Hundreds of Google engineers and other workers across the world walked out of their offices on Thursday morning to protest the internet giant’s lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct.
It is the latest expression of a year-long backlash against male exploitation of female subordinates in a business, entertainment and politics.
In Silicon Valley, women are also becoming fed up with the male-dominated composition of the technology industry’s workforce – a glaring imbalance that critics say fosters unsavory behavior akin to a college fraternity house.
Staff taking part in the walkout will reportedly leave a note on their desks which says: ‘I’m not at my desk because I’m walking out with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that’s not working for everyone.’
LONDON: Protesters braved cold and wet weather in London on November 1 to leave the Google offices for a mass walkout as part of a global campaign against sexual harassment at the company
LONDON: Workers stand outside the Google offices after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues, in London
LONDON: The ‘Walkout For Real Change’ comes a week after a New York Times article detailed the allegations of sexual misconduct against the creator of Google’s Android technology Andy Rubin and numerous other executives
LONDON: Staff oustide the Google offices in Granary Sqaure, London stage a walkout as a part of a protest over the company’s lenient treatment of employees accused of sexual misconduct
LONDON: People gather in the rain outside the Google offices in Granary Square, near King’s Cross in London to protest against their company’s perceived leniency on gender discrimination and sexual harassment
LONDON: Despite wet weather, the turnout for the ‘Walkout For Real Change’ protest against Google appears to be high, as many employees are not satisfied with the company’s handling of sexual harassment
LONDON: A protester outside Google’s north London office wearing a T-Shirt that says ‘Women need more sleep than men because fighting the patriarchy is exhausting’
The Google protest, billed ‘Walkout For Real Change’, is unfolding a week after a New York Times story detailed allegations of sexual misconduct about creator of its Android software, Andy Rubin.
The report, titled ‘How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android”, says Rubin received a $90 million severance package in 2014 despite Google concluding that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible.
Rubin derided the Times story and denied the allegations in a tweet, saying the article contained ‘numerous inaccuracies’ and ‘wild exaggerations’.
‘These false allegations are part of a smear campaign to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle,’ he wrote.
A spokesman for Rubin, Sam Singer, also rejected the allegations against him in a statement to AFP, saying the developer left Google of his own accord.
Google fired several high-ranking staff members for ‘sexual harassment’ in recent years. Andy Rubin (L) received a severence package in 2014, reported to be $90million. Richard DeVaul (R) a director at the a Google-affiliated lab remained at work after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced about him a few years ago, but resigned Tuesday without severance
Andy Rubin denied the findings of the New York Times report, which was titled ‘How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android”. The article said that the former employee received a $90 million severance package in 2014 despite Google concluding that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible
The same story also disclosed allegations of sexual misconduct of other executives, including Richard DeVaul, a director at the same Google-affiliated lab that created far-flung projects such as self-driving cars and internet-beaming balloons.
DeVaul had remained at the ‘X’ lab after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced about him a few years ago, but resigned Tuesday without severance.
He was alleged to have made inappropriate and unwanted advances towards a woman who recently interviewed for a position in which Mr DeVaul would have been her superior.
Mr DeVaul has not publicly commented since his resignation on Tuesday, but previously referred to the incident as an ‘error of judgement’.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for the company’s ‘past actions’ in an email sent to employees late on Tuesday.
‘I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel,’ Pichai wrote.
‘I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society and, yes, here at Google, too.’
In the email, a copy of which was posted online by technology news website Ars Technica, Pichai said he has heard from many employees on the subject of inappropriate behaviour at work and was ‘deeply sorry for the past actions and the pain they have caused employees’.
‘We are dead serious about making sure we provide a safe and inclusive workplace,’ Pichai said.
ZURICH: Employees gather next to the Google offices to attend the mass walkout to protest against lenient treatment of sexual misconduct in Zurich, Switzerland November 1, 2018
DUBLIN: Google employees at its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, join others from around the world walking out of their offices in protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism on November 1 2018
SINGAPORE: Google employees gather in a common area to listen to a speaker and attend the Google ‘Walkout For Real Change’ in Singapore
DUBLIN: Pictures shared on social media show the scale of the mass walkout today at the tech giant Google’s European HQ in Dublin, Ireland
The email didn’t mention the reported incidents involving Rubin, DeVaul or anyone else, but Pichai didn’t dispute anything in the Times story.
In an email last week, Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google’s executive in charge of personnel issues, sought to reassure workers that the company had cracked down on sexual misconduct since Rubin’s departure four years ago.
Among other things, Pichai and Naughton disclosed that Google had fired 48 employees, including 13 senior managers, for ‘sexual harassment’ in recent years without giving any of them severance packages.
But Thursday’s workout could signal that a significant number of the 94,000 employees working for Google and its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. remained unconvinced the company is doing enough to adhere to Alphabet’s own edict urging all employees to ‘do the right thing’.
In London, hundreds of workers packed into the biggest room at their main office in protest and later headed outside.
‘We’re walking out to support colleagues in any workplace that have suffered harassment and to ensure that perpetrators aren’t protected or rewarded,’ Sam Dutton, a developer advocate, told AFP.
‘I think we all feel the same way: supporting colleagues who have been harassed and making sure that this never happens again.’
Google’s management had been ‘very supportive’ of the walkout, he added.
Another Google worker, Anna, who did not want to give her full name, told AFP they were making a point about ‘power structures’ and telling their leaders that ‘things are changing and it’s time to revise what used to be considered as normal’.
DUBLIN: Google employees at its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, join others from around the world walking out of their offices in protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism at the tech giant
DUBLIN: A crowd of workers stand outside Google’s European headquarters in the Irish capital after walking out as part of a global protest over workplace issues
DUBLIN: Hundreds of people walk past the signage outside the European headquarters of tech giant Google in a mass walkout on Thursday
DUBLIN: A man wearing a Google slogan T-shirt that says ‘don’t be evil’ hands out doughnuts to protesting workers outside Google’s European headquarters
DUBLIN: Thursday’s workout could signal that a significant number of the 94,000 employees working for Google and its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. remained unconvinced the company is doing enough to combat sexual misconduct and other forms of abuse
DUBLIN: Google employees at its European HQ in Ireland join others from around the world walking out of their offices in protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism at the tech giant
DUBLIN: Organizers of the walkout in the Irish capital used megaphones to address the crowd of men and women who left their desks at Google’s European headquarters to express their support for victims of sexual harassment
In Dublin, home of Google’s European headquarters, around 500 people walked out in chilly conditions to hear organizers address the crowd of both men and women with megaphones.
Other workers shied away from the media spotlight, with people gathering instead indoors, in packed conference rooms or lobbies, to show their solidarity with abuse victims.
Organiser Kate, who did not want to give her surname, told the crowd that she coordinated the Dublin walkout ‘in solidarity with anybody who has experienced any form of sexual harassment or misconduct in our workplace’.
She told reporters afterwards: ‘If even one person has experienced it, it’s important for us – for me – to show our solidarity and say that we don’t agree with that, and that it shouldn’t happen.’
The days events are being documented live by a Twitter account called @googlewalkout, which called for employees and contractors to leave their workplaces at 11:10am local time around the world.
In Singapore, dozens of employees gathered in an indoor space at Google’s offices, with a picture of the gathering posted on the ‘Google Walkout for Real Change’ Twitter feed.
Demands posted in the account included improved processes for reporting sexual misconduct and resolving cases of harassment, as well as a commitment by Google to pay and opportunity equality.
As well as London, Dublin and Singapore, Google employees in Zurich, Tokyo, Berlin and Jerusalem were among those to take part.
A Silicon Valley congresswoman tweeted her support of the Google walkout using the ‘metoo’ hashtag that is now synonymous with a global movement for women fighting sexual misconduct.
‘Why do they think it’s OK to reward perpetrators & further violate victims?’ asked Rep. Jackie Speier, who represents an affluent district where many of Google’s employees live.
The concerns at Google have added to the growing chorus of voices denouncing the existence of a sexist culture in male-dominated Silicon Valley, which has knocked a number of internet industry executives at other tech giants from their perches.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed that Google had fired 48 employees, including 13 senior managers, for ‘sexual harassment’ in recent years without giving them severance packages
The offices of Google in San Francisco with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background. Hundreds of Google employees are expected to temporarily leave their jobs Thursday morning in a mass walkout protesting the internet company’s lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct