Google's $50 million Face-Saving Machine

A few weeks back, Google disclosed figures on its workforce diversity and showed its tech workforce was 83% male. Today, Google committed $50 million to its Made with Code initiative to get women interested in coding.

I don't recall indulgences ever being quite so expensive.

I'll be right back.

So far as the epitome of hypocritical embarrassment goes, conservatives have adulterous politicians and liberals have diversity figures. It's no secret that behind many Republican politicians is a mistress hiding in the bushes. Nor is it any secret that most bastions of liberalism--MSNBC, the New York Times editorial page, Obama's re-election campaign, wealthy neighborhoods, mountain resort towns, Silicon Valley board rooms, Washington think tanks, etc--have as much ethnic and gender diversity as my trousers--which are overwhelmingly white and male.

After years of stonewalling, Silicon Valley corporations are beginning to release figures on the diversity of their workforces. Of course, it's what everyone suspected: These companies are overwhelmingly male, largely white, over-representative of Asians, and severely under-representative of blacks and Hispanics. Here is a snapshot of Google:

Overall:

70% male, 30% female

61% white, 30% Asian, 4% multi-racial, 3% Hispanic, 2% black, 1% other

Tech

83% male, 13% female

60% white, 34% Asian, 3% multi-racial, 2% Hispanic, 1% black, 1% other

Leadership

79% male, 21% female

72% white, 23% Asian, 2% black, 1.5% multi-racial, 1% Hispanic

Google coupled the release of their diversity figures with many mea culpas and commitments to try harder with diversity. In a similar approach, I always wait until I'm three-fourths of the way through a bottle of wine before I commit to slowing down.

Much can be said on the hypocrisy of progressives; in fact, I've said much myself on this very topic. But that's not my focus here. My focus is this absurd Made with Code initiative, which was unquestionably launched as an indulgence to absolve the sin of Google's workforce diversity.

The press conference for this initiative featured Chelsea Clinton--is there anyone more relevant to today's female youth than Chelsea Clinton? Perhaps only Agnes Moorehead--and was emceed by Mindy Kaling, who has a Fox sitcom (but who doesn't at some point?). Ms. Kaling summed up the significance of female coders thus:

[Mindy Kaling] said she'd like to create a "What's his deal?" app that takes a picture of guy and tells you whether he's single, married, a weirdo, or what his car is like. Another idea is a Shazaam-like app for perfume.

If your proposed goal is to obliterate gender stereotypes, it's best not to perpetuate gender stereotypes. Compelling women to become interested in coding so they can fuss over boys and perfume is like launching an African-American small business initiative by promising they'll not only have fried chicken--they'll own the whole franchise!

More than the all-thumbs press conference and obvious ulterior motive for launching this initiative, by biggest criticism is that it's a waste of money. We have seen numerous companies, governments (both state and local), universities, women's trade groups, and lobbying groups spend tens of millions of dollars on scholarships, training, programs, marketing, and seminars to get women interested in the STEM fields--and yet female participation in the STEM fields is actually declining. Given the choice, women are choosing business, marketing, history, and English over the STEMs.

I suspect gender preferences are innate, and not guided by cultural influences. Spending $50 million to coax women into coding will have no affect. There is no shortage of opportunities for women to choose careers in the maths and sciences--and yet, they largely choose against them.