$118 million is the amount that Google will pay to United States to compensate its “women employees” victims of discrimination. The bill is salty but it is an amicable agreement which allows to close five years of procedure and especially which avoids going through the trial box. The collective complaint was brought by four former employees. An engineer, a technical director, a marketing manager and a teacher at Google’s children’s center, also located in the huge Mountain View headquarters in California.
They considered that in the company, in equivalent positions, women were paid less than men; and that with equal experience and qualifications they were at lower levels. Thanks to it, approximately 15,500 employees who work for the search engine will therefore be compensated. The deal, revealed on Friday June 10, still needs to be approved by a judge.
This does not mean that Google acknowledges its responsibility. The group maintains that it has “fully compliant with all laws, rules and regulations“, which he refers to the code of good conduct of his parent company, Alphabet, which includes a chapter on gender equality. Ensures that he treats all his employees fairly and equitably and that if he observes differences in remuneration, he makes the necessary adjustments. He even says he is very satisfied with this agreement. We have to save face. The main thing is to settle a legal dispute which was beginning to become uncomfortable.
Last year the search engine had already paid 3.8 million dollars for discrimination against women and people of Asian origin. Google had said that the discriminations had been detected during a routine analysis and that it had absolutely not broken the law. This time there is still progress because Google has also accepted, it is in the agreement, that for three years, two independent experts analyze its recruitment and remuneration practices. The company will have to follow their recommendations, set up a more egalitarian model.
In the United States, all eyes are now on Nike, another stock market giant which is facing a lawsuit in the same circumstances, a class action against acts of sexual discrimination launched in 2018. If the plaintiffs are successful, this 5,000 additional women will be eligible for compensation.