Chitchat Google diversity poor handling fall-out.

https://www.cnet.com/au/news/google-cancels-all-hands-meeting-on-diversity-firestorm-james-damore/
Google CEO cancels diversity all-hands meeting due to leaks
The cancellation comes after employees express concern about their safety and online privacy.

by Steven Musil
11 August 2017 9:30 am AEST
@stevenmusil

On Thursday afternoon, it was a quiet, average day at Google's sprawling headquarters in Mountain View, California.

That's because Google CEO Sundar Pichai canceled what was supposed to be the main event of the day: An all-hands town hall meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. to address the diversity controversy that has dogged company for the past week after some of the proposed questions were leaked online.

By the late afternoon and early evening, Googlers were filtering out, going to on-site aerobics classes, playing volleyball, or hanging out in the courtyard drinking wine and beer. It wasn't the tense, emotional atmosphere that was billed to accompany the meeting. But none of the Google workers approached by CNET would offer any comment.

In a email sent to employees Thursday, Pichai cited the personal safety of Google employees as the reason for the cancellation. He said he had heard from several employees concerned about online harassment they would receive due to their names and questions being published by outside websites. For example, the conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos posted on his Facebook page the Twitter biographies of eight Googlers who had criticized the memo, Wired reported earlier.

"We had hoped to have a frank, open discussion today as we always do to bring us together and move forward," Pichai wrote in his memo. "But our Dory questions [those recommended by an app for attention] appeared externally this afternoon, and on some websites Googlers are now being named personally. Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be 'outed' publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall."

Despite the cancellation of Thursday's meeting, Google intends to create another venue for employees to discuss the matter.

"We'll find a better way to help our employees connect and discuss these important issues further," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Pichai called the meeting in the wake of the firing of a Google engineer named James Damore, who wrote a 10-page manifesto titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" that argued a gender gap at Google exists not because of sexism, but because of "biological" differences between men and women. The memo went viral after being posted on an internal network and sparked outrage from Google employees.

Google on Monday -- the same day Pichai told employees that the memo's author violated company rules by circulating the controversial memo. He said it's "not OK" for employees to feel that they can't "safely express their views (especially those with a minority viewpoint)."

Damore has said he believes his dismissal was illegal and that he would "likely be pursuing legal action." Before his firing, Damore said he submitted a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board charging Google's upper management with "misrepresenting and shaming me in order to silence my complaints."

The "alt-right" movement has come to the 28-year-old Damore's defense. One group set up a crowdfunding page for Damore that's raised more than $37,000.

The news of the cancellation was first reported by Recode.

Here's the full text of Pichai's memo:

Dear Googlers,

TL;DR Sorry for the late notice but we are going to cancel today's Town Hall.

We had hoped to have a frank, open discussion today as we always do to bring us together and move forward. But our Dory questions appeared externally this afternoon, and on some websites Googlers are now being named personally. Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be "outed" publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall.

In recognition of Googlers' concerns, we need to step back and create a better set of conditions for us to have the discussion. So in the coming days we will find several forums to gather and engage with Googlers, where people can feel comfortable to speak freely. We'll share details soon.

Over the past two days, I have had the chance to meet with so many people here, and I have read each of your emails carefully. The vast majority of you are very supportive of our decision. A smaller percentage of you wish we would do more. And some are worried that you cannot speak out at work freely. All of your voices and opinions matter...and I want to hear them.

In the meantime, let's not forget what unites us as a company-- our desire to build great products for everyone that make a big difference in their lives. I have been in a few product discussions today and felt energized by the important things we are working on. We can, and will continue, to come together to do the very best for the people we serve.

Stay tuned.

Click to expand...

https://www.wired.com/story/googles-ceo-must-answer-these-questions-about-that-memo/
GOOGLE'S CEO MUST ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT MEMO


NICOLAS TAVERNIER/REA/REDUX
UPDATE. 3:48 pm PT, August 10: Google cancelled the planned town hall meeting shortly before it was to begin. In an internal email, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he cancelled the meeting because the questions "appeared externally" and "on some websites Googlers are now being named personally." Here's our story on the cancellation.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is hosting a companywide town hall meeting Thursday to discuss a controversial memo about Google’s diversity practices that led to the firing of its author, James Damore. Based on the questions being submitted by Google employees, the session promises to be lively, with Pichai being probed by both employees who were offended by Damore’s post and those concerned about his dismissal. As of Thursday morning, employees had submitted more than 520 questions, some of which arrived anonymously, according to a Google employee.

“The doc asserted that Google has a lower bar for diversity candidates,” reads one question ranked highly by employees in an internal voting system. “This is hurting minority Googlers because it creates the perception that they are less qualified. What can we do to combat that perception?”
Another employee echoed some of the concerns Damore voiced in his memo about ideological diversity at Google. “I am a moderately conservative Googler, and I am and have been scared to share my beliefs,” the question reads. “The loud voice here is the liberal one. Conservative voices are hushed. What is leadership doing to ensure Googlers like me feel invited and accepted, not just tolerated or safe from angry mobs?”

Damore’s 10-page missive sparked a firestorm across Silicon Valley after it emerged publicly last week. The document cited purported principles of evolutionary psychology to argue that women are not well-suited to be good engineers. Damore also complained that Google’s liberal bent and training programs has created an ideological echo chamber that makes it difficult to discuss such issues inside the company. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Google typically uses a web app called Dory to recommend which questions executives should answer at the company’s weekly town halls. All employees can see the questions submitted and vote on whether a given question should be assigned a high or low priority. A formula assesses those votes and ranks the questions. As of Thursday morning more than 5,400 employees had submitted more than 135,000 votes, the Google employee said. Executives typically answer the top-ranked questions, but there's no guarantee that will happen Thursday.

Many of the highly ranked questions concern leaks from Google, perceived threats to employees because of their views, and Google’s own public relations efforts. The top-ranked question as of Thursday morning was from an employee worried about being harassed or threatened if his or her name and opinion were leaked to outsiders. On Wednesday, conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos posted on his Facebook page the Twitter biographies of eight Google employees who criticized Damore’s post. Another highly ranked question seeks better conflict-resolution skills, and a third suggests that executives communicate more clearly that all Google employees deserve to be at the company.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Damore said “several hiring practices” make it “easier for someone to get into Google based on what their race and gender is.” For example, Damore said, “certain people” are given a chance to have multiple interviews while others are excluded after just one. He was not specific.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/10/3-r...ut-women-in-leadership-according-to-data.html

3 reasons the Google anti-diversity memo is wrong about women in leadership, according to data
Zameena Mejia 7 Hours Ago

Adam Grant bashes viral google memo, saying the differences between men and women are slim to none Adam Grant bashes viral google memo, saying the differences between men and women are slim to none
Former Google employee James Damore's viral anti-diversity memo has prompted a series of leaders to speak out on its inaccuracies. Among them are successful tech executives such as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.

In the 10-page manifesto titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," the male software engineer argues that biological differences between men and women are to blame for unequal representation of women in tech and leadership.

But a recent study of 51,418 leaders in the US and internationally finds women are considered more effective than male leaders.

Kara Swisher Kara Swisher: Victimization of white men in Silicon Valley is exhausting
In an update to leadership development firm Zenger Folkman's 2012 survey data published in the Harvard Business Review, company president Joe Folkman provided CNBC Make It the results of the company's latest survey.

Folkman is a psychometrician, or a psychologist with a specialty in computer science and statistics, who designed a tool to measure leadership effectiveness. The firm notes that although more women have been entering the U.S. workforce and contributing growth to the nation's GDP, women remain an untapped resource.


The following results from Zenger Folkman's research demonstrate three ways the former Google employee's anti-diversity memo is wrong about women in leadership:

Incorrect claim #1: Women are passive and don't take initiative

Damore claims that women express their extroversion as "gregariousness rather than assertiveness."

"This leads to women generally having a harder time negotiating salary, asking for raises, speaking up, and leading," he writes in the memo.

On the contrary, Folkman's research found that female leaders rank the highest in their ability to take initiative.


"The assumptions in the memo were that women are more passive, but taking initiative and being result-driven doesn't sound passive to me. It sounds like they're very assertive, they get stuff done and they make things happen," Folkman says.

Women actually scored higher than men in 13 out of the 16 competencies, tying only for their tendency to be innovative.

Incorrect claim #2: Neuroticism and lack of drive impede women's career growth

Although he says "Google is already making strides in many of these areas," Damore claims more women would hold tech and leadership jobs if these fields weren't as stressful.

While men scored higher than women in their tendencies to have technical/professional expertise and develop strategic perspectives, Folkman points out this may be due to women's comparably lower confidence in their trades.

"Are women naturally less confident? Probably not. But if in a situation where people are doubting you or questioning your abilities, that would even make me less confident," Folkman says. "I think it's more about the company culture that creates that lack of confidence."

Incorrect claim #3: Empathy steers women away from coding jobs

Folkman also points out that if women at Google actually do feel such stress or lack of confidence in their work, it's likely less about their technical abilities and more about their company culture.

"In organizations where women don't feel like second-class citizens and they don't feel abused, they actually feel empowered. They feel like they're taken seriously and like they have a future there," Folkman says.

This assumption that women perform best in nurturing roles "just puts women in a box" and, if anything, their ability to empathize further sets them up for leadership roles, he says.

"A great leader can connect with people and we find that as leaders progress in an organization, their ability to empathize and understand people is absolutely critical for a senior executive," Folkman says. "If a leader doesn't do that, they don't get the kind of engagement and commitment from employees."