“In recognition of Googlers’ concerns, we need to step back and create a better set of conditions for us to have the discussion,” he wrote. “So in the coming days we will find several forums to gather and engage with Googlers, where people can feel comfortable to speak freely.”

Mr. Pichai said a “vast majority” of the emails he had received supported the decision to fire Mr. Damore but he noted that some employees had raised concerns about being unable to speak freely.

Mr. Damore’s memo, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” and his subsequent dismissal have exposed divisions within the company. A number of employees said the memo was offensive and proved that Google still had work to do in terms of diversity. Others argued that Mr. Damore’s firing only reinforced his message that Google had created “a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence.”

The outcry over the memo’s handling also touched a nerve outside of Google. Right-wing groups seized on Mr. Damore’s ouster as another example of what they said was Silicon Valley’s intolerant stance toward conservatives, while hailing him as a hero with the courage of his convictions.

To many in the technology industry, which has struggled to explain why women are paid less than men and promoted less frequently to leadership positions, the memo was evidence of the false justifications offered for the unequal treatment of women.

Mr. Damore has become a celebrity in the right-wing media. He participated in his first video interview about his dismissal with Stefan Molyneux, a YouTube star among the so-called alt-right whose videos include “Why Feminism Hurts Women” and “Why Feminists Hate Men.” Mr. Damore said he had grown tired of what he saw as hypocrisy in the way that Google behaved.

“There was a lot of just shaming,” he said in the interview. “‘No, you can’t say that. That’s sexist. You can’t do this.’”