Apple released its latest Inclusion and Diversity report on Tuesday, revealing that 59% of open U.S. leadership roles were filled by people from underrepresented communities in the past year, and 47% were filled by women.
The data also showed overall growth in the number of women and underrepresented employees hired globally. The company has increased its number of female employees by 89% since 2014, while its overall employee count grew 58% in that same period. And there has been a 74% increase in the number of employees from underrepresented communities in the U.S. in that same time period.
In 2014, when many tech companies began publicly sharing representation data, Apple’s overall staff consisted of 30% women globally and about 45% underrepresented employees in the U.S. The increase over the past several years has been incremental, as it has been for many organizations in the industry.
Currently, 50% of Apple’s U.S. team members are from underrepresented communities. In comparison, Google's U.S. workforce consisted of about 50% non-white employees in 2021, while Microsoft had about 51% U.S. non-white employees, according to Protocol's Diversity Tracker.
Apple differs from most large tech companies in having a large retail workforce, which is more diverse than its tech workforce. In the past, Apple has experienced the greatest increases in representation among its non-R&D roles, which include retail.
Apple has also put effort behind hiring more diverse young employees, sharing that of their U.S. employees under the age of 30, 64% are from underrepresented communities.
“The journey to creating a more inclusive workforce and better world begins with a commitment to a clear vision with accountability to progress,” said Barbara Whye, Apple’s vice president of inclusion and diversity, in a statement released by the company.