Google Fires Employee Over His ‘Anti-Diversity’ Memo

Google is allllll about diversity. That is, unless you question the company’s devotion to diversity. Then you’re fired, loser. That’s what happened to Google engineer James Damore.
Damore recently wrote an internal memo titled âGoogleâs Ideological Echo Chamber.â In it, he blasts Google’s “politically correct monoculture” and âleft bias.” It begins:
I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and donât endorse using stereotypes. When addressing the gap in representation in the population, we need to look at population level differences in distributions. If we canât have an honest discussion about this, then we can never truly solve the problem. Psychological safety is built on mutual respect and acceptance, but unfortunately our culture of shaming and misrepresentation is disrespectful and unaccepting of anyone outside its echo chamber. Despite what the public response seems to have been, Iâve gotten many personal messages from fellow Googlers expressing their gratitude for bringing up these very important issues which they agree with but would never have the courage to say or defend because of our shaming culture and the possibility of being fired. This needs to change.
In the 10-page memo, he lists non-bias causes of the “gender wage gap” and discusses the undeniable differences between men and women. You can read the entire memo here.
Danielle Brown, Google’s Vice President of Diversity, Integrity & Governance, issued a statement in response. It reads in part:
Many of you have read an internal document shared by someone in our engineering organization, expressing views on the natural abilities and characteristics of different genders, as well as whether one can speak freely of these things at Google. And like many of you, I found that it advanced incorrect assumptions about gender. Iâm not going to link to it here as itâs not a viewpoint that I or this company endorses, promotes or encourages.
Diversity and inclusion are a fundamental part of our values and the culture we continue to cultivate. We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company, and weâll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul. As Ari Balogh said in his internal G+ post, âBuilding an open, inclusive environment is core to who we are, and the right thing to do. âNuff said. â
Google has taken a strong stand on this issue, by releasing its demographic data and creating a company wide OKR on diversity and inclusion. Strong stands elicit strong reactions. Changing a culture is hard, and itâs often uncomfortable. But I firmly believe Google is doing the right thing, and thatâs why I took this job.
Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws.
Iâve been in the industry for a long time, and I can tell you that Iâve never worked at a company that has so many platforms for employees to express themselvesâTGIF, Memegen, internal G+, thousands of discussion groups. I know this conversation doesnât end with my email today. I look forward to continuing to hear your thoughts as I settle in and meet with Googlers across the company.
Plot twistâ Google decided to take Damore’s thoughts to heart, because DIVERSITY, right? HAâ just kidding. Google fired him.
James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for âperpetuating gender stereotypes.â He said heâs âcurrently exploring all possible legal remedies.â
You CANNOT suggest that we treat people as individuals! This is the 21st century HELLO.
This is the conclusion of the so-called "anti-diversity" memo that got James Damore fired from Google. pic.twitter.com/AWUIneJCYX
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 8, 2017
CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly sent an email to employees, claiming that Damore’s memo violated the company’s Code of Conduct and perpetuated “harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace.â
As you know, pointing out the differences between men and women is sexist, unacceptable and quite triggering.
Read the note to employees from our CEO Sundar Pichai about the memo that was circulated over the past week â https://t.co/wzcNsc5Fsh pic.twitter.com/S8dDzJEBQB
— Google (@Google) August 8, 2017
Wait wait WAIT. Did you catch this? âOur co-workers shouldnât have to worry ⌠each time they open their mouths to speak ⌠â
But…didn’t you just…I…holy mother of ZERO self awareness.
Liberals are celebrating, conservatives are upset and some people are just confused.
That garbage fire of a document is trash and you are wonderful coworkers who I am extremely lucky to work with.
— Andrew Bonventre (@andybons) August 4, 2017
Awesome, @Google, fire someone because they are honest, they are reasoned and their arguments are completely supported by research. đ
— Marek Zee (@MarekZee) August 8, 2017
When my dad was young, he saw a shop with a sign that read "Irish need not apply."
Today at #Google its: "Conservatives need not apply."
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) August 8, 2017
Wondering why men are trash? Read the defense of the Google memo. (Notice who is stanning for that idiot too.)
— Mz. Mizandrist (@love_an_artist) August 8, 2017
He was commiting violence. People felt afraid. People had to take days off. People feared for their safety.
— Alex Hidalgo (@SometimesAlex) August 8, 2017
That dude believes Damore was COMMITTING VIOLENCE.
"Our co-workers shouldn't have to worry…each time they open their mouths to speak in a meeting."
Irony overload! https://t.co/GFO7zESLTW
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 8, 2017
Did he actually do something wrong?
— Annie J. Salazar (@AnnieJSalazar) August 8, 2017
You literally proved his point in saying that there's a lack of diversity of thought.
HE HAS A PH.D IN BIOLOGY and you fired him for facts.
— Shane Rider đşđ¸ (@shaneriderMA) August 8, 2017
Unreal. This guy even tried hard to show he was left of center & couched every touchy point w/ real ideas to promote their args.
— Kevin D Jones (@Kevin_D_Jones) August 8, 2017
Anyone who disagrees with groupthink will be punished #GoogleManifesto pic.twitter.com/W1WVE8gdVO
— Michael Gray (@graywolf) August 8, 2017
Yo Google, About that gender stereotyping? https://t.co/d18N0x44dp
— The Right Wing M (@TheRightWingM) August 8, 2017
Totally disagreed w/ the memo, but when #Google fired him, they did nothing but prove his point: it's not the place for open discussions
— Mel Thielen (@MelThielen) August 8, 2017
i tried to read that like trash Google Memo that's floating around nd i only last 2/10 pages of this dumbass bumbling through what he thinks
— tony (@TonyofFlowers) August 8, 2017
Thank goodness the thought police got there so soon! So many delicate snowflakes saved.
— John Everyman (@ErnosRebellion) August 8, 2017
Good.
— Anna McPherson (@vinosmax) August 8, 2017
Diversity…in thought? In politics?
— Richard Stands (@richardstands) August 8, 2017
Memo writer: Google shuts down opposing opinions.
Google: No, we don't. You're fired. https://t.co/TBxaAlBgbQ
— Carl Gustav (@CaptYonah) August 8, 2017
That’s where we’re at. Liberals really don’t see the irony. It’s unreal.
h/t Twitchy
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