Internal Google Memo Questioning Value of Diversity Leaked Online

The published screed undermines Google's anti-discrimination efforts.

Silicon Valley

A cyclist rides past Google Inc. offices inside the Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. (Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

By Matthew Reitman

Google may be no better than Uber, if a leaked document is to be believed.

An internal memo questioning the company’s gender equality efforts has been leaked. Written by a male engineer, the memo undermines the company’s anti-discrimination efforts.

The document, published online Saturday by Gizmodo, argues Google should “stop assuming that genders gaps imply sexism.” The engineer also said that pursuing equal representation is “bad for business.”

Google’s vice president of diversity says the memo “advanced incorrect assumptions about gender” in an email to staff, Motherboard reports. Google has staff that’s 31 percent female and women comprise only 20 percent of its technical roles, according to company data.

The memo echoes the complaints made about Uber’s male-dominated workforce, which came to light a female employee spoke out last year.

BBC reports the internal document has caused outrage at the tech giant. Still, the author of the memo claims he received “many personal messages from fellow Googlers expressing their gratitude.”

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