Bozoma Saint John was one of Apple’s most dynamic executives, a rock star who attracted attention with her winning personality and her wicked intelligence. But now, she is leaving Apple, at a time when the tech giant is struggling to diversify its ranks.
Saint John made her appearance on the stage at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) and captured our attention with her star power. Now, on Monday, as the annual WWDC starts up again, the conference includes a farewell to Saint John, according to a report in Axios.
A recent diversity report for Apple showed that only 3 percent of its leadership is Black, with 7 percent of executives that are Hispanic and 21 percent that are Asian. The leadership has remained white and male, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon, especially since those diversity numbers have held steady since 2014.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has personally spoken on the need to diversify, but while the company has engaged in charity and other programs to put computers and devices in impoverished schools and try to address the pipeline issue, this is the same company that described diversity as “unduly burdensome.”
Saint John will be missed, and we’ll all be watching to see where Apple, and the rest of the tech industry, goes next.