Google has fired software engineer James Damore for “perpetuating gender stereotypes.” Late last week, Damore wrote an internal memo questioning the company’s diversity policies and suggesting that disparities in pay and gender representation might be due to causes other than discrimination. Damore, who has a doctoral degree in systems biology from Harvard University, wrote, “The distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and … these differences may explain why we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.”
Motherboard posted the entire memo online, and it immediately created controversy with many women finding it offensive. Google’s recently hired vice president of diversity, Danielle Brown, said the memo “advanced incorrect assumptions about gender.”
Damore says that he filed a charge against Google with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He is said to be considering suing the company over his dismissal.
