Prior to reading the given article, I was not even thinking of the scale of gender inequality in Google. However, this problem is inherent to the majority of modern companies, not only Google. For example, England et al. (2020) argue that the last decade has been marked by a significant slowdown in gender equality in the US. At the same time, Google’s administration is aware of the existing problem and is willing to tackle it (Sonnemaker, 2021). Hence, the reason for the underrepresentation of women in Google lies not in the company’s policies per se. Instead, inequality might arise because technical education is not in demand among women for a wide range of reasons. Therefore, the given article does not change my perception of Google as an employer. Some percentage of women employed in Google shows that it is possible and both genders should work hard to get a job there.
In my opinion, men at Google continue to hire mainly men because they evaluate the candidates’ experience, skills, and qualifications, not their gender. Undoubtedly, following diversity policies is a good thing because it helps eliminate gender inequality. However, Google is known for selecting the best and the most promising candidates. From this perspective, it is unfair to refuse to hire a decent employee just because the company needs to meet requirements on gender representation. Another possible reason is that young women tend to get pregnant and, hence, the company will have to pay them for maternity leave. From this point of view, it is easier to hire a man because the probability that he will require parental leave is lower.
If I worked at Google, I would suggest implementing training programs to help managers, recruiters, and employees eliminate bias toward the opposite gender. Atal et al. (2019) also argue that an IT company might try to use the services provided by minority-owned suppliers. In the case of Google, the company might more actively involve women-owned suppliers and subcontractors. Still, the most fundamental step is to eliminate bias and gender-based stereotypes from the worldview of people responsible for diversity in Google.
References
Atal, N., Berenguer, G., & Borwankar, S. (2019). Gender diversity issues in the IT industry: How can your sourcing group help? Business Horizons, 62(5), 595-602.
England, P., Levine, A., & Mishel, E. (2020). Progress toward gender equality in the United States has slowed or stalled. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(13), 6990-6997.
Sonnemaker, T. (2021). Google will pay $2.6 million to workers over claims its hiring and pay practices were biased against women and Asians. Insider.