Google workers in global protest over harassment

Hundreds of employees walked out of Google’s European headquarters in Dublin on Thursday as part of a global campaign over the US tech giant’s handling of sexual harassment that saw similar protests in London and Singapore.

At Google’s Dublin campus, about 500 people walked out in chilly conditions but were reticent about speaking to the media.

Organiser Kate, who did not want to give her surname, told the crowd she co-ordinated the Dublin walkout “in solidarity with anybody who has experienced any form of sexual harassment or misconduct in our workplace”.

She told reporters afterwards: “If even one person has experienced it, it’s important for us — for me — to show our solidarity and say that we don’t agree with that, and that it shouldn’t happen.”

A Google Walkout For Real Change account that sprang up on Twitter on Wednesday called for employees and contractors to leave their workplaces at 11.10am local time around the world on Thursday.

Tension has been growing over how the US-based tech giant handles sexual harassment claims. Google said last week it had fired 48 employees in the past two years — including 13 senior executives — as a result of such allegations, citing “an increasingly hard line” on inappropriate conduct. It came after The New York Times reported last week that a senior Google employee, Android creator Andy Rubin, received an exit package worth $90m as he faced allegations of misconduct, and that Google had covered up other claims of sexual harassment.

Sam Singer, a spokesperson for Rubin, rejected the allegations against him in a statement, saying Rubin left Google of his own accord. In London, hundreds of staff packed into a room at their main office in protest and later headed outside.

“We’re walking out to support colleagues in any workplace that have suffered harassment and to ensure that perpetrators aren’t protected or rewarded,” said Sam Dutton, a developer advocate. “I think we all feel the same way: supporting colleagues who have been harassed and making sure that this never happens again.”

Google’s management had been “very supportive” of the walkout, he added.

Another Google worker, Anna, who did not want to give her full name, said they were making a point about “power structures” and telling their leaders that “things are changing and it’s time to revise what used to be considered as normal”.

In Singapore, dozens of staff gathered in an indoor space at Google’s offices, with a picture of the gathering posted on the Google Walkout for Real Change Twitter feed.