Apple CEO Tim Cook Is ‘Not Satisfied’ with Employee Diversity

Apple recently released its employee diversity report and the numbers are fairly consistent with other tech companies in Silicon Valley. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that he is “not satisfied” with the numbers and will focus on “advancing diversity.”

In the U.S., Apple’s employees are 55% white, 15% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 7% black, 2% mixed and 9% did not disclose their race in the survey. The diversity report was broken down into three categories, including leadership, technology and non-technology positions. Here is a breakdown of the numbers in terms of race and ethnicity for each category of Apple employees in the U.S.:

– Non-Tech: 56% white, 14% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 9% black, 3% mixed, 9% undeclared
– Tech: 54% white, 23% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 6% black, 2% mixed, 8% undeclared
– Leadership: 64% white, 21% Asian, 6% Hispanic, 3% black, 6% undeclared

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Apple has 98,000 employees and 670 retail stores around the world, but the company did not disclose the diversity figures in other countries.

“Apple is committed to transparency, which is why we are publishing statistics about the race and gender makeup of our company. Let me say up front: As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page. They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them,” said Cook on the diversity report website. “We are making progress, and we’re committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products.”

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Over the last few years, Cook has been proactive in increasing executive diversity at the company. Cook promoted Cuban-American Eddy Cue to an executive management position in September 2011. Lisa Jackson, the first African American to serve as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was hired by Apple in May 2013 to oversee its environmental efforts. Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts was hired as the head of Apple’s retail stores in October 2013. Earlier this year, Apple promoted Denise Young Smith as the head of human resources. And Sue Wagner, the founding partner and director of BlackRock, was elected to the Apple board of directors last month. {snip}

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Here is a promotional video that Apple uploaded as part of the diversity report: