Apple faces controversy over Apple Card

On November 5, Apple was accused of gender discrimination surrounding the algorithms of the Apple Card. 

The Apple Card, a credit card specifically run through Apple, has been a target of allegations of gender bias. This issue of gender bias arose when tech entrepreneur David Hansson voiced through social media that his credit limit was significantly higher than his wife’s, despite the fact that she had a better credit score.

The New York Department of Financial Services investigated these allegations, as not only Hansson, but multiple other voices spoke out about their similar experience with the Apple Card. There has been no definite affirmation or denial of the accusations due to the difficulty investigating discrimination in computer-based algorithms. 

Ms. Blumhardt, a history teacher and leader of Feminism Club, began her experience with credit by opening a line of credit when studying abroad. 

With the topic of gender discrimination closely relating to Apple, the accusations highlight the ongoing struggle of gender inequality, pushing students to further widen their horizons surrounding gender inequality outside of Jesuit. 

“Everyone has Apple products, so to see a name that’s so familiar and something that everybody has in their pockets and associating that to gender discrimination is difficult,” Blumhardt said. “I think that it’s a stark reminder to females that the fight is continuing. For folks to say no it’s very equal and I have all the same opportunities as my male counterparts, I think it challenges Jesuit students to look outside the bounds of school and to realize there are still issues. I think the greatest examples of gender discrimination and inequality are within corporations.”

The issue of gender discrimination has been relevant in numerous other tech corporations, such as Tesla, Facebook, and even Amazon. These issues of gender discrimination were displayed in a range of forms, from unequal target advertising to employment and hiring discrimination. 

This discrimination may be due to the imbalance of gender employment within tech corporations. According to The New Yorker, studies have estimated that women make up only a quarter of employees as well as only 11% of executive positions within the tech industry. 

With the topic of gender equality consistently prevalent in not only the Jesuit community, but also in outside environments, informing students surrounding the topic in class maintains the overall awareness of current events. 

“I definitely believe there are wonderful faculty and staff who are here who keep their students updated on current events, but still encouraging that curiosity within our students is always really important,” Blumhardt said. “The worst thing that we can do is be stuck in a bubble, so the more that we try to engage ourselves with the outside community and on all aspects, the better off we’ll be.”

With numerous students soon leaving for college, and later entering the world of adulthood, establishing a good credit score is essential for larger purchases. Ms. Casey recently purchased a house, and she describes her tips for establishing a good credit score. 

“Keep your spending within your means,” Casey said. “Realistically, a lot of students are going to graduate from college with some student loans, [so] committing to paying those off as soon as possible making sure you’re not accumulating credit card debt [is] essential because that can really get you in a hole, and it’s hard to recover from that.”

While students may be informed of the credit system, establishing a class surrounding credit could further assist students when beginning to build credit.

“A recent addition in the last few years has been an online financial planning course,” Casey said. “I haven’t gone through it, but I think that’s a great step. It seems like a great idea if there was an opportunity to build more practical financial planning guidelines and approaches for students.”