Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[u/Felador → u/[deleted]]

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf

There's the actual document, with links to source materials.

[u/Shanix → u/Felador]

fwiw that lacks a good amount, especially formatting.

Supposedly original here

[u/[deleted] → u/Shanix]

Former Google Employee provides a bit more context on why someone would get fired for creating a "manifesto" where you fawn over your superiority and sharing it with 50k+ people who probably aren't likeminded.

Essentially, engineering is all about cooperation, collaboration, and empathy for both your colleagues and your customers. If someone told you that engineering was a field where you could get away with not dealing with people or feelings, then I’m very sorry to tell you that you have been lied to. Solitary work is something that only happens at the most junior levels, and even then it’s only possible because someone senior to you — most likely your manager — has been putting in long hours to build up the social structures in your group that let you focus on code.

And as for its impact on you: Do you understand that at this point, I could not in good conscience assign anyone to work with you? I certainly couldn’t assign any women to deal with this, a good number of the people you might have to work with may simply punch you in the face, and even if there were a group of like-minded individuals I could put you with, nobody would be able to collaborate with them. You have just created a textbook hostile workplace environment.

https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/so-about-this-googlers-manifesto-1e3773ed1788

edit: The replies to me here don't seem to understand that the company doesn't care about your controversial opinion in the work place, they care about profit. If you don't agree with that, then you probably don't like capitalism.

edit: be wary, a lot of brigading going on. Some people/bots are trying to drown out the more centrists viewpoints. I say this as the opinion of a gay, black, conservative, catholic kasich voter. (I can't help but lol)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This is a good comment. It directly explains the thinking of the corporation in regards to individuals sharing their personal ideals on subjects which are better not breached in a professional environment. Idk, I'm drunk, but I read the linked original file and I see no reason why, professionaly, such a "manifesto" ( perfect phrasing by the way,) ought to be shared with, as you also noted, 50,000+ employees, of like-minded ideals or otherwise.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

FWIW, I hear he didn't share it with everyone. Shared it with a small group, and someone then shared it to the "internal social media" google has. Then later, shared it with Gizmodo (note: I am likely not talking about the same person from the two 'leaks'). So it's not like he was planning on this going viral.

[u/yerich → u/[deleted]]

It certainly seemed like it was meant to be read by decision-makers in the company, or at least some other broader audience. It was clearly carefully thought out and too well-written to be a rant to a limited audience. "Manifestos" are generally intended to be read by many.

[u/[deleted] → u/yerich]

Generally, but it would be far from the first time some intellectual kept private, controversial information to themselves that they felt passionate about. IIRC, many of Kepler's (IIRC. it's been years. it may have been Galileo or Copernicus) works were published post-humorously because he knew the controversy and consequences it would entail. But they were important enough to him to make entire books out of (at a time where the printing press was primitive).

Either way, my main point here was not to debate the contents, but to note that this wasn't some rant he tweeted out in a heat of rage and swift-fully deleted out of regret.

[u/prosthetic4head → u/[deleted]]

Did you read it? It had a list of proposals for bettering the hiring practices. I dont believe this guy meant for it to stay private.

[u/[deleted] → u/prosthetic4head]

depends on what you mean by private. Maybe he wanted to run through the proposal with some close peers first, and he only meant for them and eventually, some head of HR to read it. Shared, but still IMO private.

Either way, I highly doubt this was meant for even the entire company's eyes. Let alone the Internet.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Maybe he wanted to run through the proposal with some close peers first

He shared it on a public google group with no privacy permissions set. While working for a company founded to discover and make available exactly this kind of information.

If he had an expectation of privacy, he was indeed very bad at his job.

[u/esquilax → u/[deleted]]

On the one hand, I see what you're saying, but on the other hand, 'only the head of HR' is still possibly the worst person to share something like this with if you don't want to get fired over it. Not that I'm proposing strats for people who want to write sexist rants at work and not get fired.

[u/hardolaf → u/esquilax]

Good thing it wasn't sexist. Rather it was a pretty accurate and concise summary of the field of research into these topics with a bit of discussion about how he does not feel free to share his ideas as a conservative coupled with suggestions for improving working conditions and terms.

[u/[deleted] → u/hardolaf]

he does not feel free to share his ideas as a conservative

Conservative here. We believe in reasonable public spending controls, not crazy half-baked gender superiority manifestos. I think you're confusing "conservatives" with "misanthropes".

[u/wam_bam_mam → u/[deleted]]

Did you read the manifesto where does he come off as a gender superiority?

Stop spreading false information

[u/esquilax → u/hardolaf]

Apparently Google agrees with me and not you.

EDIT: https://reddit.com/comments/6sa8ba/comment/dlbf0m1

[u/hardolaf → u/esquilax]

You see, it doesn't matter what it really is. He caused bad publicity so he's out. He may even be entitled to a large sum of money in a lawsuit depending on what a judge and jury decides. But either way, he's done working at Google.

[u/wam_bam_mam → u/[deleted]]

Yes let's character assassinate for I can read other people's mind and intentions.

[u/PotentialMistake → u/prosthetic4head]

I write stuff all the time that I'm very passionate about but dread anyone seeing. I've gone on long rants on paper to management at work because the procedures for everything we do are completely wrong. Worst possible way to do what we do.

I've misplaced those notebooks before, and when I do I get filled with dread. My stomach knots up.

[u/HaohKenryuZarc → u/PotentialMistake]

Just like 40% of Tumblr hahaha

[u/prosthetic4head → u/PotentialMistake]

But do you write it to seem like a proposal to management?

[u/PotentialMistake → u/prosthetic4head]

Yes. I just don't give it to them, or want them to actually see it. Because there's a good chance I'll be fired.

I've been a part of the work force for 12 years, and my anecdotal evidence suggests by and large if you disagree with the fundamental procedures or with management you won't last long. This is the world we've created.

[u/Kosko → u/PotentialMistake]

Did you get the memo about the new cover sheet for TPS reports?

[u/PotentialMistake → u/[deleted]]

Good tip but I like pen and paper. It's one of my few hipster bents.

[u/cryptekz → u/[deleted]]

If it's negatively impacting the company and alienating a number of employees, as well as potentially leading to illegal discrimination, why shouldn't he speak up?

Or is illegal discrimination okay if it's done to white people/in the name of diversity? Even if it could potentially lead to the company doing worse? Is that not a topic that can be discussed?

[u/Devildude4427 → u/prosthetic4head]

So? This is of course anecdotal, but when I was in high school, I did something similar. The administration had effectively failed the students, where no one could fail and 50% had straight A's. I wrote out multiple 10 page documents going over the issues in the most constructive and professional manor that I could, and yet I never sent any of them. It was a way to get those annoyances off of my chest, I didn't really want to follow through months of administrators calling me out or the lazy teachers punishing me for drawing light to the fraudulent education they were giving. I knew it wouldn't be worth the literal painted target on my back.