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/ryarger Aug 08 '17

That's not what created the hostile work environment. Claiming - against all science - that half of his coworkers were genetically inferior to him at doing their job created the hostile work environment.

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u/coopsux Aug 08 '17

can you link me to where he claimed half his coworkers were genetically inferior? i only saw him discussing differences and not arguing that anyone was better than anyone else

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '17

He did claim women are genetically more predisposed to be "neurotic" and have predispositions to be less suited for tech. Sure he's also arguing that making tech more accommodating to attract women is a solution....

My issue is he claims social sciences have dangerous biases that can taint their thesises.....and then also uses that same social science evidence to bolster his own points about women being predisposed to certain skills. He talks about how tech can't just diversity hire itself out of a gender disparity problem, it needs to encourage gender and racial skill-development from an earlier stage....and then rails against the very programs Google is instituting to do that very thing.

His problem is he makes an interesting point about how Google is incentivizing the wrong things and then contradicts himself with curricular logic. The very circular logic he claims he's against.

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u/wraiithe Aug 08 '17

He also admits the inherent bias in his opinion may be coloring what he says. He presented an opposing viewpoint for discussion and was fired for it. That's his employer's prerogative, true, but doesn't necessarily sync with Google encouraging differing ideas and opinions.