s Diversity Chief APOLOGIZES For Saying White Men Can Be “Diverse”

I grew up in Mexico. My mother is Mexican, my father is American. When I moved to the US, I was often sought out for clubs and student activity groups because they wanted to increase their “diversity.” While I think of myself as a White Hispanic, my school asked that I check off exclusively “hispanic” on standardized tests, to increase their diversity standing.

I always told them that I had to offer in terms of “diversity” wasn’t my race, but rather having grown up in a different country, in a traditional Catholic family, I draw from a different set of experiences than many of my American-born peers. Nowadays I think the most “diverse” thing about me isn’t my racial makeup, but rather that I’m an outspokenly conservative millennial.

In a society that has long stressed that race is skin deep, it seems rather retrograde that race is ALSO considered the end-all-be-all of diversity.

A room full of white men could easily be more diverse in their set of experiences, values, and ideals than a group of racially un-homogenous people who all grew up in the same area, with the same socioeconomic standing, political inclination, and religion.

A white person and a black person under the same conditions may have A LOT more in common than two people of the same race who had completely different upbringings.

That’s what Denise Young Smith, Apple’s head of diversity, was getting at. Of course, people freaked out.

According to this:

Apple’s head of diversity has apologized after a comment she made about how ’12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room’ could be considered diverse.

In an email to her staff, obtained by TechCrunch, Denise Young Smith said she ‘regretted’ her ‘choice of words’.

 

The comments were made when the executive was attending the One Young World Summit in Bogota, Colombia.

 

‘There can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room and they’re going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation,’ she said at the time, according to Quartz.

SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT…. and personally, I find it REALLY refreshing that the person in charge of “diversity” in as large a company as Apple has shed the ridiculous notion that diversity means “hiring black and brown people.”  It means so much more than that.  If anything, this limited idea of workplace diversity is creating dangerous thought echo-chambers.

Her words, however, were “offensive.”

Young Smith has worked at Apple since 1997 where, up until recently, she was leading the company’s worldwide talent and human resources division.
Earlier this year, she took on the newly-created role of vice president of inclusion and diversity.

 

At the conference, she said she thought diversity could also mean diversity of thought.

 

While the comments drew applause, they also drew criticism, especially from those who note the lack of diversity that seems to permeate the various strata of Silicon Valley tech companies.

Diversity of THOUGHT?!

How dare she?!

And so of course…. she has issued an apology.

YOUNG SMITH’S APOLOGY EMAIL TO HER COLLEAGUES

Colleagues,

 

I have always been proud to work for Apple in large part because of our steadfast commitment to creating an inclusive culture. We are also committed to having the most diverse workforce and our work in this area has never been more important. In fact, I have dedicated my twenty years at Apple to fostering and promoting opportunity and access for women, people of color and the underserved and unheard.

 

Last week, while attending a summit in Bogota, I made some comments as part of a conversation on the many factors that contribute to diversity and inclusion.

 

I regret the choice of words I used to make this point. I understand why some people took offense. My comments were not representative of how I think about diversity or how Apple sees it. For that, I’m sorry.

 

More importantly, I want to assure you Apple’s view and our dedication to diversity has not changed.

 

Understanding that diversity includes women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and all underrepresented minorities is at the heart of our work to create an environment that is inclusive of everyone.

 

Our commitment at Apple to increasing racial and gender diversity is as strong as it’s ever been. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but there is much work to be done. I’m continually reminded of the importance of talking about these issues and learning from each other.

 

Best,
Denise

OF COURSE diversity includes “women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and all underrepresented minorities.” IT SHOULD INCLUDE EVERYONE. That means “white men with blue eyes” too. But you know… it’s a lot more popular to leave them completely out.

Another example of tolerance and inclusion by the progressive left.