Apple Places Senior Employee on Leave After She Complains of Sexism, 'Tone Policing'

A senior employee at Apple has alleged that she was placed on indefinite leave after tweeting allegations about a culture of sexism at the company. She alleges that she was given feedback for being “too hard on the white man” in a diversity training, and also claims her managers engaged in “tone policing.”

Engadget reports that Apple is being accused of failing to properly handle allegations of sexism at the company after a female employee was placed on leave following her tweets alleging discrimination from fellow employees and managers.

Ashley Gjøvik, a senior engineering program manager at Apple, claims that she spoke to Apple about a culture of sexism and a hostile work environment over the course of months. A report from the Verge noted that Apple had closed a previous investigation into Gjøvik’s claims, seemingly without taking any action.

Gjøvik alleges that following her first complaints of sexism at the firm, Apple suggested that she request “disability accommodations” in an effort to address her issues.

If you missed it a couple weeks ago, the medical release forms Apple sends us for requesting accommodations are a problem in themselves…https://t.co/HoEBf1PnDd

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) July 30, 2021

Gjøvik claims that on Wednesday she was placed on “indefinite paid administrative leave,” while Apple conducts a new investigation.

So, following raising concerns to #Apple about #sexism, #hostileworkenvironment, & #unsafeworkconditions, I'm now on indefinite paid administrative leave per #Apple employee relations, while they investigate my concerns. This seems to include me not using Apple's internal Slack.

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 4, 2021

Gjøvik went on to provide multiple examples of issues she raised with Apple’s employee relations, which allegedly informed her that the comments and actions she took issue with were “ok.”

Gjøvik said that in one situation, a manager that was providing her with feedback on a recent presentation complimented her on using a more authoritative tone. Gjøvik took this as an example of sexism and “tone policing.”

Y'all, I'm a senior engineering program manager with decades of professional experience & it was even in my mid-year review one year…

Someone needs to give me a Purple Heart. pic.twitter.com/UCRqyTUtSR

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 3, 2021

Gjøvik was allegedly told that a diversity training initiative that she led was “too hard on the white man,” which she also took as a major insult. Employee relations also told her that such criticism was “okay.”

Today's #Apple "employee relations said this is ok" example: I led an I&D training for my #bigtech all male mgmt team and got complaints I was "too hard on the #whiteman" and told to only talk about "#equalopportunity but not #equaloutcomes." Employee relations said that's okay.

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 3, 2021

Gjøvik further stated that a “heartfelt email” sent in 2018 asking leadership to show “support of women and condemn sexism and sexual assault” was largely ignored.

In today's #Apple employee relations said its fine update, here's the heartfelt email I sent my #bigtech male leadership in 2018 during the Kavanaugh hearings. I asked for support of women & to condemn #sexism & #sexualassault. The reply: a text saying "FWIW, RBG thinks he's ok." pic.twitter.com/0GTthZNEgH

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 4, 2021

An Apple spokesperson commented on the situation stating: “We are and have always been deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace. We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised and, out of respect for the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters.”

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