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Gender diversity drama swirls around Google memo, firing

On Behalf of | Aug 11, 2017 | Workplace Discrimination |

By now, almost everyone has heard about the engineer for Google who got fired earlier this week because of a reported violation of the code of conduct for the company. His dismissal was related to the release of an allegedly sexist memo the employee wrote about diversity, which read in part, “We need to stop assuming that gender gaps imply sexism.”

On the website for the National Labor Relations Board, it indicates that the fired engineer filed a complaint under the category of “Coercive Statements (Threats, Promises of Benefits, etc.)” with labor officials for the government.

As the filing is still unavailable for access online, the full nature of the complaint remains murky.

Prior to its filing, the engineer told media outlets of his plans to file a complaint with the NLRB over allegations that managers for Google attempted to silence him.

In a screed that ran 10 pages and went viral within the span of a couple of days, he accused his former employer of causing conservative employees to become alienated. He also equated the lack of gender diversity at the company with biological disparities between women and men.

The memo and its repercussions is another blemish to the reputation of Silicon Valley companies over their treatment of their female employees. Google is also at sword’s point with the Department of Labor. The agency alleges that the tech giant engages in “systemic compensation disparities” between male and female employees.

Any form of workplace discrimination needs to be brought into the light and addressed. If you believe that you have experienced discrimination in the workplace, you may want to seek out legal advice to understand your options going forward.

Source: Business Insider, “The engineer Google fired over the diversity memo has filed a complaint with federal labor officials,” Steve Kovach, Aug. 08, 2017