Google's Ideological Echo Chamber: Gender Discrimination In The Workplace

Discrimination against worker on basis of their sexual orientation and racial discrimination adversely affects the economic performance of companies in the various ways: First, in the business environment the new truth is one that puts a premium on gifted labor. Therefore, companies must make hiring verdicts solely based on an applicant’s qualifications and capabilities that associate to performance on the task if they are to outdo the rivalry. When companies hire persons on the grounds of job-irrelevant aspects such as racial discrimination and sexual orientation businesses are left with an inferior workforce that weakens their capability to produce healthy returns (Oeo.tufts.edu, 2015).

In the article, “Dads of Tech,” Astra Taylor and Joanne McNeil argue that women are underappreciated and less significant in the workplace compared to men in the same positions. When it comes to

Zero-point four percent of women in colleges and universities are majoring in Computer science.(Khazan 1). No other industry in the world has such a skewed uniformity such as the tech world, and no television show captures this uniformity like Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is based on the Northern California region with the same name which is considered the mecca of the tech world home to large companies such as Apple and Google. Unfortunately Silicon Valley contains many negative stereotypes about women. The first harmful stereotype in the show is the portrayal of women as only love interests for the male characters. The second negative stereotype is that women do not make good leaders. Finally, in the show women are portrayed as being bad

Writer of the article, Phillips, also uses cases Kelly had found over the years about the equal employment opportunities. More specifically, the upraise of the glass ceiling within global corporations such as Walmart. In 2010, this giant retailer had systematically barred qualified women from job opportunities open to men (Phillips, 2016). Preventing women from advancing in their career is an example of systemic discrimination which goes against the human rights legislation. Luckily, “EEOC regulations provide a path for women in less high-profile jobs to challenge discriminatory practices. In response to improper treatment, a woman can register a formal complaint with her Human Resources officer or with a local EEOC of HR response is unsatisfactory.” (Phillips, 2016). On the other hand, women know that jobs are scarce, thus, making complaints may be unpalatable. They fear that they may be laid off or terminated by questioning company regulations. For settlements to begin, employees must understand EEOC rules and most importantly, women need to have the courage to stand up for their rights.

In his Google memo, James Damore argues that Google has an unconscious bias towards progressive ideas that are influencing the culture of Google. Damore claims that these progressive motifs are the cause of the increase in gender and racial stereotypes in the workplace. He introduces the idea that males and females have scientifically proven psychological differences. Instead of denying these differences, Damore argues that Google should highlight these traits to make the workplace equal for both men and women. The efforts currently being made by Google to decrease the gender and racial gap are actually creating biases that do the opposite. As a conservative, Damore feels that Google’s progressive mind set limits the inclusion of conservatives

Being a woman programmer “put [her] at one remove from the general society of programmers” (728).  Ullman expresses that there is a good ratio when having four women in 24-person company. According to a new study, in the U.S, the average percentage of technology jobs held by women has actually fallen over the past few years. It is plain to see that sexism today is much as same as Ullman describes, or even worse. Ullman mentions that despite of many rule of laws and social activism, women are still inferior to men. Moreover, she gives some advice for women who are facing with sexism at work by either fighting back or looking for another job. No matter how the choices these women make, they can not eliminate the fact that “the prejudice [always] follows [them]” (729). Ullman strongly recommends women to “[tack] into the love of the word” and keep in mind why they pursued that job in the first place. By doing that will “create a suspension of time, opens a spacious room of [their] own in which [they] can walk around and consider [their] response”

In the latest article “Has Anything Really Changed for Women in Tech?” Ellen Pao concludes that finally after all these years of women being punished for reporting sexual harassment at work, tech companies are starting to look into this issue and realize that it is a problem and something needs to be done about it. It’s worth noting that Ellen Pao herself had to leave Google after coming forward accusing male employees of discrimination in a lawsuit she ended up losing. She was offered and refused twice a settlement offer from Google in the amount of a few million dollars! for her to stop pressing the

The issue of discrimination is very widely discussed, so widely that laws and statutes have been enacted and are continually addressed every day. This may occur in a courtroom, on the legislative floor or at the employer’s offices, but the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives around 80,000 discriminatory filings annually, with 99,922 in 2010, there is little wonder the amount of attention to discrimination is warranted (Walsh, 2013). According to the EEOC’s website, the discrimination claims were more than the annual averages, but less than 99,000 in 2010, at 88,788 in 2014 (“EEOC Releases Fiscal”, 2015). These figures reiterate the importance and diligence in which discriminatory acts must be handled by all parties involved.

In the U.S. and most developed countries, women have gone far in fighting for their equal rights. Gender revolution in the U.S. spreads and has influenced women around the world to call upon equal rights for female. However, understanding that inequalities still remain in present days, female activists and scholars have examined how women and the society in which they live and work can do to eliminate gender bias. Sheryl Sandberg, one of the few female senior web executives of Facebook, realizes that it is vital for women to have the confidence to speak up and challenge the traditional female role. Lea Verou, another successful female web developer, reaffirms women’s autonomy and the respect of women power are . For Verou, the key to

Discrimination in the workforce is not only illegal, but it has been the center of controversy for multiple cases throughout its existence. The purpose of this writing is to reflect on particular personal circumstances based around actual events. First will be a clearly defined section of the Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, followed by a brief description of personal experiences involving discrimination, and concluding with a reflection as to how the American workforce is protected by law. The writing will cover any ethically related issues, personal thoughts and ideas, and illustrations of how the law pertains directly to personal events, as well as provide direct links to any and all reference material covered under the purpose of this writing.

Discrimination is “an action or decision that treats a person or group negatively for reasons such as their race, sex, age or disability” (Ministry of Justice [DOJ], 1985). Under the Canadian human right act, there are 11 grounds a person may be discriminated against. These include race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and a conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended (DOJ, 1985). Employment discrimination happens when an employee is treated unfavorably because of said characteristics by employers. It is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment, and this extends beyond just hiring and firing. Society progresses and becomes enlightened overtime, but discrimination is still quite common. There are many ways that a person could be discriminated against. The Canadian Human Rights Act calls these discriminatory practices (DOJ, 1985). Examples of said practices include: Excluding potential employees during recruitment, paying equally-qualified employees in the same position different salaries, discrimination when issuing promotions or lay-offs, etc. Left unattended, discrimination in the workplace can be costly. Victims suffer and employers experience a loss of productivity, leading to damaged employee morals, and loss of profit. This report will outline the most common types of discrimination encountered in the work place, the problem they cause,

Finally, the dilemma of employees being fired can change the way an employer views the specific individual in the work environment. James Damore is the individual that has made progress coming out on this issue. This individual worked for Google before his manifesto evolved and published his own personal speech on the Google search engine. This situation involves Damore wanting to be open about his opinion on anti-diversity. Based on Jim Edwards (2017) article one of the primary reasons that this employee got fired was not because of the opinion on the controversial issue but he used a mailing list from Google to circulate the memo. This memo circulated without the permission of other employees being affected at Google.

Discrimination has quickly become one of the top causes of lawsuits facing businesses today. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination law, reported that individuals filed 88,778 discrimination charges in 2014 alone- 35% of those claiming race discrimination and 29.3% claiming gender discrimination (“Charge Statistics”). Discrimination is defined as the “treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit” (“Discrimination”). With so many businesses being affected by these lawsuits, it is critical

In the United States, companies of all shapes and sizes must adhere to nondiscrimination policies and practices that prohibits against any and all various types of conduct based on certain characteristics when it comes to the hire, fire, and relationship with their employees (Canas & Sondak, 2014). As a member of the workforce, we would hope and assume that we wouldn’t have to deal with discrimination anymore. Don’t get me wrong, our country has grown so much over the years when it comes to tackling discrimination in the workplace. It’s just unfortunate that it’s just not natural for organizations and companies to naturally be ethical and moral when it comes to their treatment of their potential applicants or current employees. There are still cases of discrimination currently in our society. It may not be as severe compared to before the modern civil rights era, but discrimination still does exist. With all due respect, an adequate amount of the laws are simple and are able to be understood easily but at the same time, there are other parts of discrimination and harassment laws that can be more difficult for one to understand and are more open to one’s interpretation (Canas & Sondak, 2014). One example of a recent discrimination case is of Calibuso et al V. Bank of America Corp. et al.

In a perfect world, people would be equal in rights, opportunities, and responsibilities, despite their race or gender. In the world we live in, however, we always face all kinds of neglect based on different attributes. All over the United States, certain people treat others with prejudice because of particular features they possess. Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination occur even in places which, by definition, should be free of all personal prejudices – specifically, in offices and other business surroundings. This tragedy is called workplace discrimination; not every unfair behavior at work, however, can be assessed as discrimination. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employee experiences unfair treatment due to their race, gender, age, religion, marital status, national origin, disability or veteran status, or other characteristics. Discrimination is one of the largest issues people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with. The U.S. have laws and regulations on discrimination but it still often occurs. Workplace discrimination appears in hiring, training, promotion, firing, and other institutional or interpersonal treatment. Discrimination sometimes causes an employee to leave or quit the workplace, resign from a position, or in more severe cases, to commit suicide or act violently against the discriminators. Discrimination is one of the largest issues many people face in the workplace.