Goggle employees worldwide staged a walk out over the company’s handling of sexual harassment claims.
In New York, over 3000 gathered in a City park with signs that read, “O.K. Google, really?” while thousands in Silicon Valley walked out and chanted “Stand up! Fight back!”
Many other Google offices around the world also saw the same scenario, from London to Chicago and Berlin, including Zurich, Seattle, India, and Singapore.
The walkouts was prompted by a New York Times article that revealed that Google had paid off numerous executive accused of sexual misconduct
One of those executive paid off despite allegations of sexual harassment levied against them was Andy Robin – the creator of the Android mobile software, who was paid $90 million despite the harassment claim against him being credible.
The walkouts started in Asia but quickly spread to other parts of the world and involved both men and women who walked into pavements and parks, with placards. Many took pictures and shared on social media.
Employees also accuse Google of treating female employees inequitably over time and provided a list of demands going forward.
The demands include: ending the use of private arbitration in cases of sexual harassment, publication of a transparency report on instances of sexual harassment, and transparency and disclosures of salaries and compensation, as well as employee representation on the board.