Colombo: Google parent Alphabet has confirmed that an executive accused of sexual harassment left the company without an exit package as tension over its handling of such matters heightened.
\nWord that Rich DeVaul, a director at X lab devoted to \u201cmoonshots\u201d such as internet service from balloons, was out came with reports that women employees were organising a walk-out on Thursday to protest lenient handling of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
\nAlphabet declined to give details about DeVaul\u00b4s departure from the company on Tuesday.
\nA Google Walkout For Real Change account that sprang to life on Twitter late Wednesday said that employees and contractors would leave their workplaces late Thursday morning in respective time zones.
\nDemands posted in the tweet included improved processes for reporting sexual misconduct and resolving cases of harassment, as well as a commitment by Google to pay and opportunity equity.
\nGoogle chief executive Sundar Pichai sent a message to employees late Tuesday, a copy of which was posted online by technology news website Ars Technica.
\nPichai said he has heard from many employees on the subject of inappropriate behaviour at work and was \u201cdeeply sorry for the past actions and the pain they have caused employees.\u201d
\n\u201cAs CEO, it\u00b4s been personally important to me that we take a much harder line on inappropriate behaviour,\u201d Pichai said in the message.
\nHe said again that Google had fired 48 employees in the past two years \u2014 including 13 senior executives \u2014 as a result of sexual harassment allegations.
\nPichai has met with Google employees about the issue since The New York Times reported last week that a senior Google employee, Android creator Andy Rubin, received an exit package worth $90 million as he faced allegations of misconduct, and that
\nGoogle had covered up other claims of sexual harassment.
\nSam Singer, a spokesman for Rubin, rejected the allegations against him in a statement, saying Rubin left Google of his own accord to launch venture capital firm and technology incubator Playground.
\nAsked and other media for its reaction, Google released an email sent to employees from Pichai stating that none of the people who resigned or were terminated due to sexual harassment concerns in the past two years received \u201can exit package.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are dead serious about making sure we provide a safe and inclusive workplace,\u201d Pichai said in the email shared last week.
\n\u201cWe want to assure you that we review every single complaint about sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct, we investigate and we take action.\u201d
\nConcerns being expressed by women at Alphabet have added to the growing chorus of voices denouncing the existence of a sexist culture in male-dominated Silicon Valley, which has knocked a number of internet industry executives at other tech giants from their perches.
\nAccusations concerning the lack of women in tech jobs and unfair or crude treatment endured by some in the industry have simmered for years, occasionally boiling over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colombo: Google parent Alphabet has confirmed that an executive accused of sexual harassment left the company without an exit package as tension over its handling of such matters heightened. Word that Rich DeVaul, a director at X lab devoted to \u201cmoonshots\u201d such as internet service from balloons, was out came with reports that women employees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n