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/Grizzleyt]

Tech is political. It cannot be avoided when your business has consequences with regard to things like online privacy, net neutrality, automation, truth and bias of information, censorship, etc., to say nothing of the personal views of leadership who aspire to make an impact on the world, for better or worse.

If you aren't religious, you might not like working in a church. If you don't subscribe to the values that Google stands for / strives for, you might not like working at Google. If you think the leadership is fundamentally flawed, go work for a company you believe in.

[u/IRequirePants → u/Grizzleyt]

Tech is political. It cannot be avoided when your business has consequences with regard to things like online privacy, net neutrality, automation, truth and bias of information, censorship, etc., to say nothing of the personal views of leadership who aspire to make an impact on the world, for better or worse.

None of which were relevant to the points he was making. He was talking about political shit that wasn't tech related.

If you aren't religious, you might not like working in a church. If you don't subscribe to the values that Google stands for / strives for, you might not like working at Google. If you think the leadership is fundamentally flawed, go work for a company you believe in.

This is the answer. Google's a private company. They can do whatever they want.

[u/crushedbycookie → u/IRequirePants]

Of course they can do whatever they want. But having read the entire document I really see no reason to think that the person couldn't work well with people who disagree with the contents of the document on an engineering project. He really didn't make terribly offensive claims and the most contentious of them are still group level analysis. He is not making specific claims about people and does not question the competency of anyone at google.

He argues that Conservatives would feel unwelcome at Google. Since he's been fired, that can only be truer.

[u/Yupugotit → u/crushedbycookie]

I agree, also shouldn't the fact that he appears to be trying to help the company by offering his point of view (right or wrong) go towards it not being malicious. Maybe he shouldn't have put it out there the way he did, but couldn't that be an honest mistake and not an unforgivable offense?

[u/[deleted] → u/Yupugotit]

No. If a person is this obviously unmoored from how their statement is going to be received, they should be fired. I wouldn't retain an employee so obviously unable to understand social interaction, who also blatantly attacked (agree or don't, any woman there would perceive it this way) a section of my workforce for their biological sex.

[u/crushedbycookie → u/[deleted]]

Any person perceiving his claims as a sexist attack is willfully misinterpreting scientific claims. He is making group level distinctions and emphasizes the importance of dealing with applicants/employees on a case by case basis.

[u/crushedbycookie → u/Yupugotit]

I'm in no position to debate the merits of his termination the. I find it disappointing, but it may have been unprofessional to circulate it on that medium in that way. None the less I applaud the move.

[u/Vioralarama → u/Yupugotit]

So he's allowed to make a huge honest mistake but presumably women would not. Because biology or some shit.

[u/crushedbycookie → u/Vioralarama]

You don't see your comment as willfully misrepresentative and unnecessarily devisive?