Google employees walk out to protest treatment of women

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google engineers and other company workers around the world walked off the job Thursday to protest the internet company’s lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct.

Employees staged walkouts at offices from Tokyo to Singapore to London.

In Dublin, organiser's used megaphones to address the crowd of men and women to express their support for victims of sexual harassment.

Other workers shied away from the media spotlight, with people gathering instead indoors, in packed conference rooms or lobbies, to show their solidarity with abuse victims.

The protests are the latest backlash against men’s exploitation of female subordinates in business, entertainment, technology, and politics.

In Silicon Valley, women also are becoming fed up with the male-dominated composition of the technology industry’s workforce — a glaring imbalance that critics say fosters unsavoury behaviour akin to a college fraternity house.

The Google protest, billed “Walkout For Real Change,” is unfolding a week after a New York Times story detailed allegations of sexual misconduct about creator of Google’s Android software, Andy Rubin.

The report said Rubin received a $90 million severance package in 2014 even though Google had concluded that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible.

Rubin derided the Times article as inaccurate and denied the allegations in a tweet.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.