According to two people familiar with the situation and emails are seen by Reuters, California’s civil rights authority is looking into Google’s treatment of Black female employees following claimed incidents of harassment and discrimination.
According to the records and individuals, attorneys and analysts from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) have frequently interviewed several Black women who have worked at Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) about their experiences there. To avoid endangering the effort, the sources spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the emails, the main topic of discussion has been claimed workplace harassment and discrimination. According to one of the sources, discussions took place as late as last month.
Google said it is focused on “building sustainable equity” for its Black workers and that 2020 was its largest year for hiring what it calls “Black+” workers, a designation inclusive of people belonging to multiple races.
“Our goal is to ensure that every employee experiences Google as an inclusive workplace,” it said. “We’ll continue to focus on this important work and thoroughly investigate any concerns, to make sure our workplace is representative and equitable.”
According to the persons, the DFEH has interrogated both workers who have filed formal complaints and those who have not, indicating that the regulator is looking for further examples of possible maltreatment.
The agency is involved in continuing cases alleging widespread discrimination and harassment against video game companies Tencent Holdings’ (0700. HK) Riot Games and Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O). However, charges are not always filed in their cases.
For years, Black males in the computer industry have complained of racist remarks and demoralizing experiences, including being kicked out of buildings because security guards and others questioned if they were actually employed there.
As more Black women have entered the job, the number of complaints has risen. This year, seven current and former Google employees told Reuters that they were ignored on projects because they were Black women and that they were not regarded as seriously as colleagues from other backgrounds.
Timnit Gebru, an artificial intelligence researcher, claims she was fired by Google a year ago for criticizing the company’s lack of diversity in the workforce and fighting supervisors who objected to the publication of a critical study she co-wrote. Before departing last year, Erika Munro Kennerly, who headed Google’s diversity and strategy teams, told the journal Corporate Counsel in January that “there’s an overarching tone of being undervalued” as a Black woman at Google.
According to corporate data, employees who identified as “Black+ female” left Google at the greatest rate of any racial-gender group other than “Native “American+ female” last year. Last year, Google announced that it will increase support staffing and activities to improve retention.
