Apple Senior Engineering Program Manager Placed on Indefinite Leave Following Tweets About Sexism at the Workplace

Apple senior engineering program manager Ashley Gjøvik has been placed on administrative leave indefinitely following a series of tweets Gjøvik made public, alleging sexism at the office. Gjøvik’s claims are currently being investigated by the company.

On Twitter, Gjøvik began speaking out about alleged sexism at the Apple office and a hostile work environment, starting on August 1st. Gjøvik shared an exchange highlighting “tone policing” within the workplace between a male leader of the company and herself. This, of course, sparking quite a bit of chatter online and turned more than a few heads at the

Wanted to share: #Apple employee relations confirmed this #tonepolicing is totally ok feedback for me to get from my #bigtech #male leaders & not #sexist.

As this investigation rolls on, I’ve decided to start Tweeting the stuff they say is “ok.” I mean, they did say it was ok? pic.twitter.com/EImLTjRTBl

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 3, 2021

Following that, Gjøvik informed the public that she was being placed on an “indefinite paid administrative leave.” Gjøvik also stated that Apple urged Gjøvik not to use the internal company Slack channels.

So, following raising concerns to #Apple about #sexism, #hostileworkenvironment, & #unsafeworkconditions, I’m now on indefinite paid administrative leave per #Apple employee relations, while they investigate my concerns. This seems to include me not using Apple’s internal Slack.

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 4, 2021

This is not the first investigation Apple is conducting regarding Gjøvik’s claims. However, Apple’s employee relations department closed an earlier investigation as the findings were inconclusive. However, contrary to the employee relations team, Gjøvik claims to have experienced a hostile work environment. Gjøvik sent an email during the 2018 Kavanaugh hearings, asking for more support for female employees. Gjøvik screenshotted a response in which an article citing Ruth Bader Ginsburg “defends Kavanaugh”.

In today’s #Apple employee relations said its fine update, here’s the heartfelt email I sent my #bigtech male leadership in 2018 during the Kavanaugh hearings. I asked for support of women & to condemn #sexism & #sexualassault. The reply: a text saying “FWIW, RBG thinks he’s ok.” pic.twitter.com/0GTthZNEgH

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 4, 2021

Gjøvik claims come at a time when tensions between the staff and executive-level leaders are brewing over. Earlier this year, Apple employees wrote an open letter to executives, with more than 2000 signatures, regarding the hiring of Antonio García Martínez. Prior to being hired, García Martínez published a book about Silicon Valley and made multiple offensive comments within. Apple later fired García Martínez.

On top of that, Apple has informed employees that the company will be transitioning to a hybrid remote work lifestyle. This has left many employees feeling anxious about having to return to the office. Apple staff has even written open letters to the C-suite staff. Yet, the company is apparently standing by its decisions.