Google engineer says women are paid less because of biological differences, ignites firestorm

Outrage is growing in Silicon Valley and beyond after a 10-page document written by a senior Google engineer blasted the company’s “left leaning” culture and attributed differences in pay between men and women in tech jobs partly to biological differences between genders.

The document made the rounds within the company on Friday, CNBC reports, and was published in full by Gizmodo.

The essay was titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber.” The engineer’s identity has not been revealed.

“When it comes to diversity and inclusion, Google’s left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence,” it reads.

It argues that differences in pay between men and women in the technology sector are not entirely related to bias against women, but are partly attributable to biological differences between the genders, CNBC reports. It also called on Google to “stop alienating conservatives” and calls into question practices like “unconscious bias” training for committees that promote employees.

“Women, on average, have more openness directed towards feelings and aesthetics rather than ideas. Women generally also have a stronger interest in people rather than things, relative to men.”

He states that women tend to be more interested in people rather than things, “empathizing vs. systemizing,” whereas men have a higher drive for status and so tend to end up in leadership positions.

He also says that on average, women have more “neuroticism,” as defined as “higher anxiety, lower stress tolerance.”

Outrage from within and outside the company was swift, with #GoogleManifesto trending on Twitter.

Google vice president of diversity Danielle Brown wrote a memo on Saturday responding to the document.

She wrote that the document “advanced incorrect assumptions about gender” and that “it’s not a viewpoint that I or this company endorses, promotes or encourages.”

The controversy comes at a time when Silicon Valley’s treatment of women has been in the spotlight, following a string of allegations of harassment and discrimination at large companies such as Uber and at high-profile venture capital firms, Business Insider notes. Google is also embroiled in a legal dispute with the Department of Labor, which has accused Google of “systemic compensation disparities” between men and women.

And the manifesto has its share of supporters sounding off on social media.

This story was originally published August 6, 2017 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Google engineer says women are paid less because of biological differences, ignites firestorm."