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Apple Reveals Modest Improvement in Employee Diversity

Last year, when Apple released its first ever diversity report, the company revealed that its workforce was 70 percent male and 55 percent white. Of course, this didn’t set Apple apart from any other major tech company – everyone in Silicon Valley has been struggling with diversity.

Tim Cook said he was not happy with that.

“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. We are making progress, and we’re committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products,” he said in August of 2014.

So, how have they done over the past year?

As with Facebook’s latest report on its progress, the feeling is meh.

As of August of 2015, Apple is 69 percent male and 54 percent white.

The silver lining, according to Apple, is that it’s hired “more diverse candidates than in any other year to date.” This includes, in the new hires, 35 percent women, 19 percent Asian, 13 percent Hispanic, and 11 percent Black.

“We are proud of the progress we’ve made, and our commitment to diversity is unwavering. But we know there is a lot more work to be done,” says Tim Cook.

“Some people will read this page and see our progress. Others will recognize how much farther we have to go. We see both. And more important than these statistics, we see tens of thousands of Apple employees all over the world, speaking dozens of languages, working together. We celebrate their differences and the many benefits we and our customers enjoy as a result.”

In March, Apple donated $50 million to further racial and gender diversity.

“Diversity is critical to innovation and it is essential to Apple’s future. We aspire to do more than just make our company as diverse as the talent available to hire. We must address the broad underlying challenges, offer new opportunities, and create a future generation of employees as diverse as the world around us. We also aspire to make a difference beyond Apple,” says Cook.

Image via Apple