An internal memo at Google has drawn much ire for its highly controversial statements. On Friday, Aug. 4, at least eight Google employees posted to Twitter about a document that circulated within the company advocating to replace diversity initiatives with policies that merit "ideological diversity" instead.
The memo called "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" details the personal opinion of an anonymous male Google employee, arguing that women are underrepresented in the technological landscape not because of bias and discrimination but because of inherent "biological causes."
Motherboard first reported about said memo. Gizmodo later obtained it in full.
Anti-Diversity Memo
One of the things the memo suggests is that Google shouldn't administer programs for underrepresented racial or gender minorities. It also criticizes Google's "left leaning" culture, listing down policies meant to encourage a more diverse workplace.
It goes on to suggest "non-bias causes of the gender gap in tech," which, it argues, include women's preference for feelings and aesthetics instead of ideas that, according to the document, explain why women prefer social or artistic professions; and "neuroticism," citing higher anxiety and lower stress tolerance.
It makes several more claims about why the gender gap exists before arguing that the company shouldn't "do arbitrary social engineering of tech just to make it appealing to equal portions of both men and women."
It also goes on to list down what the employee perceives as Google's biases and what harm they bring.
"Google has created several discriminatory practices," some of which, the document says, include programs specific to a certain gender or race, special treatment for diversity candidates, and reconsideration of a set of people when it's not diverse enough.
"These practices are based on false assumptions generated by our biases and can actually increase race and gender tensions," the employee says, claiming that following Google's "veiled left ideology" can harm the company.
Finally, the employee suggests practices Google can perform. He calls to demoralize diversity, to stop alienating conservatives, to confront the company's biases, to stop restricting programs to certain minority groups, and to de-emphasize empathy.
Other Google Employees' Reactions To The Memo
Many Google employees took to Twitter to voice their reactions, particularly disagreeing with certain points in the document, if not its entire existence. On Saturday, Aug. 5, Google's new Diversity VP Danielle Brown responded to the manifesto in a statement sent to Google employees:
"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 we'll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul."
The status of the employee remains a question, but a former Google employee expressed how he, after having read the document, would have asked the author to vacate Google immediately. Motherboard says, however, that the author was "emboldened" by some of the more positive responses he received.
