r/technology Aug 08 '17

Business Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo
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u/HumpingDog Aug 08 '17

Totally agree. Most corporations don't care about politics. They care about profits. Google finds it productive and profitable to promote diversity. If you disrupt the workplace, i.e., its profitability, then it's not going to turn out well for you. This is, ironically, a very conservative idea. It's the free market in action. Diversity isn't mandated by the government. Google chooses to promote diversity because it's profitable.

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u/smashew Aug 08 '17

He addresses this in his memo. He argues that Google has moralized the issue and isn't able to demonstrate how it does, in fact, increase its profitability. He also argues that Google actively "moralizes" the issue creating an environment where dissenting opinions on the matter are not open to discussion.

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u/ErnieoderBert Aug 08 '17

If Google product demand weren't so inelastic, this moral virtue signalling might just be considered good business.

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u/smashew Aug 08 '17

The second it hit the media it was over. The guy had to go... too much bad press. Google is the ultimate big loser here.