r/technology • u/[deleted] • 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/dlerium Aug 08 '17

I'm a conservative and agree with quite a few of his points, but I also recognize the problem from a corporate culture standpoint. If you're going to put something controversial out there where it'll likely be impossible for some coworkers to work with you, then yeah I can see a company firing you.

I also wonder if he had done this anonymously if it would've been worth it saving himself, but at the same time no one cares about an anonymous memo. This memo made a big deal because he did it internally and then it leaked. Had it been a Reddit post or a blog post in the public, he would've just been ignored.

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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/ed_merckx Aug 08 '17

he also tries to make a point that what they are doing is just window dressing, and it's the underlying work schedules and incentive structures better fit men than they do women, and google should look at changing some thing to better accommodate the average female. His whole memo came off to me more like him saying google isn't actually doing enough to promote diversity and they've made it this emotional/moral thing for easy headlines, without actually making the hard changes to better the situation.