Last week when Apple launched its new product, the iPad, women around the world cringed. Naming a product after a feminine hygiene product was an error on Apple’s part. For the rest of the week, thousands of women joked on Twitter, Facebook, and their blogs about the lapse in judgment. There was iTampon, the iPad with wings, iPon. There were people saying that the product marketing folks iFailed or should be iFired. iLaughed (get it?) my way through most of the week. We’ll see if Apple changes the name of the iPad in its second or third generation launch in years to come.
After I tilted my head in confusion over the slip-up, I thought to myself "Does Apple not employ any women and did they not speak up about how iSlate or iTab or iAnythingElse would have been a better name?" But then, I found out that Apple doesn’t employ women executives, so there might not have been a woman in the room to speak up. Maybe Apple has hired a female VP in Human Resources; that seems to be the place where most companies place their token female executive. In fact, when you look at Apple’s executive roster, you don’t find any diversity. Look at those eleven pretty shiny faces of white men.
Maybe Apple should have name their products according to hiring practices. iWhite. iDiscrimination. iDon’tGroomDiversity. For some of you, you may think I’m too harsh. You say that women aren’t in executive positions because they don’t have the job qualifications or they took time off to breed the next generation. I say that is all hogwash. I bet that most, if not all, of those guys didn’t graduate with their fancy MBA ready to lead a company or a division of a company. Those men were mentored and groomed.
I'm not here bashing the product. The iPad seems like it will be the next big thing. Everything that Apple launches right now seems to turn to gold. I just wished that their Midas touch was implemented on the women in their company. Because the iGlassCeiling is clearly rotten at Apple.
