In a report in April we noted that last December Apple spokeswoman Kristen Huguet stated that Apple was deeply committed to diversity and the advancement of human rights around the world. In that same report we noted that Apple bolstered the number of scholarships that it would was going to offer to aspiring attendees of the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in June, as it sought to cultivate greater diversity in its developer community. Yesterday Apple made good on their promise as Apple's CEO Tim Cook interacted with some of the scholarship winners — including Kiera Cawley, a 12-year old from New York who has been coding since she was 9. It was clear this was more than just a photo op for him. He talked with the winners about their apps and about their backgrounds and was keenly interested in what made them tick.

When Mashable's Christina Warren sat down with Tim Cook yesterday, she asked why it was important that Apple ramp up its efforts in diversity. His answer was unequivocal: "It's the future of our company."

Cook added: "I view these people that I talk to today as the future generations of the company, and they will either be a part of it directly or a part of the ecosystem. And either way — when I think of Apple, I think of the whole community, not just the people that have the Apple badge.

I think the most diverse group will produce the best product, I firmly believe that," we're a "better company" by being more diverse.

Apple's first diversity report, released last year, showed that it isn't exactly there yet. The company is 70% male and 30% Female as noted in our compiled graphic that was taken from Apple's report.

On diversity as it relates to women Cook noted that "I think it's our fault — 'our' meaning the whole tech community," he says. "I think in general we haven't done enough to reach out and show young women that it's cool to do it and how much fun it can be."

When asked Cook about the lack of women at Apple's WWDC keynotes, he smiled and said, "Look tomorrow and let me know what you think." Obviously Apple will have one segment led by a female executive – So that's something to watch for later today. More than likely, we're likely to be hearing from Angela Ahrendts, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Sales. For more on this report, click here.

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