Communications of the ACM
I'm a Woman in Computer Science. Let Me Ladysplain the Google Memo to You.
To Cynthia Lee of Stanford University, a major reason the Google "manifesto" has been met with so much support is its quasi-professional tone.
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One of the main reasons the now-infamous Google "manifesto" has been met with so much support is its quasi-professional tone, writes Cynthia Lee, a lecturer in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University.
Lee says many defenders are genuinely confused that a document that appears so dispassionate and reasonable could provoke such an emotional response. In addition, that response confirms the opinion in many male technology workers' minds that women are more emotional and less quantitative in their thinking.
However, Lee says these arguments have been used before, and the manifesto was simply a tipping point for the backlash that followed.
She says the technology industry has been plagued with endless skepticism that every woman faces, and many are exhausted with trying to constantly defend their presence.
Lee also notes if the memo's proposals were adopted, some women wouldn't get to attend the Anita Borg Institute's Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, a conference that provides many women with their first experience of being in a majority-women tech conference space.
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