The European leg of a global Google staff walkout has kicked off in London and Dublin
Google employees walked out of offices in London and Dublin on Thursday morning in a protest over harassment and inequality.
It's expected that thousands of Google staff will participate in a walkout of its 70 offices worldwide over the company's handling of sexism complaints, abuse of power, pay inequality, and racism in the workplace.
The protest comes just days after a New York Times report alleged that Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, was given a $90 million payout from Google "while keeping silent" about a string of sexual misconduct claims. Per the NYT story, Rubin had multiple relationships with Google employees and "coerced" oral sex from an employee in 2013 — a claim that the company investigated and found credible. In a statement, Rubin denied the allegations, claiming the NYT story contained "numerous inaccuracies" and he states he "never coerced a woman to have sex in a hotel room."
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Protestors are calling on Google's parent company Alphabet Inc to share pay equity data internally and to make its process for dealing with harassment claims fairer.
Protestors are making formal demands to the tech giant's management, including a public sexual harassment transparency report, a clear process for safely and anonymously reporting misconduct and harassment, the appointment of an employee representative to the board of directors, and an express commitment to ending pay inequality.
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According to a BBC report, staff participating in the walkout will be leaving a note on their desks to inform colleagues that they are protesting. "I’m not at my desk because I’m walking out with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that’s not working for everyone," reads the note.
The first office to protest was Google's Singapore location.
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Staff in Google's Dublin office began the walkout at around 11 a.m. GMT.
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Meanwhile, crowds gathered outside Google's office in Granary Square, London.
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"I'm here protesting against harassment in the workplace to make sure that we don't protect or support those perpetrators of harassment," one Google employee told Sky News.
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Protests also happened inside the Google offices. A Google employee tweeted a photo from inside one of Google's four locations within London.
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Topics Google
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
