Why are there so few women in tech? The truth behind the Google memo

An engineer at the company has suggested male domination of Silicon Valley is down to biological differences between the sexes. But the root causes are much more complicated

It is time to be "open about the science of human nature". This was the assertion of software engineer James Damore to his colleagues at Google, in an internal memo that has since led to his sacking. "I'm simply stating," Damore wrote, "that the distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don't see equal representation of women in tech and leadership." He went on to imply that women's "stronger interest in people" and "neuroticism" might make them less naturally suited to being coders at Google.

The company's leadership viewed the matter differently, firing Damore and sparing his female colleagues the need to prove their biological aptitude for working with computers.