Apple Names Black Women VP of Inclusion and Diversity

Published On November 23, 2020 | By Tom Huskerson | News and Analysis

Barbara Whye is making a move. The former head of diversity and inclusion at computer chipmaker Intel is now moving over to Apple.

Apple announced Whye as the new vice president of inclusion and diversity. Whye made significant contributions as Intel’s head of diversity and inclusion.

This years Fortune magazine’s 2020 Most Powerful Women list included Whye the first time. Whye joined Intel in 1995 and has set the standard for heads of diversity in the tech industry. Under her leadership, and unlike most other tech companies, Intel set, and met, its goal of reaching representation within its employee base. The racial and gender breakdown of its nearly 111,000-person workforce mirrors the breakdown of the “skilled” labor market in the United States. Whye didn’t just meet the intended goals of the company but achieved this goal two years ahead of schedule. 

As the VP of inclusion and diversity at Apple Whye will be tackling a problem that many tech companies struggle with, meeting its own diversity goals. Apple has seen incremental but consistent progress in diversifying its workforce. According to its own diversity website, 24 percent of Apple’s U.S employee base in 2018 was composed of “underrepresented minorities. But in that same year, 53 percent of new U.S. hires were from underrepresented groups.

Another major problem is the staying power of the diversity movement in Silicon Valley. Can this movement last or is this just a moment before getting back to business as usual? Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a $100 million racial justice initiative. Other tech executives have also spoken out against racial violence and in support of increasing racial representation across their ranks. These companies have thrown a lot of money at the diversity problem.

Whye will join Apple in early 2021.

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About The Author

Tom Huskerson Bio Born in Richmond Virginia Tom Huskerson is a military veteran who settled in California after his discharge. Tom attended Santa Barbara City College where he began his writing career as a campus reporter. He worked as an intern news reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press writing feature stories before moving on to San Francisco. At San Francisco State University Tom studied broadcast communications and began to focus on the Internet. He completed his graduate thesis on Internet advertising. Tom was the first student to ever focus on the Internet as a graduate student at San Francisco State University. After graduation he went to work for Zona Research in California’s Silicone Valley. As a research associate Tom supported senior analyst writing on the latest developments in the Internet industry. During the dot com boom Tom worked for several web businesses as a market researcher and analyst. As a writer and researcher Tom has authored various technical works including a training program for Charles Schwab security. Other projects included professional presentations on workplace violence and hiring security contractors. Tom has also written both fiction and non-fiction works and blogging for a travel website. He has published two books of short stories and completed two novels. Tom is the owner of Scribe of Life Literature and EbonyCandle.com. Tom is not the chief editor for the OnTechStreet. com. A news and information blog that focuses on tech news for African-Americans. The blog is the result of his desire to inform the African American community of the dangers and benefits of the cyber age. In his blog Tom reports on information security, new and analysis, scams and hoaxes, legal happenings and various topics that arise from the age of information. Tom believes that technology is a necessary tool for black people and they should know what is happening. Tom writes believing that techno speak is for the professional and that valuable information can be communicated using plain language. As a result he has embraced the motto, Less Tech, More Knowledge.

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