Apple hires Intel's chief diversity officer
Under Barbara Whye, Intel closed its global gender pay gap and reached full representation of women in its US workforce.
- She has a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University.
Intel's chief diversity and inclusion officer is leaving.
Intel's chief diversity and inclusion officer Barbara Whye is leaving the company. Whye, who was also corporate vice president of social impact, had been in the role since 2017, following the departure of Danielle Brown for Google.
Whye will join Apple as its new vice president of inclusion and diversity in 2021, the iPhone maker said late Thursday, confirming an earlier report by Fortune. The position has been vacant since June when Christie Smith, who had served as Apple's inclusion and diversity chief since 2017, departed the company.
"An engineer by training and a globally recognized leader on issues of representation in the technology industry, Barbara has spent 25 years at Intel, helping the company make meaningful and durable positive change," Apple said in a statement. "Now, she will bring her immense talents and deep experience to Apple, expanding our companywide effort to hire, develop and retain the world-class talent, at all levels, that reflects the communities we serve."
An Intel spokesman said Why was "instrumental in helping us develop and advance our diversity, inclusion and social impact programs, and we wish her all the best in her new role," adding that it's conducting a search for Whye's replacement.
At a time when tech companies have faced increased scrutiny for a lack of diversity, particularly in their technical workforces, Intel made headlines in 2015 for committing $300 million toward diversifying its workforce. Under Whye, Intel reached full representation of women in its US workforce in 2018, closed its gender pay gap globally in 2019, and set a goal of filling 40% of technical roles with women by 2030.
Whye first joined Intel in 1995 as an engineer.
CNET's Steven Musil contributed to this report.