Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 507 posts

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#91

Post by ballenf »

Amezarak wrote: post #38
Shank wrote: post #8

Honestly, I think he made the right move just from a PR perspective. His firing makes sense: the CEO and HR are both acting to protect the company. The author of the manifesto caused Google a PR disaster and created a huge state of internal conflict, valid or not. The shareholders are probably really happy that their CEO removed a person who managed to get Google so much bad press in so little time. This is the reali…

Incidentally, what Damore did is probably a 'concerted protected activity' (his stated goal is to take actions that improve working conditions by making the job less stressful, increase diversity, etc) covered by the NLRB, and thus Google quite possibly broke the law in firing him for the memo. That's not protecting the company. EDIT: I forgot to add that from the coverage I've seen, there are also claims that Google…

Unless the fine/settlement is cheaper than keeping him, which it likely will be unless it results in some larger investigation or monitoring program.

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#92

Post by leroy_masochist »

eganist wrote: post #27
EduardoBautista wrote: post #12

Convincing women to focus on a career in STEM is telling them that their choices for careers in nursing, teaching, and any other career dominated by women are wrong choices. I don't believe that, they are essential to our society and are arguably more important than helping create better ads at Google and Facebook.

That's not the argument being made by advocates for women in STEM. The mission (I among one of many adherents to it) is to open pathways in STEM up to women who are choosing not to pursue it because of socioeconomic blockers. Blockers such as this guy. Anyway, the real position being pushed by Women in Tech/STEM movements is that anyone can/should be free to work in any career and not expect e.g. pay differences and…

If you think that any given woman would be dissuaded from pursuing a career in STEM by an essay that, using peer-reviewed scientific studies as supporting evidence, suggests that differences in interest levels across populations may partially but not totally explain why women as a population, not as individuals tend to choose STEM at a rate lower than men, aren't you helping advance the stereotype that women are delicate shrinking violets whose easily-hurt feelings keep getting in the way of their life goals?

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#95

Post by boobsbr »

Shank wrote: post #8

Honestly, I think he made the right move just from a PR perspective. His firing makes sense: the CEO and HR are both acting to protect the company. The author of the manifesto caused Google a PR disaster and created a huge state of internal conflict, valid or not. The shareholders are probably really happy that their CEO removed a person who managed to get Google so much bad press in so little time. This is the reali…

Agreeing with the memo or not, the author posted it in an internal forum.

The person who leaked the internal memo to the public caused the PR disaster.

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#96

Post by wan23 »

EduardoBautista wrote: post #23
whowouldathunk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of technology involved in healthcare and teaching.

That doesn't make school teachers or nurses any less important or necessary.

Meanwhile, nursing as a profession is seeking more men to increase diversity as well.

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#97

Post by cocktailpeanuts »

Torai wrote: post #51
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so how's that relevant to your comment? Does this change anything about there being multiple actors in this drama?

In the article: > There are many actors in the whole Google/diversity drama, but I’d say the one who’s behaved the worst is the C.E.O., Sundar Pichai. He is implicitly criticizing the whole drama thing. And when saying Pichai behaved worst, I understand he is saying Pichai was who contributed most to make the drama bigger. I think Brooks is contributing a lot to make the drama bigger. That's my point.

So is your point that this journalist guy should just not write about it? That's his job. It's different from a CEO making a bad decision.

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#98

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

humanrebar wrote: post #83
Shank wrote: post #8

Honestly, I think he made the right move just from a PR perspective. His firing makes sense: the CEO and HR are both acting to protect the company. The author of the manifesto caused Google a PR disaster and created a huge state of internal conflict, valid or not. The shareholders are probably really happy that their CEO removed a person who managed to get Google so much bad press in so little time. This is the reali…

> His firing makes sense: the CEO and HR are both acting to protect the company. No. His firing confirmed part of Demore's thesis; that Google has monoculture issues and sits in some sort of bubble. > This is the reality of business. Is it? If that's true, we need to be much more aggressive about corporate consolidation because the only way to make room for diversity of opinion is to make sure that there's diversity…

Just to clarify, you're saying this incident is illustrating that corporations have too much power?

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#99

Post by vkou »

Amezarak wrote: post #87
vkou wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are trying to improve working conditions, and in doing so creating a hostile working environment, your employer is obligated to fire you. If they don't, they can be sued by other employees. And let me tell you, while you may not feel that this memo has created a hostile working environment, a lot of other people do. Google would drown in lawsuits if they let him stay on.

The legal definitions of a hostile work environment is not simply based on how something makes you feel. It is very unlikely a hostile work environment suit for not firing Damore based on this memo would win, though of course Google might choose to settle.

> The legal definitions of a hostile work environment is not simply based on how something makes you feel.

No, but the the entire point of that essay was to advance the idea that women are less successful because of their biology. [1]

> It is very unlikely a hostile work environment for not firing him based on this memo would win, though of course Google might choose to settle.

Any employment lawyers want to chime in on this?

[1] "For the rest of this document, I’ll concentrate on the extreme stance that all differences in outcome are due to differential treatment and the authoritarian element that’s required to actually discriminate to create equal representation."

Re: Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google’s C.E.O

#100

Post by Klockan »

systems wrote: post #28

I dont understand, why did this google employee send a memo, why didnt he just write a blog about .. like normal people do I honestly think this is his biggest mistake (the google employee not the ceo) .. he didnt understand boundaries It is sad, that someone gets fired for his opinion, even if this opinion is offensive ... i do believe in ones right to be offensive But I think the medium used to express his opinion…

It was a google doc that he posted on an internal discussion board, it wasn't a company or even team wide memo.
Post reply on HN