Google fires defender of gender gap

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Monday fired the author of an internal memo defending the gender gap in Silicon Valley tech jobs as a matter of biology, according to media reports.

The move, which was not officially confirmed by Google, splashed fuel on a burning controversy about whether “political correctness” at the company was stifling free speech.

In an email to employees, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai supported the right of employees to express themselves, saying that much of what was in the memo is fair to debate.

“However, portions of the memo violate our code of conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace,” he said.

“To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK.”

The leaked internal document that went viral – and was dubbed “sexist” by US media – claimed “biological causes” explained the lack of women in tech industry leadership roles.

“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 of women in tech and leadership,” read the 3,000-word fulmination.

According to the author, natural aptitudes of men allow them to become better computer programmers, while women have more “openness directed towards feelings and aesthetics rather than ideas” – meaning they “prefer jobs in social or artistic areas”. – AFP