Apple issues diversity report, but how do Apple Store numbers figure?


On Tuesday, Apple joined a growing list of tech companies issuing diversity reports about hiring practices, and like its peers, Apple's report broke down ethnicity and gender percentages in the categories of 'tech,' 'non-tech,' and 'leadership.' Taken at face value, the report paints Apple as a company with a higher percentage of underrepresented groups among its tech and leadership ranks.


However, unlike companies like Facebook, Google, and Yahoo, Apple counts a massive number of retail employees among its ranks-today's report listed a total of 98,000, and retail included more than 32,000 employees in 2012 (a number that has assumedly expanded since). Tuesday's report failed to clarify exactly how Apple Store employees fit into the new statistics. A Re/code report alleged that the 'leadership' category included Apple Store management, but Apple's own report didn't indicate either way.


According to the report compiled internally by Apple human resources, Apple's worldwide tech hiring includes 20 percent women, as opposed to Google's 17 percent. In the US, Apple's tech category includes seven percent Hispanic and six percent black employees; those ethnicity numbers are each at least four percent higher than all other companies who've reported thus far. Apple's leadership percentages also outpace the others in diversity, including 28 percent women worldwide (topping Facebook and Yahoo at 23 percent), along with an American count of six percent Hispanic and three percent black.


The report also includes a letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook with stories about diverse employees among Apple's ranks, financial support to encourage STEM education among minorities, and unequivocal support for the Human Rights Campaign. 'As CEO, I'm not satisfied with the numbers on this page,' Cook said. 'They're not new to us, and we've been working hard for quite some time to improve them.'


We have asked Apple to clarify how its retail numbers figure into the reported percentages, including questions as to whether Genius Bar employees count as 'tech,' and we will update this post with any response.


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