Apple will give courses to technicians to try to diversify the industry

Apple launches a new program to address the shortage of women in the technology industry and computer programming.

As part of the initiative announced Monday, women entrepreneurs and programmers will participate in two-week tutorials at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Camps will be held every three months starting in January. For each round, Apple will accept up to 20 manufacturers of applications founded or headed by a woman. The creator of the app must have at least one programmer in his ranks to qualify. Apple will cover the travel expenses of up to three workers from each accepted company.

Like other big tech companies, Apple is trying to reduce its dependence on men in the highest paying programming jobs. Women provided only 23% of Apple's technology jobs in 2017, according to the company's latest balance sheet. This is only a slight improvement from 20% in 2014, despite the company's commitment to diversify its workforce.

The idea behind this new camp is to keep women interested and immersed in the field, said Esther Hare, Apple's Global Director of Global Marketing for Developers.

Apple's training camp is "a big step forward," said Lorrain Hariton, CEO of Catalyst, a group fighting for equal rights for working women. "There are a lot of talented women in technology. I hope this will help set the tone for the entire industry. "

But we do not really know how much the new Apple program will do. Google also offers training for girls and women pursuing a career in technology, but its program has done little to diversify the workforce. Women were hired for nearly 25 percent of Google's technology jobs in 2017, up from 21 percent in 2014, according to the company.

Apple and other technology companies say one of the biggest reasons why so many men are on their payroll is that women have not traditionally specialized in math and science programs.

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

Apple does not say how much it spends on this initiative, although beyond travel costs, the company will rely on its current employees to run the sessions. Michael Liedtke, San Francisco, AP

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