Google Employees Walked in Protest of How Company Handles Sexual Misconduct

In response to how Google has handled sexual misconduct, hundreds of the company’s employees staged a walk out on Thursday in protest.

Over 20 offices around the world took part in the protest, which was meant to send a message to Google about its transparency when it comes to how it handles sexual harassment allegations.

The demonstrations had been set for 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, local time for each office.

Recently a New York Times expose had revealed how some Google executives had been protected when accused of sexual misconduct. The employees either were kept on staff or had amicable departures, some with exit packages.

According to the report, Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, was one of the employees to leave with a $90 million exit package despite being asked to resign over credible sexual misconduct claims. Through a spokesperson Rubin had denied the allegations and said his reported compensation was a “wild exaggeration.”

“While Google has championed the language of diversity and inclusion, substantive actions to address systemic racism, increase equity, and stop sexual harassment have been few and far between,” the employee statement reads. “ENOUGH. Reassuring PR won’t cut it: we need transparency, accountability, and structural change.”

CEO Sundar Pichai had recently sent a memo to employees, stating that 48 people had been fired, including 13 senior managers, in the last two years without exit packages. He then sent a follow-up note reiterating his apology “for the past actions and the pain they have caused employees.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and have not been compensated for this article.