Google employees stage walkouts to protest company’s handling of harassment

Google employees worldwide staged walkout over allegations of sexual harassment, inequality within company. Scores of employees staged walkouts at the tech- giant’s offices around the globe on 1st of November, Monday being in different time zones.

Social media feed was soon filled with the images of employees standing outside various offices of the company around the world that include Dublin, Chicago, London, Mountain View California, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich and others.

The protesters demand for changes from the company to handle the sexual harassment complaints which came to light in the wake of the New York Times article. The report revealed that two senior executives of the company accused of misconduct were apparently rewarded with exit packages worth of millions of dollars. The article also claimed that a third person remained in a highly compensated job.

The thousands of Google employees protesting worldwide called for an end to the forced settlement in harassment cases. They also demanded for a clear and uniform process for reporting sexual misconduct safely, without disclosing the identity of the victim. The protesters also called for publication of a sexual harassment transparency report.

The Google protest, which has been dubbed the ‘Walkout For Real Change’, took place one week after sexual assault allegations against creator of its Android software, Andy Rubin, which were first reported by the New York Times. Rubin has been accused of sexual misconduct. Who is also believed to have received a considerable exit package in 2014, valued at approximately $90 million. And was also given loan of $14 million in 2012 to buy a seaside villa in Japan, at an interest rate of less than one percent.

Google has fired 48 people over sexual harassment claims in the last two years, including 13 senior people. The Walkout organizers are reported to say that they presented petitions to management and demanded stricter employee oversight. Some workers even left their positions at Google in protest over the culture at the mostly-male led company