Google will have to pay over $1 million to an executive who alleged the company discriminated against her based on her gender and later retaliated when she spoke up about it. Ulku Rowe, a Google Cloud engineering director, accused the company of hiring her at a lower level and a lower paid position than men with less experience who were hired for similar roles at the same time, as reported by Bloomberg Law. This case sheds light on the gender bias prevalent in the tech industry.
A New York jury on Friday verified the existence of gender-based discrimination at Google and ruled that the company owes Rowe a combined $1.15 million for punitive damages and the pain and suffering it caused. Rowe had an impressive 23 years of experience when she joined Google in 2017, but the lawsuit claims that she was intentionally offered a lower salary and position in comparison to male colleagues with less experience. This disparity in compensation highlights the ongoing issue of pay inequity in the workplace.
This verdict comes almost five years after approximately 20,000 Google employees organized a walkout to demand changes in the company’s handling of sexual misconduct and discriminatory practices. While Google made promises to improve its approach towards sexual harassment, its response fell short when it came to addressing bias-related concerns. According to the trusted source Bloomberg Law, this lawsuit marks the first instance of such a case being brought against Google since the protests.
