Apple Called Out For Sexist And Toxic Work Environment In Leaked Emails

As much as some companies would love to ignore the issue, sexism in the workplace is a serious problem, and no company is devoid of it by default. Even Apple, one of the world's largest and richest companies, has sexism running through its veins.

In an article over at Mic, a group of women and some men who worked or work at Apple were interviewed about their experiences. This comes hot on the heels of a complaint that was filed against Apple last month, which claims the company isn't doing enough (or anything) about sexism in the workplace, especially with regards to leadership positions. Some of the accounts are downright disgusting by most measures.

Flickr: Michael Wyszomierski

The biggest problem is that Apple has been unwilling to do anything about it - or, more specifically, those in charge of specific departments have been unwilling to do anything. In one account, a woman was a loner in a huge group of men at a meeting, and despite her being present, condescending comments were made about people's wives or girlfriends, or women in general. All the while, this woman's boss remained quiet, unwilling to put a stop to it, or simply be ignorant of the fact that the comments being made were so offensive.

In a recent case, a male employee emailed a group and joked about an office intruder that was coming to "rape everyone", and while no one specific was targeted, it was an alarming enough joke to cause one woman to take time off of work to cope with it being said.

Consider another gross example: in one case, a woman was admitted to working in a toxic workplace, but was given the option to put up with it, or take a demotion. Ultimately, she chose to downgrade.

Multiple affected persons have reached out to Apple's management, including CEO Tim Cook, but nothing noteworthy has ever come from it. To date, it seems no one has ever received a response from Cook, which could strike some as a bit odd given he has emailed regular customers back in the past, and he seems hugely in favor of workplace equality.

At this point we'll have to see where this complaint goes. It was filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which works in conjunction with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It could either serve as an example to other companies, or just rub more salt in the wound of those affected.