Google has recently come under fire for the company’s alleged mistreatment of Black, female workers. California civil rights regulators are investigating, following alleged incidents of harassment and discrimination. The company has had a history of institutional racism even after its promises of workplace inclusion and equality.
Over the past few weeks, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has interviewed multiple Black women that have worked for Google’s parent firm, Alphabet Inc. The questions have been centered around the alleged complaints reported by two former employees.
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Prior to the investigation, Google claimed that it focused on “building sustainable equity” for its Black employees. Prior to the investigation, the company had faced backlash over its treatment of Black employees. Timnit Gebru, one of their leading AI researchers, left the company in December of last year. She stated that she was fired while the company maintained that she resigned. “This institutional racism, it’s not even limited to Google. It’s most of these institutions in general, and specifically in the tech companies, are institutionally racist,” Gebru told the BBC.
In a recent statement to Reuters, they reassured its intentions for workplace inclusiveness. “Our goal is to ensure that every employee experiences Google as an inclusive workplace. We’ll continue to focus on this important work and thoroughly investigate any concerns, to make sure our workplace is representative and equitable,” Google said. Over the years, there have been many reports of racism directed toward Black employees. No updates have been reported, but are expected as the investigations continue to take place.
[Via]