For many team members and customers in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, sign language interpretation is critical — but having an interpreter on hand isn’t always an option. So a diverse group of people across multiple teams at Apple came together to provide access to interpretation on short notice.

Traditional in-person sign language interpretation services require booking in advance and are challenging to scale, especially in the context of customer service and internal teams. So this cross-functional group collaborated to create an experience that would be a viable and immediate alternative for Apple customers and employees alike.

“We considered not just what would be adequate support, but what would really deliver an experience that recognizes and embraces people’s differences and cultures,” says Antony Kennedy, People Accessibility.

The result of these efforts is SignTime. SignTime helps people communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care in their web browsers using American Sign Language (ASL) in the United States and Canada, British Sign Language (BSL) in the United Kingdom, and French Sign Language (LSF) in France. In 2023, the service launched in Australia, Japan (where it is known as HandTime), Germany (where it is known as SignChat), Spain, Italy, and Korea. In addition to in-person interpreters, customers visiting Apple Store locations can use SignTime to access a sign language interpreter remotely without booking ahead of time.

“At Apple, we provide tools for our team to do their best work. Equitable access to language is especially powerful within the deaf community, and SignTime is a step forward in that direction,” says Gus Shitama, Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives.

SignTime has already made a difference in how the team connects — both with each other and with customers. “After SignTime was released, I felt a stronger sense of belonging because it bridged the communication gap that previously existed,” says Ricky Winarta, Apple Carnegie Library. “This made it easier to build relationships, removed any unnecessary barriers when typing back and forth with customers and coworkers, and made the customer’s experience better.”

Since our earliest days, inclusivity has been fundamental to our design process.

We consider inclusivity at every step — and this work requires close collaboration among a wide range of teams. One such effort involved Face ID, where cross-functional teams came together to ensure that our machine learning model had extensive, diverse data. This meant taking into account a huge range of facial feature variations and coverings in order to build something that works for people with light or dark skin, for people of every age, for all kinds of facial shapes, and for people who are fully sighted, blind, or have low vision.

Our focus on inclusive design remains a priority — and we’re working to be even more inclusive. Jerremy Holland, Joshua Cohen of Apple University, and Denise Hui of AIML created the Inclusive Products Initiative – an internal knowledge-sharing website and network for anyone at Apple interested in inclusive product design. As part of this initiative, the Inclusion & Diversity team developed a workflow that lets product design teams connect with Diversity Network Associations (DNAs), which are open to all employees, to review their work.

In addition, Apple University created Technology for All of Us, an inclusivity course that uses case studies from inside and outside Apple to examine how to weigh the right considerations — including potential trade-offs — and ultimately make informed choices. The course description aptly sums it up: “Technology for All of Us encourages you to consider what it means to build for humanity in all its variety — and why it matters.”

“Our role is not to do the work for people, or to tell people what to do, or to look under the hood before something goes out the door,” says Cohen. “Our job is to empower people who have the responsibility to develop inclusive products. That is the way to create something sustainable.”

Together, these efforts help inspire a culture where being inclusive by design becomes an inherent part of everyone’s process.

Our comprehensive benefits are designed to help every Apple employee and their family feel healthy, supported, and secure. For Veterans, navigating the transition from service to the civilian or corporate world can be tricky.

Veterans@Apple, which is open to all employees, and the Benefits and Wellness teams collaborated and spent time listening to the needs of the community — to ensure that every Veteran at Apple understands the full range of health, financial, and wellness benefits available to them, including tailored benefits such as military time away.

Raising awareness helps start important conversations and encourages Veterans to get the help they need. Ultimately, the goal for Veterans@Apple and the Benefits and Wellness teams is to ensure that Veterans feel comfortable seeking the care they need, while bringing this community even closer together.

Meaningful progress requires more than just celebration. Which is why we’re inspired by culturally significant moments — like International Women’s Day and Pride Month — to move important conversations about inclusion forward.

The teams behind Apple Music, Apple Fitness, Apple News, Apple Health, Apple Global Events, and more collaborate to build campaigns that bring Apple employees together. For International Women’s Day, these teams invited women and nonbinary creators from inside and outside Apple to share their work.

Occasions like these give us the opportunity to rally around important causes and make a positive impact. They also create the opportunity to express shared values and be part of something bigger, together. For Pride Month, LGBTQ+ employees from Apple Retail, Engineering, and Finance all shared their personal experiences. Their stories were featured in a 2022 Pride film,Steve Jobs Theater Presents iBelong.

Telling these stories in an intersectional way — across race, gender, sexual orientation, and cultures — is key.

All data as of December 2022.

Our world-class talent in Miami is dedicated to serving Latin American and U.S. Hispanic customers and communities. They’re also key in making sure we consider diverse perspectives in everything we do.

Addressing the needs of these communities and providing meaningful access to technology — and to the opportunities that technology provides — requires deep collaboration. “We are passionate in making this initiative an important pillar inside of Apple, across everything we do,” says Alberto Escobedo, Marketing, ALAC (Apple Latin America and Caribbean), Canada, and U.S. Hispanic. “We found that bringing together a wide group of leaders from various areas of the organization makes a huge difference. It sparks inspiration and creativity, and motivates our teams. The impact of the work has been truly rewarding.”

The teams in Miami and Latin America also rolled out local Diversity Network Associations (DNAs), which are open to all employees — including Black@Apple, Pride@Apple, and Women@Apple — as a way to enable connections, encourage conversation on topics that matter, and provide access to helpful resources. All three chapters have continued to grow month after month, with overall membership increasing by 138 percent by the end of 2022.

“I’m especially proud of our team’s drive, engagement, and participation in these newly formed communities,” says Laura Veronica Gonzalez, People, Latin America Corporate. “The work, passion, and energy of our team to continue to build our culture of belonging is inspiring. This is truly representative of how we cultivate innovation at Apple.”

Learn more about DNAs

Our New Silicon Initiative (NSI) is working with educational institutions around the U.S. including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help inspire, prepare, and create opportunities for more students to enter careers in hardware technology — a critical and fast‑growing field.

NSI is an ongoing partnership between Apple and universities including Alabama A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Howard University, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T, Prairie View A&M, Stanford University, and U.C. Berkeley.

Apple provides hands-on learning exercises and course programming, and Apple engineers volunteer their time as guest lecturers. Students also receive one-on-one mentoring with the Apple volunteers.

“We know this will take time, but we’re energized by the strong interest from students, the collaboration with faculty, and the potential impact of the opportunities ahead of us,” Zerbe says.

Hardware technology is at the heart of innovation at Apple. And a big part of innovation involves including different perspectives. So the people building Mac, iPhone, and other products are working to build even more diverse teams.

In 2018, Apple in Israel started working with ASAL Technologies in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Through that partnership, five engineers were initially recruited to work at the Rawabi R&D center. Now there are more than 80 engineers — and that number is growing.

For locals like Deema Omar of Hardware Technologies, Israel, these efforts are opening doors and breaking barriers. “As an Arab, this is a strong statement from Apple to bring people together. I’m very happy and proud to hear that Apple is investing in this initiative. I speak about it as a great representation of Apple’s investment in inclusion and diversity.”

Blechman says: “This makes people of all backgrounds feel proud to work for an organization that stands for its values. Apple as an organization has decided to be intentionally inclusive, and this work demonstrates that.”

For years, Apple employees all over the world have found community through our Diversity Network Associations (DNAs). These groups are open to all employees and are designed to inspire a culture of belonging that helps all colleagues feel supported, connected, and empowered.

One way DNAs make this happen is through a partnership with the Apple Recruiting team. This collaboration led to a page on the Careers at Apple website where DNA members share their stories with people looking for both a career and community at Apple.

“One person had a story about volunteering with Afghan refugees through her DNA — how it really resonated with her because she has an Afghan background. Another told a story about feeling accepted at Apple,” says Molla. “People sharing their stories, then learning about how those stories connect with people, is really powerful.”

Learn more about DNAs

In 2021, Apple launched Today at Apple Creative Studios in Los Angeles, Beijing, Bangkok, London, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Since then, the program has expanded to even more places around the world.

The five-week Creative Studios program connects Retail teams with community organizations to offer learning opportunities for local groups — many of which include people from underrepresented communities. In Taipei, Today at Apple partnered with Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit, and Pride@Apple to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ kids and teens to express and shape their own perspective of their creative selves. Through the course, a group of young creatives in the LGBTQ+ community learned how to make digital avatars, AR filters, and photo portraitures.

In Beijing, Today at Apple Creative Studios is now in its second year. This team has continued to partner with the China Foundation for Rural Development to teach photography and videography to kids and teens from migrant families.

“Belonging means the opportunity to realize your dreams,” says Jing Yang, Today at Apple, Beijing. “For some people, a dream is just a dream. We try to make them possible.”

This is just the start. A new program will be launching in 2023 in Beijing to keep youth connected to their creative passions. “I am touched by the talent of this group of youth,” says Yang. “By the end of the program, people totally change. At the beginning, they have very low voices, but at the end, people go onto the stage and share their projects. It’s a huge change.”

Even after they’ve completed the program, these creatives will continue to be supported through mentorship, résumé workshops, and leadership training to further help them realize their dreams.

We launched Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) to address systemic racism and expand opportunities for communities of color in three key areas: education, economic empowerment, and criminal justice reform.

One way we’ve expanded opportunities is by bringing the Apple Developer Academy to downtown Detroit — its first U.S. location — through a partnership with Michigan State University (MSU). The academy reaches nearly 750 participants from the Detroit metropolitan area every year, with both short-term and long-term programs that teach the fundamentals of coding, design, project management, marketing, and iOS app development. The Developer Academy is also committed to helping public high school seniors continue their education by providing them with stipends to attend the academy. 

REJI has since expanded its work beyond the United States, including initiatives in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico.

“While our efforts in the U.S. remain a priority, we must also support solutions that combat systemic issues for Black and Brown people and communities around the globe,” says Johnson.

In Australia, REJI has funded initiatives and community nonprofits serving Indigenous communities. One example is First Australians Capital, a national Indigenous-led organization that gives Indigenous businesses the financial knowledge and capital support needed to thrive. Another is Original Power, an Indigenous-led organization that has launched community-led renewable energy projects in the Northern Territory and beyond to help provide Indigenous communities with lower-cost, clean energy.

And in the United Kingdom, a partnership with the Southbank Centre — the U.K.’s largest multi-arts center — supports emerging Black talent. The partnership program, Reframe, provides 80 creatives from London, Manchester, and Birmingham the opportunity and resources to showcase their work and positions them for long-lasting careers in the arts. “Through partnerships, we’re using our platform to amplify the work of local organizations and communities globally, and help drive meaningful change,” says Johnson.

In Mexico, Apple has been working closely with universities across the country to help set up and launch iOS Development Labs — bringing coding with Apple’s programming language, Swift, to students and preparing them for careers in Mexico’s thriving iOS app economy. With 12 iOS Development Labs across the country, these students get hands-on experience to learn Swift — ultimately creating, designing, and coding their own apps to make a difference in their communities.

Learn more about REJI

Pay equity is embedded in Apple’s approach to compensation. Since 2017, Apple has achieved and maintained gender pay equity. In the United States, we have also achieved pay equity with respect to race and ethnicity — as well as pay equity at the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender.

We don’t ask for previous salary information during the interview process. For new team members, we look at internal and external salary data and how closely a person’s skills, experiences, and qualifications match the job requirements to determine pay. And every year, we partner with an independent third-party expert to examine each team member’s total compensation and make adjustments, where necessary, to ensure that we maintain pay equity.

Apple TV+ is committed to creating stories that reflect everyone. It’s important that our audiences can relate deeply to the characters and their lives. To achieve that, there must be representation — both behind and in front of the camera.

From stories like the Oscar-winningCODA, the multilingual dramaPachinko, and the heartwarmingCha Cha Real Smooth to real and dramatized experiences like those inKillers of the Flower Moon andLittle America, inclusivity is at the core of our content.

As part of our efforts, we collaborate with creators from around the world, including women’s rights activist and youngest Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, and award-winning storytellers Alfonso Cuarón, Maya Rudolph, and Natalie Portman.

We do this because we firmly believe that Apple TV+ is a destination to explore the full spectrum of the human experience. And because we believe in the power of entertainment to bring us closer together, while also helping us gain a better understanding of each other, ourselves, and the world around us.

The Supplier Diversity Program partners with nearly every team within Apple and is dedicated to providing equal procurement opportunities for suppliers from all backgrounds, including those from historically underrepresented communities, such as Veterans and people with disabilities.

In October 2021, Apple was acknowledged as Corporation of the Year by the U.S.-based National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). This distinction is NMSDC’s highest honor for companies that make it a priority to partner with ethnic minority–owned suppliers, specifically those with Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian Indian, Asian Pacific, and Indigenous owners.

“Our suppliers are not only giving back to their employees, but also to their community,” says Judy Seto of Supplier Diversity. Many of these supplier companies also have diverse teams and boards of directors.

Scott Vowels of Supplier Diversity says “it’s heartening to see the incredible impact of our suppliers and vendors.” That’s why the Supplier Diversity team at Apple is focused on ensuring equal opportunities for all suppliers to be considered in every supply chain decision. Not only can we create greater equity, but we can help foster greater economic opportunities for everyone.