So Google fired the guy who wrote the "women are inherently bad programmers" manifesto? Well, okay.
But they fired him for bringing a shitstorm down on Google, not for being highly ignorant of computing history, social science, and basic humanity.
No credit to the company, then.
And I'm now convinced that the Google corporate culture is a shitshow.
@mark I heard it from folks inside Google, so it's hearsay.
@mwlucas Could it ever be anything else?
@mwlucas To be fair, I'm not sure it would be a good rule to fire people just because they hold shitty opinions. Just fire them if they act on it and it causes the company damage (reputation or otherwise).
Thus him being ignorant in those areas is not necessarily wrong: he was only a programmer, and those are not directly related to his job. But since he both brought his company discredit and made himself pretty much impossible to work with for a lot of people, he needed to go.
I'm more concerned about the corporate culture that let him think that it was okay to send this out internally. Go into a non-tech company, like manufacturing, you get "don't do this crap" as part of the Day 1 HR briefing.
@lertsenem @mwlucas I'd say promulgating that manifesto was acting on their shitty opinions. And "how do I think about other humans" is always relevant if you work with other humans, regardless of your actual job title.
@snowcrashmike That was exactly my point: now that he acted, and seeing how damaging it is for the company, Google was fully justified to fire him. But they couldn't before: you can't fire someone for what he thinks. @mwlucas
@lertsenem @mwlucas Sure, but how do you know what somebody thinks unless they tell you? Or are you saying the memo was sufficient, but something less would not be?
@snowcrashmike Not sure where the limit should be set, but yes: if he was just sharing his hateful opinions with a handful of people, I don't think he should be fired for it. After all, he could just be honestly ignorant and able to learn and change. But what he did leaves no place for doubt.
@mwlucas
Large companies outside SV specifically warn employees about this. Work for, say, a global manufacturer, you get a yearly class on it.
But it's Silicon Valley, and programmers are Smart, so they don't have to bother with what other companies have learned.
Mature firms address this stuff before it starts.
@mwlucas I think that is indeed the best way to go with that kind issues. @snowcrashmike
@mwlucas google seems to have at least their share of issues internall, but they're publicly stating it was because the screed violated their employee code of conduct. https://gizmodo.com/google-reportedly-fires-author-of-anti-diversity-screed-1797619007
@mwlucas And they of course didn't fire the people that agreed with him either so..
I wouldn't advocate firing someone for having a loathsome opinion or belief.
I 100% would fire someone for creating or contributing to a hostile work environment.
How many of those coworkers who agreed did so quietly, and how many trumpeted "This! This here is the truth!" Each requires different treatment.
@mwlucas I was convinced that google was steeped in the valley bro culture long before this.
@mwlucas I'm not convinced that was their motivation. The emailed response to that memo to the employee said that he'd created a definitively hostile work environment and they didn't know how they could assign him to work on a team. They at least initiatally viewed it as a human resources problem not a public relations problem.
@mwlucas Did we ever expect any other outcome?
@mwlucas now they're going to be stuck fighting this guy in court too, looks like.
@Robert_MacAnthony Ah, USA. Where you can sue for anything, no matter how daft.
The fact remains, however, that they attract, recruit and hire talented people, so maybe some of those people will be inspired to leave and start something far better than what they're currently a part of. In my little fantasy it's led by a bunch of women.
