Many employees of Google are walking off the job in a worldwide movement Thursday, to protest the tech giant's handling of sexual harassment cases involving executives.
The event occurs one day after Rich DeVaul, an executive with Google parent company Alphabet, resigned amid sexual harassment accusations.
Thursday's walkout calls for several changes -- an end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination, pay and opportunity equality and a clear process for reporting sexual misconduct. Protesters also want the company's chief diversity officer to answer directly to the CEO and an employee representative placed on Google's board.
The workers planned to walk out at 11:10 a.m. in time zones around the world. The first occurred in Asia and some were documented online, with photos of protests in Tokyo and Singapore accompanied with the hastag #GoogleWalkout.
Employees who walk out will leave a flyer at their desk that reads, "I'm not at my desk because I'm walking out in solidarity with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that's not working for everyone. I'll be back at my desk later."
DeVaul's departure followed revelations this week by The New York Times that Andy Rubin, creator of the Android software, received a $90 million severance package when he resigned in 2014 amid accusations he coerced a female co-worker into sex.
Google was not required to pay the money to Rubin, who's denied the accusations, and has declined to comment on the matter.
The treatment of female employees at Google was a contentious issue before the recent headlines. Female employees have said, among other complaints, that they are underpaid compared to male counterparts.
"We don't want to feel we're unequal or not respected anymore," said Claire Stapleton, a product marketing manager at Google-owned YouTube. "Google's famous for its culture. But in reality we're not even meeting the basics of respect, justice and fairness for every single person here."
Other recent misconduct cases involving Google executives add fuel to the protest. Former senior vice president Amit Singhal was given an exit package worth millions when he was forced to leave. DeVaul was initially allowed to keep his job, but resigned when the Times article was published.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Vice President Eileen Naughton said the company has fired 48 people for sexual harassment in the past two years without giving severance packages. Of those, 13 were senior managers or other high-level figures.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
