Attorney General Morrisey Urges Apple to Reconsider Discriminatory Application Criteria for Entrepreneur Camps

CHARLESTON, WV (WVDN) — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is calling on Apple to revise its application criteria for a series of entrepreneur camps for application founders and developers, excluding men who do not identify as women and are also Asian, Middle Eastern, Native Hawaiian, Northern African, Pacific Islander and white.

The Attorney General penned a letter to Apple’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Katherine Adams, urging the tech giant to abandon its “wrong-headed and exclusionary approach” that “reflects a troubling fixation on race and sex—and looks to run afoul of anti-discrimination laws.”

“Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-based college admissions are unconstitutional. This situation raises some of the same issues,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “Race- and gender identity-conscious application criteria reinforce division and stereotypes and do nothing to cultivate a truly inclusive tech marketplace. However Apple packages it, discrimination is wrong.”

In his letter, the Attorney General wrote, “[I]n the related Equal Protection context, the Supreme Court has warned that ‘an effort to alleviate the effects of societal discrimination’ doesn’t serve ‘a compelling interest.’”

The Attorney General offered suggestions to promote opportunities for underrepresented persons in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas joined Attorney General Morrisey in the letter.

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