April Christina Curley, a Google recruiter focused on Black colleges, says she was fired in September and alleges a hostile work environment for Black people
after Google did not respond to demands from Black employees from within the company for better treatment and representation. My latest w/@CiCiAdams_ https://www.nbcnews.com/... Jeffrey Dastin / @jldastin : .@Google this year tightened control over its scientists' papers by launching a “sensitive topics” review, and in 3 cases told authors to refrain from casting its tech in a negative light, docs & interviews show. Story w/ @peard33 https://www.reuters.com/... Haben Girma / @habengirma : Why are there so few Black women in tech? When April Curley worked at Google, she was “harassed by managers, including being told that her Baltimore accent was a disability that she needed to disclose to colleagues.” https://twitter.com/... Nicole Tinson / @nikki_t : #HBCU20x20 has cancelled its partnership with @Google We refuse to partner with a company who continues to oust/disrespect Black people. Black people deserve better, and it's clear @Google has not find the need to do better. We do not encourage working or interning at Google. https://twitter.com/... Jeffrey Dastin / @jldastin : When are @Google scientists to flag research for “sensitive topics” reviews? If looking at Google services for bias, face/sentiment analysis, race or gender categorization, the oil industry, COVID-19, China, location data, religion, driverless cars, telecoms, home security & more Jessie.Js / @jessiedotjs : I worked with @RealAbril and I cannot even express how hard she worked for her Black and Brown students. And you can look at the numbers, she was successful as hell at it. So they did to her what they love to do to Black employees, treated her like garbage and then fired her. https://twitter.com/... Pimp C / @gocortney_ : again, today is a great day to read Google's Annual Diversity Report https://diversity.google/... https://twitter.com/... @ohheydj : This sadly isn't surprising at all. I worked at Google as a contractor fir 2 years and dealt with my fair share of this too. https://twitter.com/... Russell Neches / @ryneches : This is the smoking gun right here. Subjecting scientific research to political review means you aren't doing scientific research. Google's executives decided to fire their AI ethics people the moment they dreamed up “sensitive topics review.” https://www.reuters.com/... Timnit Gebru / @timnitgebru : When I was asking what are they doing to other Black women. This thread. Just a couple of months apart. Horrible. https://twitter.com/... April Glaser / @aprilaser : Black women only make up .7 percent of Google's technical workforce. April's job in the company was specifically to recruit Black and brown tech talent. She says she had increased the number of recruits from HBCUs by 300 percent at Google before she was fired https://twitter.com/... @realabril : Reading about what happened to @timnitGebru at Google is both triggering and yet super encouraging. While I don't want to capitalize off of her moment, I do want to share my experience as a black queer woman at Google. @realabril : Ultimately my last manager, his manager and HR decided that the best way to shut me up was to fire me. My last manager had his ego bruised FROM JUMP when I refused to discuss my sexuality with him (once asking me which of my teammates I would sleep with-TF) @realabril : On September 11, 2020, I was terminated from Google. Even having to type those words still feels fucking awful. I'm admittedly still processing and working through all of the emotions that surround being fired from my whole ass job. @realabril : Because of my adamant advocacy of black and brown students to be fairly and justly considered for roles at Google, I experienced active abuse and retaliation from several managers who harassed me- and many other black women. @realabril : Please read that shit again. It's as egregious as it sounds. At the time of my departure, I had single handedly increased Google's black engineering hiring from HBCUs by over 300%. Meaning- I brought in over 300 Black and Brown students from HBCUs who were hired into eng roles @realabril : In 2014, I was hired at Google to fundamentally shift the relationship (or lack thereof) that Google had with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Before my role existed, Google had NEVER, and I mean fucking NEVER hired an HBCU student into a tech role- Jeffrey Dastin / @jldastin : This summer, a senior Google manager told authors of a draft paper on content recommendation tech to “take great care to strike a positive tone,” internal correspondence shows. The authors then “updated to remove all references to Google products.” Jeffrey Dastin / @jldastin : The news came to light after @timnitGebru says Google fired her; she had questioned an order not to publish research saying AI that mimics speech could disadvantage marginalized communities. Beau Sievers / @beausievers : “Striking a positive tone” in AI research strikes me as a misguided attempt to regain consumer and regulator trust. Simple honesty, with sober accounting of costs and benefits, strikes me as a better approach. https://www.reuters.com/... Erica Joy / @ericajoy : i mean idk how many more receipts about overt racism at google y'all need at this point, but here's more. https://twitter.com/... Mark Ghuneim / @markghuneim : On balance anything you say as a company should be vetted by legal, policy + coms teams. A “sensitive topics” review is prudent they deserve the extra scrutiny and rigor. (in this case “sensitive” may be better stated as dangerous -ed) https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Business InsiderKate Duffy
Context & Ripple Effects
Curley’s allegations arrived shortly after Google’s dispute with Ethical AI co-lead Timnit Gebru, another Black leader who said she was fired following conflict over internal research publication. Together, the accounts put Google’s treatment of Black employees and its control over internal dissent under sharper scrutiny.
Curley’s September termination removes a recruiter who says she materially expanded Google’s HBCU hiring, while her allegations make the company’s workplace practices a public employment issue.
HBCU20x20’s cancellation immediately weakens a channel through which Google sought to recruit from Black colleges and universities.
Second-order effects
Google’s HBCU recruiting effort faces a credibility problem with prospective candidates and partner organizations when a former recruiter alleges harassment and hostile treatment.
The allegations join a pattern that later drew a [[a:974071|California civil-rights-regulator investigation into Google’s treatment of Black female workers]], raising the stakes beyond recruiting metrics.
Third-order effects
If hiring gains continue to be offset by higher attrition, representation programs will be judged increasingly on retention and workplace conditions rather than recruitment totals alone.
For large technology employers, employee complaints about discrimination and restrictions on internal criticism can become linked legitimacy risks, spanning talent partnerships, research governance, and regulatory scrutiny.
The trend: Tech companies’ diversity commitments are moving from hiring-focused claims toward scrutiny of retention, internal voice, and accountability for workplace treatment.
I'm finna tell yall why @Google fired me- their MOST successful diversity recruiter in the history of their company- with the receipts to support that statement.
@ciciadams_
CiCi Adams on x
Another Black woman was ousted from Google for demanding genuine D&I efforts. What happened to @timnitGebru & @RealAbril exposes a larger issue. My latest w/ @aprilaser highlights the institutionalized sexism/racism & the culture of fear rife at Google. https://www.nbcnews.com/..…
@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru on x
“A Google spokesperson told Business Insider: “We don't agree with the way April describes her termination, but it's not appropriate for us to provide a commentary about her claims.” @sundarpichai do better. My god they have no shame. https://www.google.com/...
@richards1052
Tikun Olam on x
Among the subjects Google considers “sensitive topics” for publication by its AI researchers is “Israel.” Papers by AI experts require further censorship/legal review before being submitted for publication. WTF? https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@realabril
@realabril on x
My skip-level manager, a white woman, told me VERBATIM that the way I speak (oftentimes with a heavy Baltimore accent) was a disability that I should disclose when meeting with folks internally.
@aprilaser
April Glaser on x
Google fired a second Black woman widely celebrated for success in her field @RealAbril — after Google did not respond to demands from Black employees from within the company for better treatment and representation. My latest w/@CiCiAdams_ https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@blackamazon
@blackamazon on x
This is an important thread because the other side is how many “launched initiatives” programs etc are white as hell championed by white folks who don't think this or it's manifestations in code or NO or strategy is a problem https://twitter.com/...
@jldastin
Jeffrey Dastin on x
.@Google this year tightened control over its scientists' papers by launching a “sensitive topics” review, and in 3 cases told authors to refrain from casting its tech in a negative light, docs & interviews show. Story w/ @peard33 https://www.reuters.com/...
@nikki_t
Nicole Tinson on x
#HBCU20x20 has cancelled its partnership with @Google We refuse to partner with a company who continues to oust/disrespect Black people. Black people deserve better, and it's clear @Google has not find the need to do better. We do not encourage working or interning at Google. htt…
@jldastin
Jeffrey Dastin on x
When are @Google scientists to flag research for “sensitive topics” reviews? If looking at Google services for bias, face/sentiment analysis, race or gender categorization, the oil industry, COVID-19, China, location data, religion, driverless cars, telecoms, home security & more
@habengirma
Haben Girma on x
Why are there so few Black women in tech? When April Curley worked at Google, she was “harassed by managers, including being told that her Baltimore accent was a disability that she needed to disclose to colleagues.” https://twitter.com/...
@jessiedotjs
Jessie.Js on x
I worked with @RealAbril and I cannot even express how hard she worked for her Black and Brown students. And you can look at the numbers, she was successful as hell at it. So they did to her what they love to do to Black employees, treated her like garbage and then fired her. htt…
@gocortney_
Pimp C on x
again, today is a great day to read Google's Annual Diversity Report https://diversity.google/... https://twitter.com/...
@ohheydj
@ohheydj on x
This sadly isn't surprising at all. I worked at Google as a contractor fir 2 years and dealt with my fair share of this too. https://twitter.com/...
@ryneches
Russell Neches on x
This is the smoking gun right here. Subjecting scientific research to political review means you aren't doing scientific research. Google's executives decided to fire their AI ethics people the moment they dreamed up “sensitive topics review.” https://www.reuters.com/...
@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru on x
When I was asking what are they doing to other Black women. This thread. Just a couple of months apart. Horrible. https://twitter.com/...
@aprilaser
April Glaser on x
Black women only make up .7 percent of Google's technical workforce. April's job in the company was specifically to recruit Black and brown tech talent. She says she had increased the number of recruits from HBCUs by 300 percent at Google before she was fired https://twitter.com/…
@realabril
@realabril on x
Reading about what happened to @timnitGebru at Google is both triggering and yet super encouraging. While I don't want to capitalize off of her moment, I do want to share my experience as a black queer woman at Google.
@realabril
@realabril on x
Ultimately my last manager, his manager and HR decided that the best way to shut me up was to fire me. My last manager had his ego bruised FROM JUMP when I refused to discuss my sexuality with him (once asking me which of my teammates I would sleep with-TF)
@realabril
@realabril on x
On September 11, 2020, I was terminated from Google. Even having to type those words still feels fucking awful. I'm admittedly still processing and working through all of the emotions that surround being fired from my whole ass job.
@realabril
@realabril on x
Because of my adamant advocacy of black and brown students to be fairly and justly considered for roles at Google, I experienced active abuse and retaliation from several managers who harassed me- and many other black women.
@realabril
@realabril on x
Please read that shit again. It's as egregious as it sounds. At the time of my departure, I had single handedly increased Google's black engineering hiring from HBCUs by over 300%. Meaning- I brought in over 300 Black and Brown students from HBCUs who were hired into eng roles
@realabril
@realabril on x
In 2014, I was hired at Google to fundamentally shift the relationship (or lack thereof) that Google had with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Before my role existed, Google had NEVER, and I mean fucking NEVER hired an HBCU student into a tech role-
@jldastin
Jeffrey Dastin on x
This summer, a senior Google manager told authors of a draft paper on content recommendation tech to “take great care to strike a positive tone,” internal correspondence shows. The authors then “updated to remove all references to Google products.”
@jldastin
Jeffrey Dastin on x
The news came to light after @timnitGebru says Google fired her; she had questioned an order not to publish research saying AI that mimics speech could disadvantage marginalized communities.
@beausievers
Beau Sievers on x
“Striking a positive tone” in AI research strikes me as a misguided attempt to regain consumer and regulator trust. Simple honesty, with sober accounting of costs and benefits, strikes me as a better approach. https://www.reuters.com/...
@ericajoy
Erica Joy on x
i mean idk how many more receipts about overt racism at google y'all need at this point, but here's more. https://twitter.com/...
@markghuneim
Mark Ghuneim on x
On balance anything you say as a company should be vetted by legal, policy + coms teams. A “sensitive topics” review is prudent they deserve the extra scrutiny and rigor. (in this case “sensitive” may be better stated as dangerous -ed) https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.…