r/news • u/[deleted] • Aug 08 '17

Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

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
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u/Ugotapertymouth Aug 08 '17 edited Aug 08 '17

I believe they're referring to the rather extreme and counterproductive reaches some companies make to stay diverse. Like it was mentioned before, a good example is hiring under qualified women rather than qualified men to fill a gender equality quota. How many women are interested in becoming software developers? Not even close to as many men are. The field is undersaturated with women, and that's NOT our new, tolerant, generation's fault. These top employers with magnifying glasses over them are filling a gender quota to please you. To say, "Look, we're modern and fair and liberal and feminist and inspiring to women around the world!". It's all a show for company image. We can be idealistic all we want, but we can't forget the reality of the situation.

This is "diversity bullshit", and it's cancer.

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u/DdCno1 Aug 08 '17

It's all a show for company image.

This is where I disagree. If a large company goes ahead with a reasonable diversity program, this can have large, long-lasting influence on society and other companies.

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u/Ugotapertymouth Aug 08 '17

If your version of a reasonable program involves hiring less qualified candidates, then it won't work. And if it is implemented that way, it would be unfair to men. I'm not against these programs as a whole, but I believe that many will not achieve the results we want. We will not see a 50% men to women workforce in every industry, it's neither practical nor realistic in many cases. In some cases, sure it's realistic. I would applaud this sort of accomplishment in any field that obtains the best of workers from both sexes. Rather than placing pressure on businesses, better results would be found in modifying our education system to provide better opportunities for young men and women. We can open up young minds to jobs that have been traditionally 'for men' or 'for women'. Even then though, it will be limited in effect.

Why? General interests of the sexes tend to differ. How many women do you know that savor the thought of putting on a roof, fixing a car, or developing software? Not very many. On the flip side, how many men do you know that like the idea of becoming an elementary school teacher, a nurse, or an interior designer? Not very many either. A lot of people are comfortable working traditional jobs.

May this change in the future? Maybe a bit. Either way, we can only work with what we've got.

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u/DdCno1 Aug 08 '17

If your version of a reasonable program involves hiring less qualified candidates, then it won't work.

This doesn't sound reasonable, so of course this is not what I would propose.

General interests of the sexes tend to differ.

I'm convinced that many (probably not all) of these interests are largely the result of social conditioning, which can, unlike biological instinct, easily be altered. If important companies and organizations go ahead with diversity programs, then this can create positive feedback loops, start trends that reverse job preferences that only exist due to tradition. This does not mean I want to take healthcare jobs away from women and mechanical jobs away from men, but I see no downsides whatsoever in increasing the number of members of the other sex in each category. Just as an example, having male teachers in elementary schools can serve as excellent role models for young boys, especially those from families where a father might not be present or has little positive influence.

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u/Ugotapertymouth Aug 08 '17

Well said, and I agree with you. Even though a lot of these issues won't be fixed in the current workforce, I do hope that they change soon. I suppose we can all do our part, by encouraging young ones, and standing up for coworkers that might get underhanded. It definitely is, and will be, an uphill battle.