Updated Wednesday

A Google Inc. software engineer who wrote a controversial polemic on the how women are not suited to technology jobs, among other things, has been fired for breaching company diversity policy.

James Damore, a Harvard University graduate who according to his LinkedIn page worked as a “senior software engineer,” was shown the door after writing that Google was guilty of discrimination for its attempt to level the playing field by asserting gender and race equality within the company. Damore went further, alleging that there were “inherent biological differences in men and women” and hence women are not always suited to work in technology jobs.

In emails to several media outlets, including the Associated Press, Damore said he had filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging he was subjected to “coercive statements” while at Google. He told AP that his firing is illegal because he had already filed a complaint with the NLRB, though how much of a case he has is doubtful. That said, he may not stay out of work for long, since WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange offered him a job.

On Wednesday, Damore fired back, telling Bloomberg that Google smeared and “shamed” him. “No one high up ever came to me and said, ‘No, don’t do this,’ even though there were many people who looked at it,” he said. “It was only after it got viral that upper management started shaming me and eventually firing me.”

Google’s most recent diversity report said that 31 percent of the company’s workforce is female, a number the company believes is not high enough nor diverse enough in terms of gender.

In a memo to staff, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said Damore had been fired for violating the company’s code of conduct relating to diversity by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in the workplace. Pichai also issued the memo publicly Tuesday morning, saying that he’s returning early from a family vacation “as clearly there’s a lot more to discuss as a group—including how we create a more inclusive environment for all.” Google plans to hold an internal town hall meeting on the matter Thursday.

In his memo, he sought to explain the sticky issues facing the company as it seeks to provide a forum for all views while also not allowing people to violate the code of conduct:

“First, let me say that we strongly support the right of Googlers to express themselves, and much of what was in that memo is fair to debate, regardless of whether a vast majority of Googlers disagree with it. However, portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. Our job is to build great products for users that make a difference in their lives. To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK. It is contrary to our basic values and our Code of Conduct, which expects ‘each Googler to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination.'”

Perhaps acknowledging that despite saying employees are free to express themselves, they also can be fired when they do so, Pichai went to say: “So to be clear again, many points raised in the memo — such as the portions criticizing Google’s trainings, questioning the role of ideology in the workplace, and debating whether programs for women and underserved groups are sufficiently open to all — are important topics. The author had a right to express their views on those topics — we encourage an environment in which people can do this and it remains our policy to not take action against anyone for prompting these discussions.”

Damore’s polemic has delivered negative headlines for Google at a time the company is fighting the U.S. Department of Labor over claims that it pays its female employees less than male counterparts. The company stands accused of underpaying women in its workforce in a “systematic” fashion across the board. Google hotly disputes the claim and has fought back against, including successfully arguing in court that it should not be required to hand over further employee data to the government as part of the ongoing investigation.

Damore’s firing has been strongly supported by many in the mainstream media and general tech press. But the move has been condemned by the right wing, with sites such as Breitbart noting that some employees agree with Damore “but are afraid to speak out for fear of repercussions from social justice warriors in the company, such as being added to blacklists.”

Even some tech figures who completely disagreed with Damore’s argument were distressed by Google’s reaction. “Instead of a debate, Google’s actions indicated that expressing the wrong opinions can get you fired,” Wasabi Ventures Global General Partner Chris Yeh wrote in an addendum to a long defense of diversity. “By firing the author, rather than actually addressing his arguments by explaining why diversity is valuable, Google made itself part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.”

Image: Kristina Alexanderson via Flickr