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I'm really surprised at this guys surprise at being fired. No matter whether you think he's a monster or a martyr, posting anything that even suggests a differ

I'm really surprised at this guys surprise at being fired. No matter whether you think he's a monster or a martyr, posting anything that even suggests a different capability of your female colleagues at your place of work is begging to be fired. I'd have a lot more sympathy if he was sharing his thoughts at a bar and was overheard, or if he posted this on his own non-work blog, but seriously, shouldn't the outcome have been pretty obvious to him? edit: grammar

thegenius2000 9y ago
He emphasized in the article that he was talking about patterns, not individuals. So there's no way you could draw the conclusion that he meant to suggest that his female colleagues were any less capable than their male counterparts.
- humanrebar 9y ago
  The implication of his thoughts was that they were just as qualified but too scarce. This seems to be the position of Google HR as well.
- zimpenfish 9y ago
  It was pretty clear what he was dogwhistling though. Just because he didn't come out and point blank say "The girls can't code" doesn't mean that wasn't his meaning.
- LoSboccacc 9y ago
  memo wasn't damning per se, but it's a controversial topic to say the least, whichever side you're on. he was basically playing roulette politics in the wrong setting.
- tanilama 9y ago
  Patterns are useless until they demonstrate they have predictive power. > A pattern, apart from the term's use to mean "template",[a] is a discernible regularity in the world or in a manmade design. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern So using a lot of text to depict such pattern while on the other hand indicating such pattern cannot generalize feels like wrestling with yourself. Did he try to prove himself that this 'on average' model is a bad model?
- deleted 9y ago
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- ceejayoz 9y ago
  > He emphasized in the article that he was talking about patterns, not individuals. So, would "Jews tend to be greedy" or "Italians tend to be lazy" be an acceptable statement in the workplace because they target (supposed) patterns rather than individuals? Would someone espousing those statements be reasonably assumed to give Jewish or Italian candidates a fair hearing? After all, the memo claimed a tendency amongst women towards neuroticism.
humanrebar 9y ago
Just because something is predictable doesn't mean it's OK though.
MrQuincle 9y ago
I'm also surprised. In Europe many know that if you work in the US the way sensible topics are handled require a very, very careful approach. I would personally never even try to raise anything like this, better it be handled by the group who is positively discriminated. If there is positive discrimination they suffer from it just as well if it goes too far. No need to correct for it as an outsider.
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lisper 9y ago
Did you actually read the memo he wrote? It's not mainly about the differences between men and women, it's mainly about how you can't talk about the differences between men and women. In firing him, Google ironically proved that he was right.
mbrzuzy 9y ago
I was talking about this with a friend yesterday, we both came to the conclusion that he had to expect to get fired from releasing this.
torrent-of-ions 9y ago
Where does it say that he was surprised?
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thegenius2000 9y ago

He emphasized in the article that he was talking about patterns, not individuals. So there's no way you could draw the conclusion that he meant to suggest that his female colleagues were any less capable than their male counterparts.

humanrebar 9y ago
The implication of his thoughts was that they were just as qualified but too scarce. This seems to be the position of Google HR as well.
zimpenfish 9y ago
It was pretty clear what he was dogwhistling though. Just because he didn't come out and point blank say "The girls can't code" doesn't mean that wasn't his meaning.
LoSboccacc 9y ago
memo wasn't damning per se, but it's a controversial topic to say the least, whichever side you're on. he was basically playing roulette politics in the wrong setting.
tanilama 9y ago
Patterns are useless until they demonstrate they have predictive power. > A pattern, apart from the term's use to mean "template",[a] is a discernible regularity in the world or in a manmade design. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern So using a lot of text to depict such pattern while on the other hand indicating such pattern cannot generalize feels like wrestling with yourself. Did he try to prove himself that this 'on average' model is a bad model?
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ceejayoz 9y ago
> He emphasized in the article that he was talking about patterns, not individuals. So, would "Jews tend to be greedy" or "Italians tend to be lazy" be an acceptable statement in the workplace because they target (supposed) patterns rather than individuals? Would someone espousing those statements be reasonably assumed to give Jewish or Italian candidates a fair hearing? After all, the memo claimed a tendency amongst women towards neuroticism.

humanrebar 9y ago

Just because something is predictable doesn't mean it's OK though.

MrQuincle 9y ago

I'm also surprised. In Europe many know that if you work in the US the way sensible topics are handled require a very, very careful approach. I would personally never even try to raise anything like this, better it be handled by the group who is positively discriminated. If there is positive discrimination they suffer from it just as well if it goes too far. No need to correct for it as an outsider.

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lisper 9y ago

Did you actually read the memo he wrote? It's not mainly about the differences between men and women, it's mainly about how you can't talk about the differences between men and women. In firing him, Google ironically proved that he was right.

mbrzuzy 9y ago

I was talking about this with a friend yesterday, we both came to the conclusion that he had to expect to get fired from releasing this.

torrent-of-ions 9y ago

Where does it say that he was surprised?

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