Keynote Diversity

After much anticipation, the opening keynote for WWDC 2018 has been and gone, with numerous announcements surrounding performance, privacy, security and new features across all four of Apple’s software platforms.

Whilst many in the media have covered the numerous features and improvements that Apple announced (and whether it’s an exciting or ‘quiet’ year), there is one particular element of this keynote that I think deserves more attention.

Yesterday’s keynote included more women than just about any Apple keynote that I can remember. These women were not just brought on stage in a tokenistic or symbolic manner; they were brought onto the stage to discuss enhancements that they have worked on or directed themselves. The effort actually to include women began in 2015 (later than it should have been), with Jennifer Bailey (Apple Pay) and Susan Prescott (Apple News). This year, a female presenter named Jules even demonstrated new watchOS features whilst on an exercise bike in front of the crowd, finishing her segment with an ‘I love you’ message to her daughter.

Jules demonstrates watchOS 5 Workout app features. (Apple, 2018)

This is an outstanding display of company diversity and sets a fantastic example for all companies. Beyond the question of gender diversity, it also continues Apple’s trend of introducing developers and users to different people in the organisation. Back when Steve was in charge, he was often responsible for directing the entire show. Since Tim took the helm, he has adopted the role of ‘keynote bookender’, simply beginning and ending the presentation and allowing others to step forwards. This has enabled the company to highlight the hard work of many of its employees and avoid the reliance on one personality for the company’s overall success and image.

Furthermore, the videos prior to and at the end of the keynote showed a diverse range of developer stories, both in terms of gender and ethnic background.

I hope that Apple maintains its efforts in displaying a healthy mix in its public presentations. The ultimate goal is an even more diverse workforce and company leadership, the latter of which is already on the way to significant improvement with the addition of women over time such as Angela Ahrendts, Katherine Adams, Lisa Jackson, Isabel Ge Mahe and Deirdre O’Brien.