Apple commits more than $50 million to diversity efforts

Apple is donating more than $50 million to organizations that aim to get more women, minorities, and veterans working in tech. The company is partnering with several non-profit organizations on a multi-year, multi-million-dollar effort to increase the pipeline of women, minorities, and veterans in the technology industry -- and, of course, at Apple.

“We wanted to create opportunities for minority candidates to get their first job at Apple,” said Young Smith, who took over as its head of HR a little over a year ago. The company is partnering with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a non-profit that supports students enrolled in public, historically black colleges and universities (known as HBCUs). Apple is also partnering with another non-profit, the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), to help create a broader pipeline of female technology workers. The goal? To double the number of four-year-degree recipients supported by NCWIT’s internships, scholarships and other resources, and to reach 10,000 middle school girls over the next few years.