Kitchener Google employees walk out, inside the office
KITCHENER — An undisclosed number of local Google employees walked off the job Thursday as part of a global protest against sexual harassment, misconduct and a lack of transparency at the tech giant.
The company confirmed that employees in all three of its Canadian offices — in Kitchener, Toronto and Montreal — were part of that protest, called Google Walkout for Real Change. But a spokesperson would not say how many local employees participated.
The walkout occurred at 11:10 a.m. and lasted for about 45 minutes. Employees gathered in the common area inside the Breithaupt Street office, where Google’s Canadian engineering headquarters are based, but the space was closed to the media.
In a statement, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said: “Yesterday, we let Googlers know that we are aware of the activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the support they need if they wish to participate. Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and processes going forward. We are taking their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action.”
The protests arose following a New York Times investigation that alleges an employee accused Andy Rubin, the creator of Android software, of sexual misconduct. The company investigated and found the claims credible, but gave him a $90-million package when he exited the company. Rubin denied the accusation on Twitter.
A Twitter account has been documenting the day of walkouts in cities around the world. Thousands of Google employees around the world briefly walked off the job Thursday
They include: An end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination; a commitment to end pay and opportunity inequality; a publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report; a clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously; elevate the chief diversity officer to answer directly to the CEO, and make recommendations directly to the board of directors.