Google fires the engineer who accused it of being too Left-wing
GooGle has fired a software engineer who wrote a memo accusing the company of left-wing bias.
James Damore had also blamed ‘biological causes’ for the shortage of women in senior technology jobs and leadership positions. he said they won fewer promotions because of their ‘neuroticism’.
Google said the harvard graduate had to go for perpetuating gender stereotypes. Some employees had suggested that they would refuse to work with him.
mr Damore’s ten-page document went viral after it was posted online at the weekend. he argued that employees of the US search giant were shamed into silence if they had conservative views.
‘this silencing has created an ideological echo chamber where some ideas are too sacred to be honestly discussed,’ he wrote.
mr Damore blasted Google for trying to boost race and gender diversity, saying it should place more value on ‘ ideological’ differences. ‘ We always ask why we don’t see women in top leadership positions, but we never ask why we see so many men in these jobs,’ the memo said.
‘these positions often require long, stressful hours that may not be worth it if you want a balanced and fulfilling life. Women on average look for more work-life balance while men have a higher drive for status on average. I’m simply stating that the distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don’t see equal representation.’
mr Damore claimed women were more interested than men in ‘feelings and aesthetics rather than ideas’ and a ‘stronger interest in people rather than things’.
he explained why women prefer jobs in social or artistic areas while men may like computer coding – because it requires ‘systemising’.
the internal document said women tended to be less assertive: ‘this leads to women generally having a harder time negotiating salary, asking for raises, speaking up, and leading.’
In a statement to staff, Google chief Sundar Pichai said ‘portions of the memo violate our code of conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace’. Bloomberg News reported that the software engineer confirmed his own dismissal in an email.
mr Damore said he was considering legal action and had told employment watchdogs that Google was trying to shame him into silence.
Danielle Brown, Google’s vice president of diversity, integrity and governance, said the document was ‘not a viewpoint that I or this company endorses’. She added: ‘We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company.’
‘Ideological differences’