Tech

A group of Apple employees built a website for colleagues to share stories of harassment and discrimination

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Apple CEO Tim Cook. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
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A group of Apple employees built a website for their colleagues to share examples of mistreatment at the company.

The website, first reported by The Verge's Zoe Schiffer, is designed for Apple workers to submit stories of sexist and racist discrimination, harassment, and retaliation to hold the tech giant more accountable after facing "a pattern of isolation, degradation, and gaslighting." The site is called AppleToo.

The website's organizers told Insider in an email that it launched around noon ET Monday, and about 15 Apple employees were involved in its development, as well as some Google Walkout organizers. The team said it is "still spreading the word amongst current and former colleagues."

Apple employees at every salary level, from corporate to retail, qualify to submit stories according to the website. The group is working on an outline of changes it wants Apple to make.

"When our stories are collected and presented together, they help expose persistent patterns of racism, sexism, inequity, discrimination, intimidation, suppression, coercion, abuse, unfair punishment, and unchecked privilege," reads the website. "We must work together, as colleagues — Corporate, AppleCare, and Retail; salaried and hourly; part-time and full-time  — to demand systemic change in our work place."

Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The new website comes as the tech world faces a reckoning over what some employees say is inequitable and toxic work environments.

Earlier in August, an Apple employee went on leave after she publicly alleged on Twitter that she faced sexist treatment and bullying at the company. She said senior employees kept a tally of votes on how they could make her "life a living hell."

Google was rocked by controversy last year when top AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru said she was fired after raising concerns about potential bias in some models.

A Google privacy engineer that quit in July cited Gebru's exit from the company as well as "constant gaslighting" as reasons for his leave.

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Katie is a tech and crypto reporter based in Austin, Texas. She joined Insider in 2018 and focuses heavily on NFTs, blockchain technology, major crypto players, and the booming Web3 space. She has also covered the many happenings in the tech industry, from content moderation and data privacy to antitrust issues and regulation.  Katie graduated from Texas A&M University in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She began her time at Insider in the company's San Francisco office before moving home to Texas in 2021. You can find her paddleboarding most Saturdays. Reach her at kcanales@bjinnox.com, or follow her on Twitter @KatieCanales1.