What do we know for sure about the resignation of Apple’s “vice president of diversity and inclusion,” Denise Smith?
- She is a black woman who landed in hot water for saying that a group of blue-eyed blond men can also be “diverse,” because “they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation. Diversity is the human experience. I get a little bit frustrated when diversity … is tagged to the people of color, or the women, or the LGBT.”
- An uproar ensued among persons who favor making characteristics like sex and skin color — as opposed to talent, perseverance, intellect — a top priority in hiring.
- Smith then apologized, seeming to disparage her own correct and much-needed statement defending genuinely relevant diversity.
- She has left Apple.
What outsiders don’t know for sure is whether Apple asked Smith to leave because of what she said. We can be merely 99.99 percent sure that Apple requested her departure for making her excessively un-same and sane observation.
Not good, Apple.
Excellence and common sense should never be sacrificed to “diversity.” Sub-perfect “diversity” has not impaired Apple’s ability to make popular and effective smartphones bought by persons of every description.
Indeed, no company should be in the least concerned with promoting “diversity” if this means trying to increase the proportions of employees of a certain race, sex, weight, height, blood type, timbre, etc. even when such traits are blatantly irrelevant to prospective job performance.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Don’t Think Different”
If one believes in the uniqueness of every human being, which Ms Smith does (or did), then you can commence to build a true meritocracy, which should be the actual goal of any cooperative enterprise.
Apple has proven its goal is at least in part to window dress and has committed itself to actual and unacceptable discrimination to accomplish a look.
They have lost a really fine employee and condemned themselves to less than optimal future personnel selection and in the long run will cause Balkanization of their work team.
Short sighted and sad for all concerned, especially the shareholders for the harm has just begun.
As for Ms Smith, she is a reason to Thanksgiving, may her wisdom prevail.
Diversity for its own sake is racist.
Why is there such a conspicuous lack of diversity when it comes to people in positions with “diversity” in the title? Maybe those worshiping at the First Holy Tabernacle of Diversity don’t think walking the walk is important.
Makes you wonder who’s going to be replacing her, someone who automatically toes the PC line but is probably subcompetent? When I hear of a woman like that and then think what she had to go through in her business career to get where she was who ever is likely not going to be anywhere near her caliber at her old job. Good going Apple, keep it up and the boardroom there will resemble the White House scene in the movie “Idioticracy.”