PARTLY, YES: Is an ‘Empathy Gap’ to Blame for James Damore’s Problems at Google?

Compelling evidence supporting Damore and Gudeman’s lawsuit comes from a recent interview published in Quillette. Claire Lehmann interviews “Gideon Scopes” (a pseudonym), a software engineer who occasionally writes for the publication. Scopes has Asperger syndrome. He also has extensive experience navigating gender issues in tech:

I asked Gideon if he thought that the American media painted a distorted picture of the gender gap in tech. He told me yes. He chalked it up to three factors: a growing tendency towards collectivism in American culture, combined with a blank slate view of human nature and an empathy gap towards men.

… When women talk about being made to feel uncomfortable at work, or being sexually harassed, we feel empathy and want to punish the wrong-doers. But we don’t have the same reaction for “geeks,” or “techbros”. Because our understanding of neurodiversity is painfully lacking, our culture tends to view men as a homogenous category, seeing all men as inheritors of privilege and all men as possessing the masculine traits that foster toughness and resilience. We have a habit of ignoring those who don’t, and when they do talk about their vulnerability, we are inclined to ignore, or ridicule them for it.

Scopes believes Damore falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum, hence his ignorance in releasing such a highly charged memo, commenting, “If he didn’t get the message that the women in science movement wasn’t interested in dialogue and is glad to destroy anyone who questioned it then he must be [on the spectrum].”

Also to blame is the Bay Area’s notorious contempt for actual diversity.