Google has #MeToo moment as thousands of workers walk out over women's rights
- The protests followed a report in The New York Times that Google in 2014 gave a US$90 million exit package to a senior executive accused of sexual harassment
- The protests took place in waves, beginning in Asia and then streaming across Europe and North America
Thousands of Google employees around the world briefly walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest the company’s response to sexual harassment and demand that the world’s largest search engine address rising concerns about workplace inequality.
The protests took place in waves, beginning in Asia and then streaming across Europe and North America, with the final wave occurring at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
The protests, which drew Google contract workers as well as employees, followed a report in The New York Times last week that Google in 2014 gave a US$90 million exit package to a senior vice-president, Andy Rubin, after he was accused of sexual harassment.
“This was the US$90 million straw that broke the camel’s back,” Celie O’Neil-Hart, one of the protest organisers and who works on YouTube marketing, told reporters as she joined hundreds of other employees in the courtyard of Google’s Mountain View headquarters. “But there are so many stories that we’ve heard for so long, and it’s time for action and change,” said O’Neil-Hart as she teared up.
Rubin denied the allegation in the Times story, which he said contained “wild exaggerations” about his compensation. Google did not dispute the report.