Dueling Google Memos Reveal a Company Struggling With Culture Change
As Google undergoes investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for an alleged gender wage gap, executives have been rushing to weigh in on a recently published anti-diversity memo on Google’s internal mailing list. The 10-page memo, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber”, was published by an unnamed software engineer who argues mainly that women are unsuited for jobs in tech or leadership, as a result of inherent biological differences between men and women. Danielle Brown, Google’s new Vice President of Diversity, Integrity, and Governance, and other Google employees were quick to criticize the ideas articulated in the memo. Some, however, are concerned that the memo reveals a workplace culture that has failed to adapt to inclusivity and has been performative in claiming diversity and gender equality within its workforce, pointing to a broader workplace culture problem within Silicon Valley at large.
See "Dueling Google Memos Reveal a Company Struggling With Culture Change", Ellen McGirt, Fortune, August 7, 2017