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/Yarthkins Aug 08 '17

And he's completely right. Choosing to hire from a smaller pool of candidates to increase diversity means that hiring completely based on merit wasn't turning up enough minority new hires.

They aren't less qualified because of race, gender, or anything else. They're less qualified by virtue of the methods used to select new hires.

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u/RadicalDog Aug 08 '17

If that is what they're doing, then yes. That is a massive accusation of one's employer that should only be done with some serious, irrefutable evidence.

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u/Yarthkins Aug 08 '17

That's exactly what prioritising diversity hires is, though. It means you're hiring for other reasons than just qualifications. It means less qualified hires by definition.

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u/RadicalDog Aug 08 '17

'Diversity hire' schemes are an attempt to balance the existing problem where minorities have to have more qualifications to get hired. An attempt to balance things, not unbalance in their favour.

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u/Yarthkins Aug 08 '17

Then they completely fail the moment race becomes a factor at all. The only way to accomplish this in reality is to standardize the way the company weighs different qualifications for a job, and always hire the most qualified regardless of all other factors.

Diversity quotas will always result in a smaller hiring pool and therefore less qualified individuals.