Apple employees are said to have leaked emails over allegations that the company has a “sexist” and “toxic” work environment. Approximately a dozen unidentified female Apple employees claim to have been the victims of a “very toxic atmosphere” at Apple that include jokes about rape and gender stereotypes by male workers who allegedly conveyed feelings that women are “nags,” according to emails and interviews reportedly obtained by Mic’s Melanie Ehrenkranz.
One woman, using the pseudonym Danielle in the interview with Mic, said that some of her male co-workers joked about the possibility of a man entering their office to “rape everybody.” After repeated attempts to file formal complaints about the “toxic” work environment with managers, Danielle is said to have escalated the concerns to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“Rape jokes in work chat is basically where I completely draw the limit,” she wrote to Cook, according to Mic, which obtained the email from Danielle. “I do not feel safe at a company that tolerates individuals who make rape jokes.” Danielle says Cook never responded to the concern.
However, her experience might not have been unique. Ehrenkranz says she obtained more than 50 pages of emails between approximately one dozen female Apple employees discussing “stories of discrimination and workplace harassment.” The emails come from both current and former Apple employees, the report says. “White male privilege runs unchecked,” a woman says in the email string obtained by Mic.
Even some men are said to have been the victim of harassment at Apple, with one being told on several occasions that he was on his “Man Period,” according to the report.
Looking ahead, it’s unclear how, or even if, Apple will respond to the claims. However, on Aug. 4, a woman using the pseudonym Amanda told Mic that she had filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. She hopes the agency, along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will investigate Apple’s treatment of women.
The agency did not immediately respond to a Fortune request for comment on the complaint.
