Google doesn’t want to hear your fucking opinion on tolerance.

Rant Ninja
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

There’s a kerfuffle at Google over a non-manager engineer who wrote about Google’s diversity programs. Haven’t heard? Google it.

Pointing out (among many things) that training programs for only women (designed to help diversity) are a form of discrimination shouldn’t result in getting fired. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was wrong to fire the engineer based on this memo alone. Google has only succeeded in creating a martyr, proving its liberal bias to outsiders and more importantly:

Google proved the author’s point — discussion on diversity is not allowed at Google. If you dare to speak up, you’ll be fired.

It’s important to note up front, the fundamental assumption should be that anyone, regardless of gender, race or other characteristic is capable of performing at most jobs. If a company’s hiring doesn’t reflect that diversity there might be a problem with society and/or the company in giving those people opportunities and experience necessary to be hired and achieve.

We know there is systemic racism and sexism in our society that goes beyond any reasonable justification but correlation is not causation. Just because there is a gender gap at Google doesn’t mean the company is intentionally engaging in unfair discrimination. It could be that there are deep structural problems that need analysis and discussion, even extending beyond the company walls.

Which is exactly why suppressing the discussion is wrong.

If you haven’t read the full memo then you have no right to complain. His overarching point was repeated again and again: Dissenting viewpoints regarding gender and sex are silenced.

What follows is by no means the complete story, but it’s a perspective that desperately needs to be told at Google.

Only facts and reason can shed light on these biases, but when it comes to diversity and inclusion, Google’s left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence.

My larger point is that we have an intolerance for ideas and evidence that don’t fit a certain ideology.

We should empower those with different ideologies to be able to express themselves.

I’d be very happy to discuss any of the document further and provide more citations.

And he was fired for wanting the conversation.

This is a major blow to Google’s credibility on diversity and I’m not alone in this belief.

Reading his memo I can find faults with his arguments, I imagine his sources are dubious, his conclusions in doubt but that’s a chance for education, discussion and growth — a chance to build understanding.

And I get the manager viewpoint: You made my job hard and yourself politically toxic — whaa. Boo-fucking-who. It may be difficult your team if they feel offended but this wasn’t hateful invective of a misogynist or bigot. This was the thoughtful critique of someone who isn’t as careful at communicating his ideas as he needs to be in the age of political correctness.

He never argued for the elimination of diversity programs but rather for the inclusion of men in those programs. He wanted more open conversation and analysis on why there is a gender gap and what can be done to improve the situation without simple blunt-tool of discrimination against men.

Firing the guy who is seeking out the conversation is the wrong step! That’s the mark of a good Engineer, someone who puts forth their understanding of the problem while seeking out further information. It’s the start of the conversation, not the end.

This quote from him seems on point:

If we can’t have an honest discussion about this, then we can never truly solve the problem.

Google has made it clear, it disagrees. That post (linked above) by a former Google manager, Yonatan Zunger, advocating for this employee’s termination makes it clear how Google’s management thinks.

There will be no open conversations about diversity at Google.

Rant Ninja

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