I agree that women can bring in different points of view from men; this is a given as we are different in many areas. But should Google really be this concerned? I have seen young women presented with the same opportunities as young men. Most of them reject engineering in favor of other fields of learning. So who is really to blame here?

Those were the famous words Google included in its 2004 stock exchange listing filing with US regulators - and a search on this term lists Google’s corporate philosophy page.

But that New Age corporate philosophy is under threat by the very people it aims to help, because Google Australia can’t find any female engineers who want to work for it.

Internationally, the search engine behemoth strives to employ workers from many backgrounds, a recognition that its customers also come from every background. In Australia it hired more than 10 engineers from five ethnic backgrounds - but despite its best efforts, not a single woman.

Lars Rasmussen, Google Australia manager of engineering, wants at least 20 engineers in his team but says he needs women to deliver the best output.

“We believe we can put out the best products if our engineering workforce has the same characteristics as our user,” Dr Rasmussen says. His concern is that he will “fall short” - half of Google’s users are female… Source: Sydney Morning Herald

[tags]australia,workforce,engineering,feminine touch[/tags]