Everyone is entitled to free speech. Nobody is entitled to a job.
Austin Frank, I am not sure if you ever worked for a Fortune 500 publicly traded corporation. I have, for multiple. One thing you learn as a professional is that showing up for work doesn’t grant you a podium from whence to spout your ideology, whatever it is:
- You don’t proselitize at work,
- You don’t voice opinions of other people’s religions that you know little about,
- You don’t pretend to be an expert on national and ethnic differences,
- You don’t voice opinions on gender differences,
- You don’t discuss politics,
- You don’t “mansplain” things to women,
- You don’t “oldsplain” things to younger coworkers,
- You don’t assume younger people are less competent,
- You can’t assume older people are more competent,
- It’s not your job as an engineer to opine on HR policy and code of conduct — if you disagree you don’t have to accept the job; at the very least you can set up an appointment with an HR representative to voice your grievances,
- You most certainly do not put in writing anything you do not want on the front page of the New York Times (which is exactly what this Conservative Martyr did)
Google has a code of conduct that this guy violated. When you accept a job, you agree to a code of conduct. Most companies make you read it once a year and sign it.
At what point do we stop crying for 1st Amendment rights in the workplace? Will it be when a Pastafarian dresses up like a pirate to show up for work? Will it be when someone invents a deeply held religion that says they cannot work on Wednesdays and Fridays? Will it be when some men say that their religious beliefs prevent them from working with women? Will it be when some men say they can’t share a bathroom with men of another nationality or religion?
Nobody forced this martyr to work at Google. Nobody forced him to agree to a code of conduct. He got fired for violating it.
This isn’t about thought police. This is about simple contractual obligations. Period. End of story.
Google is in the business of consumer-facing software that must have global appeal
Google isn’t making software for white men only. They need diversity of cultures, genders, races, you name it, in order to build software usable by everyone. Otherwise they will miss out on a huge portion of the consumer market.
Google has a right to a progressive work culture as much as Hobby Lobby or a wedding cake baker has a right to a conservative culture
I don’t believe Google has a progressive echo chamber at work just because they are an Equal Opportunity Employer (as required by law), or because they have an outreach program for girls. They are not unique in this regard as most Fortune 500 companies are involved in these things in some shape or form.
So, let’s assume for a second that Google does have a progressive culture. How is that different from Hobby Lobby having a conservative culture? If we are going to defend Hobby Lobby for their Christian beliefs, why are we going after Google’s management for their progressive beliefs?
Academia vs workplace
I begrudgingly accept that in academia people pay exorbitant tuition and expect to have someone listen to their dumbass ideas and create safe spaces for them. If it was up to me, universities should focus on teaching — and not on coddling snowflakes of both varieties.
Either way, workplace isn’t academia. When you show up for work, you get paid to do things the way the employer and the employer’s customers want you to do them.
Finally, on women
Women are perfectly capable of working in STEM. As for stressful occupations, have you ever seen nurses in the emergency room? Have you ever observed a woman give birth and raise an infant? What about female soldiers in IDF?
I have a ten year old daughter whom I taught to code. There is nothing about her being a girl that prevents her from learning STEM. Nothing.
What does discourage her is this never ending debate of long settled topics about women’s ability to perform the same tasks that men perform. Why are we still debating things that were discussed 50 years ago? Should we start debating the spherical shape of the Earth all over again?
I am a software engineer myself and my daughter is growing up in a household that supports her endeavors, whatever they might be. And same goes with my son!
