The man who wrote the controversial 10-page memo which decried the diversity policies at Google has been fired.
James Damore, a software engineer at Google, confirmed his firing to Reuters, saying in an email he is “currently exploring all possible legal remedies.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued a memo to employees on Monday evening saying Damore had violated the company’s code of conduct when he issued his memorandum titled, “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber.”
READ MORE: Google exec denounces employee’s anti-diversity memo
The document argued that the gender gap in the tech sector can be blamed on inherent differences between men and women.
WATCH: Google fires employee behind gender gap memo
One of Damore’s arguments being, “Women generally also have a stronger interest in people rather than things.”
He also wrote: “Women generally have a harder time negotiating salary, asking for raises, speaking up, and leading,” and that men have a higher drive for status.
Damore also criticized Google for pushing mentoring and diversity programs and for “alienating conservatives.”
READ MORE: Google employee’s anti-diversity manifesto sparks outrage internally, on Twitter
The tech sector has been fighting allegations of sexism for a while.
Google, like other tech companies, has far fewer women than men in technology and leadership positions. Fifty-six per cent of its workers are white and 35 per cent are Asian, while Hispanic and Black employees make up four per cent and two per cent of its workforce, respectively, according to the company’s latest diversity report .
Tech companies say they are trying to diversify by reaching out to and interviewing a broader range of job candidates, by offering coding classes, internships and mentorship programs and by holding mandatory “unconscious bias” training sessions for existing employees.
- With files from Associated Press
LISTEN: Newstalk770’s Rob Breakenridge with Dr. Debra Soh- on why she feels the Google memo is not sexist, but science
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