Google's CEO Must Answer These Questions About That Memo

More than 5,400 Google employees have weighed in on queries Sundar Pichai should tackle related to controversial diversity memo.
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UPDATE. 3:48 pm PT, August 10: Google cancelled the planned town hall meeting shortly before it was to begin. In an internal email, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he cancelled the meeting because the questions "appeared externally" and "on some websites Googlers are now being named personally." Here's our story on the cancellation.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is hosting a companywide town hall meeting Thursday to discuss a controversial memo about Google’s diversity practices that led to the firing of its author, James Damore. Based on the questions being submitted by Google employees, the session promises to be lively, with Pichai being probed by both employees who were offended by Damore’s post and those concerned about his dismissal. As of Thursday morning, employees had submitted more than 520 questions, some of which arrived anonymously, according to a Google employee.

“The doc asserted that Google has a lower bar for diversity candidates,” reads one question ranked highly by employees in an internal voting system. “This is hurting minority Googlers because it creates the perception that they are less qualified. What can we do to combat that perception?”

Another employee echoed some of the concerns Damore voiced in his memo about ideological diversity at Google. “I am a moderately conservative Googler, and I am and have been scared to share my beliefs,” the question reads. “The loud voice here is the liberal one. Conservative voices are hushed. What is leadership doing to ensure Googlers like me feel invited and accepted, not just tolerated or safe from angry mobs?”

Damore’s 10-page missive sparked a firestorm across Silicon Valley after it emerged publicly last week. The document cited purported principles of evolutionary psychology to argue that women are not well-suited to be good engineers. Damore also complained that Google’s liberal bent and training programs has created an ideological echo chamber that makes it difficult to discuss such issues inside the company. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Google typically uses a web app called Dory to recommend which questions executives should answer at the company’s weekly town halls. All employees can see the questions submitted and vote on whether a given question should be assigned a high or low priority. A formula assesses those votes and ranks the questions. As of Thursday morning more than 5,400 employees had submitted more than 135,000 votes, the Google employee said. Executives typically answer the top-ranked questions, but there's no guarantee that will happen Thursday.

Many of the highly ranked questions concern leaks from Google, perceived threats to employees because of their views, and Google’s own public relations efforts. The top-ranked question as of Thursday morning was from an employee worried about being harassed or threatened if his or her name and opinion were leaked to outsiders. On Wednesday, conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos posted on his Facebook page the Twitter biographies of eight Google employees who criticized Damore’s post. Another highly ranked question seeks better conflict-resolution skills, and a third suggests that executives communicate more clearly that all Google employees deserve to be at the company.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Damore said “several hiring practices” make it “easier for someone to get into Google based on what their race and gender is.” For example, Damore said, “certain people” are given a chance to have multiple interviews while others are excluded after just one. He was not specific.