Google joins list of tech companies sued for gender discrimination

Google has been accused in a class action 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 pays women less than men for equal or similar work.

They also say it puts them on career paths with lower pay ceilings, according to a copy of a complaint provided by their lawyer. The filing couldn’t be immediately verified in court records.

"This lawsuit is an effort to pull down the barriers and shatter the stereotypes," San Francisco attorney James Finberg, who represents the women, said in a phone call.

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“Unconscious bias plays a large role in perpetuating gender disparities and compensation.”

The tech industry has been bombarded with accusations of sexism and sexual harassment. Microsoft and Twitter were both sued in 2015 on behalf of female engineers claiming men are favoured for advancement.

That's the same year Ellen Pao put Silicon Valley's male-dominated culture front and centre during a trial pitting her against the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and 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.

Google said it’s reviewing the details in the complaint but disagrees with its central allegations.

"Job levels and promotions are determined through rigorous hiring and promotion committees, and must pass multiple levels of review, including checks to make sure there is no gender bias in these decisions," company spokeswoman Gina Scigliano said in an emailed statement.

“And we have extensive systems in place to ensure that we pay fairly.”

Positive change

Although the lawsuit seeks back-pay for the women, Finberg said he also wants to permanently change the culture of an industry leader in a way that will impact other companies, big and small, “so women in the future are treated fairly.”

“We can bring about positive change not only at Google but at other companies in the Silicon Valley,” Finberg said.

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. One plaintiff, software engineer Kelly Ellis, worked at Google’s Mountain View office from about May 2010 to July 2014, according to the complaint.

Another, Holly Pease, performed a variety of managerial roles at two of Google's offices from 2005 to 2016. The third, Kelli Wisuri, worked as a sales communications specialist and "brand evangelist" from late 2012 to early 2015. They allege Google kept them in "job ladders" that had lower compensation ceilings than men with similar skills.

The suit cites data from a 2015 review of Google’s employment practices by the US Department of Labor’s contract compliance unit that’s the subject of a separate federal administrative complaint against the company.

The agency performed a statistical regression analysis of the pay for roughly 21,000 employees at the company’s Mountain View office for 2015, according to the complaint. The analysis “found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,” according to the suit.

Memo controversy

Google is among Silicon Valley companies that have struggled in recent years to diversify their predominantly white and male make-up. According to the company’s most recent demographic report, 69 per cent of its workforce and 80 per cent of its technical staff are male.

The report shows the proportion of women in technical and leadership positions has increased 1 per cent since last year. The Alphabet unit is simultaneously mired in controversy over its firing of a male engineer who criticised the company’s diversity policies for ignoring differences between the sexes.

James Damore, who ignited a firestorm in August with a 10-page memo blasting Google's "left bias" for creating a "politically correct monoculture," has said the company "shamed" him for the views expressed in the memo and has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

Google has denied Damore’s allegation that its hiring practices are illegal. Finberg cited the memo as evidence of Google’s problem with discrimination.

“That memo,” Finberg said, “was filled with stereotypical views about women and whether women have the same abilities.”

- Bloomberg