Thousands of Google’s employees walked out of offices around the world on 1 November to protest about sexual harassment, pay inequality and abuse of power at the search giant.
The industrial action drew large crowds in several cities where Google has offices, including Dublin, Zurich, London, Tokyo and Singapore. In New York City, Fox News reported, throngs of Google employees filled a nearby park to capacity, carrying signs that said "Times Up Tech" and "Workers Rights Are Women's Rights."
Meredith Whittaker, one of the demonstration's organisers, said: "What you read in the New York Times are a small sampling of the thousands of stories we all have, the thousands of stories we carry for each other, the thousands of instances of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment and a pattern of unethical and thoughtless decision-making that has marked this company for the last year, and that has marked our culture and scarred so many of us."
According to Quartz, the organisers are making five key demands:
- A blanket end to forced arbitration for harassment and discrimination claims, as well as the ability for Google employees to bring along a colleague or supporter when meeting HR;
- A commitment to end inequity of pay and opportunity and ensure that there are women of colour at every level of the company. Transparent data on the gender, race and ethnicity compensation gap must also be released and should include promotion rates, the handling of leave and inequity in project and so-called ‘job ladder’ opportunities;
- The publishing of a sexual harassment transparency report that must be made public. It should include the number of claims Google has faced over time and by product area as well as the types of claims it has been subject to. The report should also lay out how many victims and accusers have left the tech giant and what exit packages of what value they were offered;
- A clear, inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously that is accessible to all Google employees;
- The promotion of the company's chief diversity officer Danielle Brown to ensure she answers directly to the chief executive and is in a position to make recommendations directly to the board of directors. An employee representative must also be appointed to the board, who will work with the head of diversity to allocate permanent resources in order to meet the protesters' first four demands.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Thousands of Google’s employees walked out of offices around the world on 1 November to protest about sexual harassment, pay inequality and abuse of power at the search giant.
The industrial action drew large crowds in several cities where Google has offices, including Dublin, Zurich, London, Tokyo and Singapore. In New York City, Fox News reported, throngs of Google employees filled a nearby park to capacity, carrying signs that said "Times Up Tech" and "Workers Rights Are Women's Rights."
Meredith Whittaker, one of the demonstration's organisers, said: "What you read in the New York Times are a small sampling of the thousands of stories we all have, the thousands of stories we carry for each other, the thousands of instances of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment and a pattern of unethical and thoughtless decision-making that has marked this company for the last year, and that has marked our culture and scarred so many of us."
According to Quartz, the organisers are making five key demands:
- A blanket end to forced arbitration for harassment and discrimination claims, as well as the ability for Google employees to bring along a colleague or supporter when meeting HR;
- A commitment to end inequity of pay and opportunity and ensure that there are women of colour at every level of the company. Transparent data on the gender, race and ethnicity compensation gap must also be released and should include promotion rates, the handling of leave and inequity in project and so-called ‘job ladder’ opportunities;
- The publishing of a sexual harassment transparency report that must be made public. It should include the number of claims Google has faced over time and by product area as well as the types of claims it has been subject to. The report should also lay out how many victims and accusers have left the tech giant and what exit packages of what value they were offered;
- A clear, inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously that is accessible to all Google employees;
- The promotion of the company's chief diversity officer Danielle Brown to ensure she answers directly to the chief executive and is in a position to make recommendations directly to the board of directors. An employee representative must also be appointed to the board, who will work with the head of diversity to allocate permanent resources in order to meet the protesters' first four demands.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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