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Thursday's action follows more than a year of turmoil and organization at Alphabet, the parent company.
Lack of diversity is a problem in the technology industry, but Google has been the focus of public attention since last August, when an employee's internal rating attributed to the under-representation of women in technology industry to gender differences has become viral. The author of the note, an engineer by the name of James Damore, was subsequently fired, but the incident caused internal turmoil and frustration of employees as to how the company handles recruitment and retention related to diversity, as well as harassment.
According to the company's latest diversity statistics, nearly 70 percent of Google employees are men and 53 percent are white. In leadership roles, the numbers are even more striking: 67% are white and 75% are men.
At the Alphabet shareholders meeting in June, a group of employees demonstrated leadership by submitting a proposal requesting that the compensation of Alphabet executives be linked to diversity indicators. . The proposal was not accepted, but Pat Tomaino, a representative of Zevin Asset Management, who tabled the proposal, said the latter protests were another sign that key business leaders were to assume their responsibilities.
"Google's value depends on its ability to find and retain the most talented engineers on the planet, regardless of gender, appearance or origin," CNBC's Tomaino said. "The fact that employees are worried about their own workplace is causing other concerns among investors."
Other tech companies also had employees who protested against recent projects. Representatives from Amazon, Salesforce and Microsoft signed petitions and held demonstrations on how their work is used to monitor or separate families at the US border.
The Tech Workers Coalition, a group of employee activists, said it has seen an increase in interest and events over the past year.
Time is up at Google.
As Google workers, we were disgusted by the details of the recent New York Times article, which provided the latest example of a culture of complicity, disrespect and support for the perpetrators of sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse of power. Unfortunately, this is part of a long-standing pattern, further magnified by systemic racism. We know this culture well. In every New York Times article, there are thousands of others at every level of the business. Most have not been informed.
As recently shown in the article and the executive response, these problems go up to the top. While Google has championed the language of diversity and inclusion, substantive action to combat systemic racism, increase equity and end sexual harassment has been rare. ENOUGH. Reassuring public relations will do nothing, we need transparency, accountability and structural change.
Thursday, November 1, employees and contractors of Google will withdraw in protest. They will take one for the other, fight for equity and demand real change:
1 – The end of forced arbitration in case of harassment and discrimination for all current and future employees, as well as the right for every employee of Google to bring a colleague, a representative or a supporter of his choice when They meet HR, especially when filing a complaint for harassment.
2 – A commitment to ending inequalities of wages and opportunities, for example by ensuring that there are women of color at all levels of the organization and the responsibility not to respect this commitment. This needs to be accompanied by transparent data on pay gaps between men and women, races and ethnicities, across levels and years of experience in the sector, accessible to all employees and contractors of Google and Alphabet. These data should include, but not be limited to, information on relative promotion rates, under-leveling at hiring, leave processing, and inequities in project and project change opportunities. Scale of employment. The methods of collecting this data and the techniques of analysis and aggregation of these data must also be transparent.
3 – A publicly disclosed report on the transparency of sexual harassment, including: the number of harassment complaints filed by Google over time and by product area; the types of claims submitted; how many victims and defendants have left Google; all output packets and their value.
4 – A clear, consistent and globally inclusive process to report sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. The current process (ie going / saying something) does not work, largely because management and directors assess the performance of human resources, forcing them to put the interests of management ahead of those who report harassment and discrimination. The improved process should also be accessible to all: full-time employees, temporary employees, salespeople and subcontractors. Liability, safety and the ability to report unsafe working conditions should not be dictated by professional status.
5 – Raise the Diversity Officer so that he reports directly to the Executive Director and makes recommendations directly to the Board of Directors. In addition, appoint an employee representative on the board. The ODC and the employee representative should help allocate ongoing resources to requests 1 to 4 and other equity efforts, ensure accountability for these requests, and suggest changes when the objectives are met. of equity are not achieved.
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WHY DO YOU DO THAT?
In every New York Times article, there are thousands of others at every level of the business. Many have not been informed. We are part of a growing movement and we will no longer defend it.
WHY CONTRACTUAL WORKERS INCLUDED IN APPLICATIONS?
Many temporary workers, salespeople and subcontractors perform critical tasks without benefits or recognition, and many do so in the hope of being able to move to a full-time job. Solving problems with sexual harassment or other human resources complaints (salary / recognition) can significantly compromise conversion opportunities, not to mention maintaining a job as a DVP. Remember that CTVs are paid at the hour, have very limited benefits and probably earn much less than their FTE counterparts.
The power structure that diminishes TVCs is inherent to the same foundation of inequality. If we want real change, we must act together.
WHY DO PREVIOUS GOOGLE WORKERS MOVE?
This is part of a growing movement, not just in technology, but throughout the country, including teachers, fast food workers and other people who use their strength to make real changes. We know that it can be more difficult for other workers to get up. This is why we stand in solidarity with the temporary and contract workers of Google, but we encourage all those who feel this injustice to take collective action.
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