Apple places female engineering program manager on administrative leave after she tweeted about sexism in the office

Ashley Gjøvik says the employee relations team implied she should stay off Slack pending an ongoing investigation — Apple has placed senior engineering program …

The Verge 2021-08-05 Zoe Schiffer

Context & Ripple Effects

The leave became the opening episode of a broader employee-relations dispute: Apple later fired Ashley Gjøvik over alleged confidential-information leaks, while Gjøvik said the action followed retaliation complaints. A Department of Labor inquiry subsequently examined that claimed pretext.

The case also sits alongside Apple’s restriction of a staff Slack channel focused on pay equity and later reporting of misconduct concerns across multiple departments. Together, the coverage makes internal communication rules central to how workplace complaints are surfaced and handled.

First-order effects

Gjøvik is removed from her normal work and Slack participation while Apple’s employee-relations investigation proceeds, limiting her ability to engage internally during the dispute.
Apple must manage an allegation of sexism through its internal process while its handling is publicly documented by a senior engineering program manager.

Second-order effects

Apple employees seeking to discuss pay equity or related workplace concerns face a narrower internal forum after the company barred a dedicated Slack channel, increasing the stakes of public disclosures.
The later firing of Gjøvik and dismissal of #AppleToo leader Janneke Parrish put Apple’s investigation procedures under greater scrutiny from employees and outside authorities.

Third-order effects

The later Labor Department inquiry and accounts of retaliation across departments indicate that individual workplace complaints can become a company-wide governance and compliance issue when internal channels are viewed as ineffective.
If Apple continues to treat workplace organizing and disclosures through employee-relations investigations, the contest over who controls internal speech will remain intertwined with accountability for misconduct claims.

The trend: Workplace complaints at major tech employers are increasingly testing whether internal communication and investigation systems enable reporting or become part of the retaliation dispute.

Discussion

@cherthedev Cher Scarlett on x
The survey was apparently shut down by the People team. I don't know what is happening. I noticed this morning on https://levels.fyi/ that two people in a geo area at a certain level/YOE/role were compensated much lower than the others and both turned out to be women. uhh https:/…
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
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.
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
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? ht…
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
This happened to me at #Apple too: they offered EAP and suggested medical leave after I spoke up about #sexism, #discrimination, and a hostile work environment. They also suggested requesting #ADA #disability accommodations after I raised concerns about unsafe #workconditions. ht…
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
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.”…
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
#Apple employee relation's 1st #sexism investigation only arose while I was complaining about unsafe work conditions and related #intimidation. They tried to quickly brush me off & prevented me from raising more concerns. This time, I gave them 558 pieces of evidence to review.
@cherthedev Cher Scarlett on x
This morning I got really disheartened looking at https://levels.fyi/ and noticing there might be a trend. We have started gathering pay transparency data for folks who want to anonymously provide their salary info. If you're a fruit stand worker - ping me for access. https://twi…
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
More Apple news that hasn't been reported yet: there was an internal survey going around this morning where employees were asking people to volunteer salary data, stock, level, location, years of experience, and job title. 1/ https://twitter.com/...
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
This is the second time *this year* Apple employees have tried to go around the company to collect data on pay equity, only to have the people team shut it down saying the demographic info is PII. 3/3
@runfaster2000 @runfaster2000 on x
@migueldeicaza I think customers voting with their wallet is enormously more powerful than employee action.
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Some were worried women on the engineering team make less than men in similar roles. Others just wanted more pay transparency. Regardless, employees are now saying Apple's people team shut it down 2/
@richrichmond @richrichmond on x
I thought @apple only treated their retail employees poorly. This is unacceptable and Apple needs to do better. https://twitter.com/...
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Wow — an Apple employee says the company told her to take medical leave after she spoke up about sexism and discrimination at work. If you experienced something similar at Apple — my number on Signal is (805) 455-4772. https://twitter.com/...
@_shantini_ Shantini on x
This is UNACCEPTABLE https://twitter.com/...
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Also: Ashley first asked Apple employee relations to set boundaries with her managers while the investigation is ongoing. She said as a last resort they could place her on leave. They chose leave — and said it should start tomorrow.
@zoeschiffer @zoeschiffer on x
Apple just placed @ashleygjovik on administrative leave while the company investigates claims she made about a hostile work environment. Ashley has been openly tweeting about her experiences with sexism at the company: https://twitter.com/...
@cherthedev Cher Scarlett on x
I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone apparently one of my colleagues was put on indefinite Administrative Leave after she posted about employee rights and her experience in speaking out against Apple/Sedgwick on her experiences trying to get accommodation under the ADA?
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Apple employee relations also implied they did not want Ashley on Slack while the investigation is ongoing. The senior engineering program manager has been vocal internally about her concerns with certain Apple policies.
@justkelly_ok Kelly Ellis on x
This is illegal. Apple has shut down a survey meant for workers to share compensation information amongst themselves. Paging @NLRB https://twitter.com/...
@acurioustale Markus Spitzner on x
This just shouldn't happen! At all. https://twitter.com/...
@migueldeicaza @migueldeicaza on x
Corporations are designed to grow, and those with the means can eat the world. They are also ruled like tiny dictatorships. There are only two forces that can tame those impulses: employee unions from the bottom and regulation from the top.
@mhbergen Mark Bergen on x
Watching Apple go through (smidgen) of Googley internal rancor. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@alisonturkos Alison Turkos on x
.@ashleygjovik speaks her truth and tweets about experiencing sexism in the workplace. She is then immediately placed on indefinite paid leave. This is @Apple silencing women, and it must stop. https://twitter.com/...
@markbober Mark Bober on x
@ashleygjovik So... complain about a hostile work environment, get ostracized and put on leave while they “investigate”. Let me guess, @Apple... the next step is to conclude that there was no wrongdoing and give @ashleygjovik the option to come back to the same hostile environmen…
@chronrevisited @chronrevisited on x
@timnitGebru I covered antitrust policy in the early 2010s. I remember when Apple, Google & others were caught red-handed by the DOJ conspiring to suppress employee wages. Nobody went to jail despite the fact price-fixing is a considered a criminal and civil violation of the Sher…
@timnitgebru Timnit Gebru on x
Its illegal to retaliate against employees for discussing workplace conditions. This means nothing to companies though cause they face no consequences. Maybe the NLRB makes them post this fact for 1 year. This happened at google. No incentive not to continue doing this. https://t…
@kimcrayton1 @kimcrayton1 on x
Lack of inclusion is a risk, and increasingly a crisis, management issue Old ways of CYA [cover your ass] no longer work with an informed and empowered workforce https://twitter.com/...
@richrichmond @richrichmond on x
I fought my entire 14 year career at @apple against mistreatment of employees. It cost me promotions, professional relationships, & severely impacted my mental & physical health. It's a shame because I love the company and the products but it's getting difficult to ignore the bad
@chancehmiller Chance Miller on x
The cultural shift we're seeing inside and now outside of Apple with this story and the WFH pushback is fascinating. Workplace issues like this should not be cloaked by a culture of secrecy for products. (My Signal is in my bio...) https://twitter.com/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
She said they could place her on leave. So they placed her on leave. That's burying the lede a bit from the headline. Apple will of course not comment publicly for many reasons but let's perhaps assume there's more to the story than what's being reported https://www.theverge.com/…
@migueldeicaza @migueldeicaza on x
@runfaster2000 That's the only signal they use today and ain't making a difference on key problems of our era- Facebook, Google and Apple are effectively tuned and optimized to solve for that force - at the expense of others
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
I of course can't speak for others but in my tenure at Apple I never saw (or heard of) anyone being treated with less than respect for their race, gender, religion or beliefs. I was called an idiot once but that was because I said something stupid not because I was Jewish
@timnitgebru Timnit Gebru on x
As I mentioned before, Apple operates with impunity. I have so many stories from my days there. And given that they're not on the spotlight, the message they receive is that their approach is working. https://twitter.com/...

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