Some time has passed, so let’s calmly reflect on the anti-diversity manifesto that got a software engineer fired from Google in August of 2017. James Damore, the author, has to be the unluckiest person on earth. Not only did he lack the genetics and environmental upbringing to be compassionate about the emotions of others (he might be on the autism spectrum), but he also wrongly attributed his career difficulties to the ascent of workplace diversity initiatives.
He delivered his critique via the alt-right media one week prior to the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville. That incident provoked corporate executives, top-ranking generals, and mainstream Republicans to denounce the rally and distance themselves from Donald Trump’s muddled sympathies in the aftermath. Damore and his fans have left no opening for a nuanced discussion about the effects of diversity initiatives on those with developmental disorders, a potentially meaningful topic of debate.
In this article in the New York Times, author Claire Cain Miller proffers a critique of the role of emotional intelligence in the modern world of information technology. It turns out that technology has a massive overlap with social and emotional context.
Emotional Intelligence in Workforce Analytics and Computer Programming
For deep evidence, the article cites 2015 research from David Demming that finds job growth and wage growth are highest among roles that use both math skill and social skills. The idea is that workers “trade tasks” with one another, to allow specialization of talents and improved efficiency when work duties are shuttled back and forth. Those who trade tasks more effectively through the use of social skills are more productive; hence more jobs and higher pay.
This double-barreled skill set is abundantly obvious to those in workforce analytics. We spend half our day figuring out cool formulas and novel discoveries. But the other half of our day is spent interpreting client need, negotiating resource priorities, wordsmithing data definitions, developing interpretations that are suitable to context, and showing compassion while we advance disruption. However, my field is new.
When computer programming was new it was originally considered highly social work. There was an abundance of women working in the field. Through some office-culture twists and turns, things changed. Boys and men who weren’t as clever at the social skills self-selected into programming. It worked out for a lot of people. But there’s a problem; at some point in someone’s career their next chance for a promotion is contingent on social skills. Those who are lacking in this area see their careers stalled.
Examples abound of coding projects with male-dominated teams who lacked context, who missed an important detail about women’s perspectives. Apple’s original health app tracked everything except menstrual cycles, the most-tracked health data point amongst women. Google Plus obliged users to specify their gender and provide a photo, exposing women to harassment.
The Times article also cites research from 2010 by Stanford sociologist Shelley Correll showing that gender stereotypes about skills and performance are a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s not true that women are naturally bad at math, but it is abundantly true that women who are told they are bad at math will under-perform and rate themselves more harshly. The struggle about this stereotype has played out in dramatic ways over the years.
How to Improve Workplace Culture to Ensure Equality for Women
In terms of what to do about this, Correll advises that we: 1) ensure there are no negative gendered beliefs operating in the organization, 2) ensure performance standards are unambiguous and communicated clearly so that sexism does not fill the vacuum, and 3) hold senior management accountable for gender disparities in hiring, retention, and promotion. That third item is metrics-based accountability, which means that business performance, diversity, and workforce analytics are fundamentally entwined.
The times article notes that “one way to develop empathy at companies is by hiring diverse teams, because people bring different perspectives and life experiences.” While we might perceive that equity and inclusion efforts come from an activist base, there is a corporate interest in fostering inclusion. High-performance workplaces need an environment where tasks and diverse views are shuttled back and forth, with ease and good manners.
As for white white males who desperately struggle with emotional intelligence, their voice will have to wait another day. And probably wait for another leader.
Stuart Murray Speaks 
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