Communications of the ACM
In Google’s Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women
Google co-founder Larry Page has taken over as the company's chief executive.
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In an effort to address the declining number of female employees within the company, Google researchers developed algorithms to determine exactly when the company lost women and how to keep them.
The researchers found that steps such as making sure prospective hires meet other women during their interviews and extending maternity leaves produce positive results in the lower levels of the company hierarchy. However, since Larry Page became chief executive and reorganized Google last year, senior women have been losing ground and been passed over for promotions.
The Google algorithms found that some women who applied for jobs did not make it past the phone interview because they did not flaunt their achievements, so interviewers judged them unaccomplished. In addition, Google found that women who turned down job offers had interviewed only with men. Now, a woman interviewing at Google will meet other women during the hiring process. However, even when hired, technical women were not being promoted as often as men, in part because employees nominate themselves for promotions and women are less likely to do so. Google now has senior women hold workshops to encourage female employees to promote themselves.
From New York Times
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Abstracts Copyright © 2012 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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