Google Workers Worldwide Walk Out Over Company's Handling Of Harassment Case - Organizers

Google employees around the world left their desks to protest harassment, sexism and racism at workplace and demand equal pay following a sexual assault case, the organizers of the protest said in a statement on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2018) Google employees around the world left their desks to protest harassment, sexism and racism at workplace and demand equal pay following a sexual assault case, the organizers of the protest said in a statement on Thursday.

The protest comes in part in response to a recent article in the New York Times newspaper that said Google protected the creator of Android mobile software Andy Rubin after he was accused by a female co-worker of forcing her to perform sexual acts on him. The company reportedly allowed Rubin to resign over the allegations and paid him $90 million in an exit package.

"We were disgusted by the details of the recent New York Times article, which provided the latest example of a culture of complicity, dismissiveness, and support for perpetrators in the face of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse of power," organizers of the Google walkout said in a statement.

The protesters added in the statement that the incident described in the report was part of an ongoing problem, which coexists with systematic racism. The organizers stressed they know the company's culture very well and now demand action, because a lack of action has been taken to stop workplace bullying, hostility and discrimination.

Thousands of employees said they want the company to publicly release a sexual harassment transparency report which shows how many claims have been filed, the nature of the allegations, and how many victims have left the company as a result of such problems. Exit packages should be also disclosed, the argued.

Google workers in London, Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, Dublin took part in the walkout, posting pictures and video on social media of large crowds of employees on the streets. Their colleagues in other cities around the world were also expected to take part in the protest.