Illustrating how Silicon Valley is grappling with the role of women in technology, Google\u2019s new diversity chief forcefully pushed back against a male worker\u2019s argument that the company has a \u201cpolitically correct monoculture\u201d that ignores differences between the sexes.<\/p>\n
The engineer, in a memo that has gone viral, provided a detailed list of what he called possible \u201cnon-bias\u201d causes for the under-representation of women in the industry, saying that the company\u2019s left-leaning workplace culture prevents honest discussion of the issue. The document, titled \u201cGoogle\u2019s Ideological Echo Chamber,\u201d was posted on Saturday by Gizmodo.<\/p>\n
In response, Google\u2019s Danielle Brown said the worker \u201cadvanced incorrect assumptions about gender.\u201d His views aren\u2019t endorsed or promoted by the company, she wrote in a memo to employees released to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company,\u201d said Brown, who became the new vice president for diversity at Alphabet Inc.\u2019s Google last month. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many Silicon Valley companies have taken progressive stands on social issues from climate change to transgender rights, but have been vexed by an inability to gain more female and minority workers. All told, 26 percent of computer and mathematical jobs are held by women in the U.S. today, which is down a bit from 1960.
\nPay Gap<\/p>\n
Pay for women in tech has also lagged behind men\u2019s compensation. Female computer and information systems managers receive only 88 cents for each dollar paid to their male counterparts, according to U.S. government data.<\/p>\n
In the employee memo, the author says men have a higher drive for status, pushing them into tech and leadership positions that require \u201clong, stressful hours\u201d while \u201cwomen on average look for more work-life balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The worker expresses concern with some of Google\u2019s diversity initiatives that he believes are discriminatory, including providing programs for people of only a certain gender or race and using hiring practices that \u201clower the bar for \u2018diversity\u201d\u2019 candidates. It offers suggestions including having an open discussion about the costs and benefits of the programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiscriminating just to increase the representation of women in tech is as biased as mandating increases for women\u2019s representation in the homeless, work-related and violent deaths, prisons, and school dropouts,\u201d the memo says.<\/p>\n
Brown said the memo and viral reaction was an unexpected call to action in her new role \u201cgiven the heated debate\u201d of the past few days. \u201cI started just a couple of weeks ago,\u201d she wrote, \u201cand I had hoped to take another week or so to get the lay of the land before introducing myself to you all.\u201d<\/p>\n