Google sued for paying men more than women

Europa

September 15, 2017 1:07 PM

“It is time to stop ignoring these issues in tech,” said Kelly Ellis, a former software engineer at Google and one of the women who filed the suit.

Three former employees of Google have filed a lawsuit against the technology giant, alleging that it pays women less than men for comparable work.

The lawsuit was filed by three women; Kelly Ellis, Holly Pease, and Kelli Wisuri in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday.

She was hopeful that the suit will force Google and other companies to change their practices.

The suit comes as companies in Silicon Valley face growing scrutiny over gender relations.

In this particular suit, the three claim that during the course of their respective time at Google, which spans between them, from 2005 through 2016, the company "discriminated and continues to discriminate against its female employees by paying female employees less than male employees with similar skills, experience, and duties."

"The net result of this systemic discrimination is that Google pays women less than men for comparable work," reads the suit.

Ellis and her two fellow plaintiffs claim to represent all women employed by Google and are seeking a jury trial.

Google has, however, disputed the allegations, adding that they have "systems in place to ensure that [they] pay fairly."

"We work really hard to create a great workplace for everyone, and to give everyone the chance to thrive here," said spokesperson Gina Scigliano. "In relation to this particular lawsuit, we’ll review it in detail, but we disagree with the central allegations."

"Job levels and promotions are determined through rigorous hiring and promotion committees, and must pass multiple levels of review, including checks to make sure there is no gender bias in these decisions. And we have extensive systems in place to ensure that we pay fairly. But on all these topics, if we ever see individual discrepancies or problems, we work to fix them, because Google has always sought to be a great employer, for every one of our employees."

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