Google VP of Diversity Responds to 'Viral Anti-Diversity Manifesto'
A document detailing the personal opinion of a Google software engineer has been the subject of concern over at the company, as the views expressed in it has been described as "anti-diversity" and "mistaken." The text, however, has become highly controversial within the company, enough to compel its vice president to write a response.
Google employees have taken to social media since Friday, Aug. 4, to express their take on the document that's been making the rounds inside the company.
Twitter posts have railed against the "manifesto," which called for policies that promote "ideological diversity" instead of the diversity efforts cultivated by Google for women and minorities, according to Motherboard.
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The 10-page document, a copy of which was later obtained and published by Gizmodo, was called "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" and was reportedly going "viral" in its spread inside Google, according to sources.
According to the arguments presented by the author of the document, biological differences between the sexes is the reason for the fact that there are more men than women in software engineering, as summarized by some of the tweets shared by Google workers.
The document also raised other points, such as how certain political beliefs are a subject of discrimination in the company. The author added that Google employees should be comfortable expressing their opinion, even if they could run counter to some company views such as those on diversity in engineering fields.
Danielle Brown, the Vice President of Diversity, Integrity and Governance for Google, has come up with a reply. "We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company," she said in her statement.
"But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws," she explained, noting how some of the author's views could argue with the current anti-discrimination stand of Google as established in their company code.
