Tim Cook says diversity is the future of Apple

Tim Cook has pledged that Apple's future won't be as white and male as it has been in the company's past. The CEO sat down with Mashable in advance of the WWDC keynote to say that diversity is the "future of our company." It's not just hand-wringing that has prompted his attitude, since he believes that "the most diverse group will produce the best product." The executive has added that the tech community needs to work a lot harder to show women that the industry is "cool" and "how much fun it can be."

Cook also believes that a lack of female role models in technology is a problem, one that Apple has been previously at fault for. As recently as March this year, the company scored a diversity own-goal by having just one woman on stage at its Apple Watch launch event. Unfortunately, the individual wasn't even one of the company's handful of female executives, like Angela Ahrendts (retail), Lisa Jackson (environment) or Denise Young Smith (HR). Instead, it was model Christy Turlington-Burns, who was asked to talk about her experiences running while wearing the wearable. Cook has hinted that this next keynote will help rectify the problem, hinting that we're likely to see a much more diverse presentation than we're used to.