Apple to guide women in technology in an attempt to diversify the industry

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple is launching a new program designed to address the shortage of women in the technology industry in executive and computer programming jobs.

Under the initiative announced on Monday, women entrepreneurs and programmers will participate in two-week tutorial sessions at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The camps will be held every three months, starting in January. For each round, Apple will accept up to 20 application manufacturers founded or led by a woman. The app creator must have at least one female programmer in their ranks to qualify. Apple will cover the travel expenses of up to three employees of each accepted company.

Like other major technology companies, Apple has been trying to lessen its reliance on men for high-paying jobs. Women filled only 23 percent of Apple's technology jobs in 2017, according to the company's most recent rollout. That's only a small improvement from 20% in 2014, despite the company's promise to diversify its workforce.

The idea behind the new field is to keep women interested and immersed in the field, said Esther Hare, senior director of marketing for Apple developers.

It's not clear how much a new Apple program will have. Google also offers training for girls and women seeking careers in technology, but its program has not helped much to diversify the workforce so far. Women were hired by nearly 25 percent of Google's technology jobs in 2017, compared with nearly 21 percent in 2014, according to the company.

Apple and other technology companies claim that one of the main reasons so many men are on their payroll is because women traditionally did not specialize in the math and science curriculum needed to program.

But industry critics have accused technology companies of discriminating against women again through a male-dominated hierarchy that has dominated the industry for decades.

Apple is not saying how much it is spending on the initiative, although in addition to travel expenses, the company relies on its current employees to lead the sessions.