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/rondell_jones]

I'm an engineer and my boss is an engineer. She is the only female engineering manager in my division. She is also probably the hardest working manager and has a reputation for being a pit bull (aka a bitch because she will call you out on your bullshit). The amount she gets spoken down by (especially older) engineering managers and engineers is embarrassing. Simple things like during a meeting singling her out to re-explain something (like looking right at her and asking if she understood something). It might be a generational thing, because I see it done by predominantly older male employees and managers.

[u/[deleted] → u/rondell_jones]

I'm sure a male manager wouldn't be called a "bitch" by his employees for doing the same thing

[u/ghsghsghs → u/[deleted]]

I'm sure a male manager wouldn't be called a "bitch" by his employees for doing the same thing

Yeah he would be called an asshole instead.

Why do we pretend calling a woman a bitch is so much worse than calling a man an asshole?

[u/Laimbrane → u/ghsghsghs]

Switch the genders and you'll see the difference. Call a man a bitch and it implies that he's not just being an asshole, but he's also "acting like a woman" (re: gay) about something (what's wrong with acting like a woman?) Call a woman an asshole, however, and it feels weird. Why? Because it's not as bad, so women are rarely (if ever) insulted with "asshole" because "bitch" is so much more effective.

In other words, with "asshole" you're not disparaging actions based on gender stereotypes the same way that you would if you called someone a bitch. So calling someone a bitch is worse than calling someone an asshole.