At Apple, diversity isn't just about inclusion

• Senior Apple executive speaks about diversity at conference
• Integration, for her, is therefore not only important for social justice but also for pure business reasons.
• Susan Prescott also mentioned clues as to the content of WWDC 2023

Susan Prescott, head of the department in charge of relations with Apple's developers, spoke at a meeting obviously organized at the group's premises. She notably recalled the importance of diversity within its teams, even though the number of women employed by Cupertino increased by 89% between 2014 and 2021 – according to its official figures. But among the declarations made on D-Day, one of them seems to have particularly marked the media across the Atlantic. Prescott highlights another key advantage of integration: that ofgrowth.

Indeed, as the manager says in black and white, this dimension of Apple's development is also essential in a “practical and selfish point of view“. And for good reason: to design “the best products for everyone, they should be designed by everyone“. A logical statement, which also allows us to understand why Tim Cook and his lieutenants make a point of regularly offering newaccessibility features.

Efforts that pay off

It must be said that the results are rather satisfactory on the apple side: still between 2014 and 2021, the number of employees of color has increased by71%just in the United States. With this, everyone can now use an iPhone or iPad even without using the touch screen, in particular by voice or taps on the back of the case.

Even the FCC – the telecoms regulatory body across the Atlantic – considers that serious efforts have been made, to the point ofrewardApple in this matter.

Few clues regarding WWDC

To go further, Prescott also gave some ideas regarding what awaits us during the nextWorldwide Developer Conference– although these remain very meager, which is not surprising given Apple's habits. On D-day, it would be a question of “new features", of "new ways to connect with Apple” and “new ways to get answers“. Should we see this as an indication of improvements in artificial intelligence?with Siri, as assumed since ChatGPT took the lead? The bets are on…