Google Leaps to Avoid PR Crisis After Internal Memo Goes Viral

The internet is an uproar after a controversial memo sent out by former Google engineer James Damore leaked late last Friday, putting Google executives in a bind and raising questions about freedom of speech and gender diversity in the tech industry. Damore also said the company makes it difficult to dissent from “Google’s left bias” and “politically correct monoculture,” and criticized Google for offering mentoring and other opportunities to employees based on gender and race. The memo comes during a particularly fraught time for tech companies, many of which are currently dealing with free speech and diversity issues. Google itself is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, which has found evidence of “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce.”