A series of leaked emails have revealed allegations made by Apple employee that the company’s staff are guilty of sexism, harassment and creating a “toxic work environment.”
Over 50 internal Apple emails have reportedly been obtained by Mic, which point towards both female and male members of staff at Apple complaining about sexism in the workplace. One email, which was reportedly sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook by an engineer, read: “I do not feel safe at a company that tolerates individuals who make rape jokes.” Cook did not reply to the email. According to Mic, “stories of discrimination and workplace harassment” were shared in an email thread consisting solely of female Apple employees, with one former employee emailing a “plea to help” to the company’s Business Conduct contact.
This plea was made after the woman sat in on a meeting consisting solely of men, which they allegedly spent bemoaning their wives and significant others. “I felt very uncomfortable of the reality that I was the only woman in the room as all of my male coworkers stereotyped women as nags and this was not countered by my manager as being inappropriate,” she reportedly wrote. A male former employee also spoke of the sexism of some of the company’s employees, writing: “I was continually told that I was on my ‘Man Period,’” adding: “This is a statement used to push the fact that women while menstruating are emotional and cannot be depended on to do work or be rational while in this state.”
Another employee noted that when she reported her colleagues for their comments, she faced a backlash from them which led to a hostile work environment. According to this individual, after raising her concerns she was told that she would either have to stay in her current position, or accept another job within the company that paid less money.
All of the women listed in the emails have remained anonymous, so it is difficult to adequately gauge the extent of the reported sexism taking place in Apple’s stores. Apple stated that they would not discuss specific cases out of respect for their employees, but it remains to be seen whether these leaked emails will spark more outspokenness from the company’s current staff, or how the company may respond to these allegations.
