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Dad ignorantly insists women ‘complain to HR’ to advance in tech, gets dragged mercilessly

The Google memo has opened up a can of worms.

Photo of Samantha Grasso

Samantha Grasso

A woman looking at computer screens

The managing director of mega-investment firm Thiel Capital has insinuated that “complaining to HR” is a “path to financial freedom” for women in STEM—and his critics could not disagree more.

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On Monday, Google fired an employee who penned an anti-diversity memo justifying the gender pay gap in technology as a result of biological differences. In responding to Google’s actions, Eric Weinstein, a self-described dad and employee of billionaire Peter Thiel, tweeted that Google valued employee’s work less than their HR complaints.

“Dear @Google, Stop teaching my girl that her path to financial freedom lies not in coding but in complaining to HR,” Weinstein wrote. “Thx in advance, A dad.”

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Yes, it’s a scalding take that attempts to uplift girls interested in STEM while also painting Google as a perpetrator of gender bias. However, many critics took issue with Weinstein’s implication that “complaining to HR” was invaluable and only done by women looking to make money off a company, instead of done to investigate a workplace discrepancy, be it financial, harassment-related, or otherwise.

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https://twitter.com/OldATXMonster/status/894784070021816321

https://twitter.com/jkfecke/status/894790181802229762

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https://twitter.com/TheGodlessMama/status/894948236468858880

https://twitter.com/andreagrimes/status/894780181365248001

https://twitter.com/espiers/status/894782533208068096

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Others chose to make an example of Weinstein’s employer and Thiel’s attitude toward women, as evidenced by this bad tweet.

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https://twitter.com/samfbiddle/status/894935015632535556

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/894920357051813888

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Weinstein tried to clarify his point by equating “complaining to HR” to the backlash that families get when they complain to schools that their kids are being bullied… for being mixed race? It’s a weird comparison to make, because the point stands that anyone who comes forward with evidence of racial or gender discrimination shouldn’t be persecuted, but sure.

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The attempt at justification, however, just brought out another horde, this time of parents of people or people of mixed race, who demanded to know what the hell Weinstein was talking about.

https://twitter.com/ryanseay/status/894882119037714433

https://twitter.com/uncapybarable/status/894927117292589056

https://twitter.com/theaapeterson/status/894807126467518464

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https://twitter.com/earthyalchemist/status/894904381220413441

But don’t worry, folks. Weinstein voted for Bernie and still “fights” for women in tech, no matter what his critics think.

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The Daily Dot