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Google employees around the world held informal protests today (Nov. 1) to protest the company's mishandling of several allegations of sexual harassment.
Despite the tumultuous events of the day, Google CEO Sundar Pichai appeared this afternoon at the New York Times DealBook conference in New York, where he could not escape the subject.
"Listen, of course, it's a difficult time. There is anger and frustration in the business. We all feel it. I also feel it, "he told Times business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, who interviewed him on stage. "Google is setting the bar very high and obviously we have not met our expectations," he said.
At the end of last month, The Times published an article revealing that the tech giant had paid Andy Rubin, a leader dubbed "the father of Android," a $ 90-million package while he was in the middle of the day. he was leaving the company in 2014, following an internal investigation into his complaints. . The charges against Rubin and other incidents involving other male leaders have not yet been announced.
Pichai had already sent a memo to employees, expressing support for the strike. At the conference, he reiterated his support for both the women who reported the harassment and Google's staff members who were frustrated by the company's reaction.
"You know, the first step you take in these things is to acknowledge and apologize for the past actions, the pain that they have cost. We sincerely did "to Google," he said.
"Secondly, you know, words alone are not enough and, you know, you have to follow up with actions. And to be very clear, these incidents date back to a few years ago and our society has evolved, "he said. "As CEO, it is very important for me, and for me personally, to draw a hard line on inappropriate behavior, which we have been doing for a few years."
"Moments like this show that we have not always understood well," he added, promising that concrete steps would follow.
Pichai reminded the audience that Google had taken "stringent" measures against the accused employees: 48 people were fired in the past two years, he said.
When asked if he thought there might be a systemic problem at Google, if the company's culture had perhaps played out the high number of harassment cases, Pichai has responded that sexual harassment is "a societal problem". Noting that Google is a big business, "we". We had our share of problems, "he said.
The shortage of women's representation in Silicon Valley has largely been a "causal" factor of sexism in this region, he said. An investigation may have been necessary to determine "whether there was a deeper problem that would have led to such a situation".
The conversation has not rocked in the early days of Google, a time in which, according to a recent book, co-founder Sergey Brin was regularly found in the masseuse room with young female employees and male executives hired and exiting pretty young administrative assistants.
"We are really doing our best," said Pichai, "and you know, I'm sure most people will tell you that for two years we've been drawing a very hard line and it's a different place. "
What was Google's position on confidentiality agreements signed by departing employees, which protect the company (ie a former employee can not provide valuable information to other companies), but also allows a predator to be hired elsewhere? Pichai said Google – like many other companies – was grappling with this issue.
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