Next time someone says gender stereotypes are ok, show them this message

Google has fired a male engineer after he wrote and distributed an internal memo arguing there are biological causes behind gender inequality within the tech industry.

James Damore, who until Monday worked as an engineer at Alphabet (Google's parent company) argued in the document that these biological differences might explain why there isn’t equal representation of women in tech and leadership, and implied that gender diversity shouldn't be the goal for successful businesses.

“We need to stop assuming that gender gaps imply sexism,” he wrote, adding that Google’s educational programmes for young women was one example of “bias causing harm”.

Damore has since pushed back at the company, alleging that when he initially circulated the memo “no one high up ever came to me and said, ‘No, don't do this,’ even though there were many people who looked at it.”

He went on to tell Bloomberg TV:

It was only after it got viral that upper management started shaming me and eventually firing me.

As you can imagine, the arguments surrounding Damore's dismissal from Google have split opinion online.

For example, Twitter user and self-proclaimed "inventor/CEP" Michael Robertson decided to share an article about the case, writing that

Some gender stereotypes are factual and worth perpetuating.

His tweet didn’t get very far, but one woman’s response has gone viral.

Libby Watson replied, “I agree, which is why i feel comfortable assuming you've never made a woman orgasm”.

People quickly praised her response.

When the 'anti-diversity manifesto' first started generating a backlash among Alphabet employees and members of the public, Google’s Vice President of engineering, Ari Balogh, also shared his thoughts:

One of the aspects of the post that troubled me deeply was the bias inherent in suggesting that most women, or men, feel or act a certain way. That is stereotyping, and it is harmful. 

Building an open, inclusive environment is core to who we are, and the right thing to do. ‘Nuff said.

More: This woman changed her name to a man's on her CV. What happened next won't surprise you