Google wins discrimination court battle over gender pay
Google has emerged with its wallet and reputation intact following a US courts decision to throw out a case in which the tech giant was accused of systematically rewarding male employees with higher levels of pay than their female colleagues.
Google wins court battle over gender pay
Three female former employees were seeking to sue Google via a class action on behalf of all Google’s female employees over the past four years at San Francisco Superior Court, alleging ‘systematic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the board’.
After digesting arguments from both sides, however, judge Mary E. Wiss dismissed the "conclusory" claims, confirming that there was insufficient evidence to justify further action on the grounds of sexism.
Wiss asserted that Kelly Ellis and Holly Pease had failed to show that they had been underpaid relative to male counterparts despite sharing 15 years’ experience as software engineers with Google between them. The case of a third claimant, Kelli Wisuri, who had served less than two years in executive communications was also thrown out.
Google’s staffing is heavily biased toward white males according to the company’s own demographic report, with 70% of its total workforce and 80% of its technical staff being male at the last count.
The three claimants now have 30 days in which to decide whether to launch an appeal in their discrimination case.
Google recently hired a diversity vice-president amid widespread criticism of its hiring practices.