Examining the Impact of the Google Gender[1]. paraaphrased 1
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Examining the Impact of the Google Gender' Manifesto' on Silicon Valley
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Examining the Impact of the Google Gender' Manifesto' on Silicon Valley
I read an article by Marie Hicks entitled "What the Google Gender' Manifesto' Really
Says About Silicon Valley." The article
exemplifies how strongly i
ngrained male privilege is
in the tech industry, even at a large and influential company like Google. The author talks
about her experience speaking to Google U.K. employees about her research into how
women were pushed out of computing in Britain during the 1940s through 1960s due to
structural discrimination. Even though she had years of practice dealing with difficult
audiences and critical questions, she was still filled with
trepidation before giving her talk as
there was always a fear that someone might bring up points made by what has been referred
to as the "Google Manifesto," written by one d
isgruntled engineer
decrying diversity
programs within his workplace and championing biological determinism when it comes to
women's abilities.
As if right on cue, during a Q&A session after Marie's talk, this same issue arose from
a female engineer who commented on feeling unusual compared to other women because she
felt privileged intelligence allowed her to do her job better than most.
Hicks' response to this
woman was particularly appealing, as it showed the strength that institutional discrimination
has on its victims who end up believing in their own "lesser worth," or what is known as
stereotype threat- something that manifests in any profession dominated by a particular group
of people usually men and cis genders
(
Hicks,
2017)
. It is especially troubling when even
multi-billion dollar companies like Google fail to take steps towards correcting such bias and
actively help propagate them, as seen with their refusing to comply with an order from the
U.S. Dept. Of Justice regarding sharing salary data for women employees.
As Hicks claims so thoughtfully: "People take cues from our institutions... our
governments, corporations, universities and news media shape our understandings and
expectations of ourselves in ways we can only partially understand without intense and
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sustained self-reflection (Hicks, 2017)." The article demonstrates the need for continuous
awareness of how language, especially language embedded within political discourse,
influences behavior that becomes entrenched within larger systems.
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Reference
Hicks, M. (2017, August 11).
What the Google gender “manifesto” really says about Silicon
Valley
. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/what-the-google-gender-
manifesto-really-says-about-silicon-valley-82236