Assignment task: For this week's primary homework assignment, you will analyze a company's code of ethics and recommend improvements. Along a similar line, this week's discussion will explore how well organizations live up to their stated values.
For our example case, we will look more closely at Google. Google, also known as Alphabet, has been consistently cited as one of the best companies to work for according to Fortune and Glassdoor.com. In addition, CEO Sundar Pichai stated that, "Diversity is a foundational value for us."
However, upon close reading of Google's Code of Conduct, the word diversity does not appear even once in a document that is well over 6,000 words in length. Although the Code of Conduct does prohibit "unlawful discrimination or harassment," it never explicitly states that the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion is a desired outcome.
This may explain why relatively little progress has been made over the past several years with regard to the diversity of Google's workforce. To be fair, Google has published a Diversity Annual Report since 2014, tracking the race and gender of its workforce. More recently, it started tracking self-reported data on its employees' sexual orientation, disability status, and veteran status. Nevertheless, Google's progress in becoming more diverse has been slow.
For example, in 2014, only 30.7% of Google employees were women. As of 2020, it had increased, but only slightly, to 32.5%. Similarly, in 2014 only 3.5% of all Google employees were Black, and only 5.5% were Latinx. As of 2020, those numbers had increased to 5.5% and 6.6% respectively. In leadership positions, the numbers are even worse. Only 26.7% of leadership roles are held by women, only 2.6% of leaders are Black, and only 3.7% are Latinx.
Even these modest improvements were too much for some. In 2017, an anonymous Google employee published a "manifesto" in which the writer claimed that women are less interested in technology than men, and that Google should stop engaging in "social engineering." Although Google leadership was quick to distance itself from the ideas expressed in the manifesto, this writer's views appear to represent those of at least some employees.
In its Diversity Annual Report, Google touts the existence of 16 Employee Resource Groups, including Black Googlers Network, Gayglers, and Trans at Google, along with sponsoring conferences for people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community. (To read the full report, just go to your favorite search engine and enter Google Annual Diversity Report.)
In your initial post for this week, consider the following questions.
If diversity really is a "foundational value" for Google, then why isn't Google more diverse?
Why do you think diversity is never mentioned in Google's Code of Conduct?
Do you see a connection in the lack of diversity in Google's leadership and the broader lack of representation in the organization as a whole?
Does Google deserve praise for publishing a Diversity Annual Report and for making some tangible gains over the past few years? Why or why not?
What else should Google do to better promote diversity, equity, and inclusion?