Google Sued by Women Workers Claiming Gender Discrimination

Source: Bloomberg News

Google Inc. was accused of systematically paying male employees more than females, adding the internet giant to a growing list of technology companies sued for gender discrimination.

Three women who worked at Google in recent years sued in San Francisco Superior Court alleging that the company continues to pay women less than men for equal or similar work, according to a copy of a complaint provided by their lawyer. The filing couldn’t be immediately verified in court records.

The case comes as the tech industry has been bombarded with accusations of sexism and sexual harassment. Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. were both sued in 2015 on behalf of female engineers claiming men are favored for advancement. That’s the same year Ellen Pao put Silicon Valley’s male-dominated culture front and center during a trial pitting her against the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She claimed there was a sexually charged atmosphere where men preyed on their female coworkers and that she’d been blocked from promotion and fired for her gender. She lost, but the trial rallied other women to speak out.

The proposed class-action seeks to represent all women who have worked at Google in California during the last four years. The company violates the state’s Equal Pay Act by paying women lower wages than men who perform similar work and have the same experience and skills, according to the suit. Google has been well aware of the problem for years but perpetuates it by promoting women less frequently, the women say.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-14/google-sued-by-women-workers-claiming-gender-discrimination