Apple Will Start Offering Paid Internships To CODE2040 Fellows

In its latest attempt to foster and support diversity, Apple has partnered with CODE2040, a non-profit organization focused on empowering underrepresented minorities in the tech industry. Apple is now a “platinum” sponsor of the CODE2040 fellowship program and has agreed to offer three-month paid internships to 10 of the 80 fellows in CODE2040’s 2016 class, according to BuzzFeed.

CODE2040’s flagship program, the CODE2040 Fellows Program, places African-American and Latino/a college-level computer science students in a summer career accelerator, where they participate in career-building workshops and intern at top tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We’re excited to be working with CODE2040 toward our shared goal of more opportunities in tech for young Latino/as and African-Americans,” Apple VP for Worldwide Human Resources Denise Young said in a statement to BuzzFeed. “We want every young person to have the opportunity to get the job of their dreams, and we want our teams at Apple to be as diverse as the customers that buy our products.”

But, Apple is pretty late to the game. Next summer will be the fifth year of CODE2040’s Fellows Program, which received early support from tech companies like Jawbone, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Facebook. But, it’s better late than never. Other than CODE2040, Apple also works with non-profit programs like the National Center for Women & Information Technology and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.