Apple employees are coming together to form a new group called AppleToo, to tackle the issue of discrimination and harassment inside the company. The organization has launched a new website dedicated to it. It is a big move with the employees coming forward to share their experiences.
“For too long, Apple has evaded public scrutiny,” the description on the website reads. “The truth is that for many Apple workers … the culture of secrecy creates an opaque, intimidating fortress. When we press for accountability and redress to the persistent injustices we witness or experience in our workplace, we are faced with a pattern of isolation, degradation, and gaslighting. No more. We’ve exhausted all internal avenues. We’ve talked with our leadership. We’ve gone to the People team. We’ve escalated through Business Conduct. Nothing has changed. It’s time to Think Different.”
Twitter and Discord accounts to spread the word
The AppleToo group reportedly consists of 15 members, some of which currently work at Apple while some do not currently work at the company. The organizers of the group have also created a Twitter account dedicated to it, alongside the website. To spread the word of the organization to as many people as possible, the group has shared the news on a Discord server which has approximately 200 people who work at Apple.
Timnit Gebru, who worked at Apple before leaving the company to join the search giant Google, has also joined the organizers to push the effort. Gebru was fired from Google last year and she had spoken out openly about the culture at the company which incorporates racism and discrimination. However, she had not spoken out about her time at Apple ever before.
“I experienced so many egregious things when I was at Apple, and always wondered how they manage to get out of the spotlight. I’m happy to see that Apple workers are organizing. It is past time for Apple to be held accountable, ” Gebru told The Verge.
