SAN DIEGO, November 21, 2017 — Denise Young Smith, who made a name for herself as Apple’s very first vice president of “diversity and inclusion” will leave Apple at the end of 2017 even though her new position began last May.
Denise Young Smith, Apple Diversity VP –
It is unclear at this time whether some recent controversy regarding a statement offered by Smith during a panel discussion has anything to do with her migration.
But apparently, she received enough negative feedback to feel an apology was in order.
According to the online technology news publication, TechCrunch, Smith is being replaced by Christie Smith, a principal from Deloitte who has a track record for stressing inclusion and diversity in her work.
An Apple spokesperson says to TechCrunch,
“We deeply believe that diversity drives innovation…We’re thrilled to welcome an accomplished leader like Christie Smith to help us continue the progress we’ve made toward a more diverse workplace.”
Is the glaring lack of diversity in tech a cultural issue?
Herself an African-American woman, Denise Young Smith sought to widen diversities practical application
“I focus on everyone. Diversity is the human experience. I get a little bit frustrated when diversity or the term diversity is tagged to the people of color or the women or the LGBT or whatever because that means they’re carrying that around…because that means that we are carrying that around on our foreheads.
And I’ve often told people a story– there can be 12 white blue-eyed blonde men in a room and they are going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation. The issue is representation and mix and bringing all the voices into the room that can contribute to the outcome of any situation.”
Christie Smith, New Apple Diversity VP
No sensible person would be able to find anything irrational about Smith’s words. Her observations were not in antithesis to racial/gender diversity.
Instead, they merely called for a more inclusive perspective of diversity.
Be that as it may, Smith felt compelled to apologize.
Diversities division
Early in October, team members at the One Young World Summit in Bogotá, Colombia received this written apology which included the following statements:
“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.”
Intolerant of diversity: Liberals declare war on thought
When its not
The lesson here seems to be that “diversity” does not mean diversity of opinion. Alas, even a diverse opinion of diversity is now anti-diversity.
Are we really surprised? When has logic ever had anything to do with Political Correctness?
Welcome to the 21st century! While the technology of Apple and other innovative companies is often ingenious, there does not seem to be as much to brag about in the wisdom department.
Unfortunately, knowledge without wisdom is the next best thing to no knowledge at all.
This is Bob Siegel, making the obvious, obvious.
Bob Siegel is a weekend radio talk show host on KCBQ and a regular CommDigiNew columnist.
