Google It: The Diversity Movement is a Sham

“You have the command to remain silent. Anything you say, not approved by the vice president for diversity, can and will be held against you.”

Or so it seems. Google employee James Damore wrote an internal memo addressing diversity and gender gaps at the company, making two overarching points: 1) Google’s progressivist monoculture shames and silences dissent; and 2) It is possible the gender gap in employment is not due to discrimination, but differences between men and women. In a sane world, we would never have heard of the leaked memo, for it lacks anything that should be considered controversial or offensive. But we do not live in a sane world. Instead, the suggestion that men and women are, in fact, biologically different, and that this difference actually makes a difference in how men and women live in the world is enough to send the Googlers searching for the safest places. Google fired Mr. Damore in short order for “advancing harmful gender stereotypes,” and media outlets gave themselves over to rank dishonesty by reporting that Damore said things he did not say. So upset by the memo that asserted women, as a general rule, have higher anxiety and lower stress tolerance, some female employees stayed home from work on Monday because the memo made them uncomfortable. No, the world is not sane; it is often a farce.

Damore may or may not be correct in his theory about the gender gap as it relates to the tech industry in particular. In short, he says that men and women are, inclined toward different jobs because of biological differences. Men generally prefer the high-stress, high-status tech leadership roles, while women tend to gravitate toward more social and artistic oriented positions. But Damore is correct in his overall point: men and women are different. This much is obvious and is attested to by Scripture, science, common sense, a cursory glance at the male and female bodies, universal cultural norms, and the toy choices of toddlers. For Google to refuse to acknowledge differences between the sexes is to exchange nature for the egalitarian fancies of a monolithic progressive social vision. To not entertain the possibility that something other than sexism explains the gender gap betrays a lack of intellectual honesty and a great dearth of wisdom—“he who hates reproof is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1). In this instance, without being childish we can say Google is, to use the language of Solomon, stupid.

However, intellectual honesty and wisdom are not the point for Google. In spite of all its posturing, neither is diversity. True diversity would not be restricted to such things as gender, race, and sexual orientation, but would include what Damore termed “viewpoint diversity.” But Google cannot tolerate contrary opinions. In the memo, Damore lamented Google’s “shaming culture,” and noted that some who agreed with him would not say so publicly for fear of being fired. “Google has several biases and honest discussion about these biases is being silenced by the dominant ideology,” he wrote. Elsewhere Damore added, “If we can’t have an honest discussion about this, then we can never truly solve the problem.” Google doesn’t seem intent on solving the problem because, as if to illustrate Damore’s point in the clearest manner possible, they fired him. Apparently, proximity to dissent makes for a toxic work environment.

But the modern diversity movement is a sham. It is a cloud with no rain. It is a sun with no heat. It is a fig tree in full flower, but no figs. The last thing the Office of Diversity wants is actual diversity. Rather, it wants conformity, and, thus, conquest. Diversity has become a weapon, a club to beat the brow of what remains of the Christian West. The diversity movement is not about the inclusion of all, but about excluding Christ. Oh, they will welcome every sort of perversion and rebellion, but say something True, Good, or Beautiful and off you go to the Mandatory Sensitivity Seminar.

To illustrate the shamness of it all, consider two of the major tenets of secular progressivism. First, everyone is the same. No difference exists between a man and a woman, and, in fact, should he wake up Tuesday morning and feel like it, a man can become a woman. Second, diversity is king (or queen, doesn’t really matter). But which is it? If men and women are the same, then what does it matter if all the Google executives are white guys. Who is to say one of them doesn’t identify as a black woman? But even if you put a real black woman in there, what do you gain? She’s the same; race and gender are social constructs, man. The movement is self-contradictory and cannot even live up to its own principles.

Therefore, Christians should avoid adopting the language and tactics of the diversity hall monitors. Sadly, evangelicals have a long history of aping the world. I remember going to tent revivals as a kid where someone would sell Christian parody tee shirts. They would take a popular brand logo and rework it to say something Christiany. It was lame. But slapping a Jesus fish on the militant Left’s dictionary isn’t just lame, it’s dangerous. The diversity movement, devoid of the Gospel, must rely on power plays because it is a product of Darwinism—only the strong survive. This temptation has shown up in recent years in the evangelical appropriation of critical race theory language made popular by the Black Lives Matter movement. The feminist lexicon long ago merged with everyday Christian-speak. The use of such language functions as a catechesis for secularism.

But this is not to downplay the critical issues at play here. Christians must value persons of diverse backgrounds, including all ethnicities and both sexes, because all people bear the image of God. Understood this way, diversity is a Christian idea. We know God loves diversity because he created a world full of things that are alike, yet different. Did you know there are nearly 4,000 different types of potatoes in Peru? The Bible is the true ground for diversity because it confesses that diversity actually exists. The Father is not the Son, and a man is not a woman. These differences do not demean or devalue anyone, but accentuate each one’s own glory.

Christianity then goes further than progressivism, offering something more compelling than mere diversity. The Gospel produces unity in diversity. Men and women from every tribe, tongue, and people will praise Christ together in heaven (Rev 5:9). This is because Christ has created in himself one new man, instead of two, so making peace (Eph 2:15). In Him, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (Gal 2:28). Unity in diversity is not only a Christian idea, it is also a Christian ideal. Especially within the household of faith we should labor to break down the barriers that unnecessarily divide us so that we may become in practice what God has declared us to be in truth: one.