Google lost a lawsuit and will now have to pay $1 million to a female Google Cloud executive who sued the company for “sexual discrimination.”
The employee, Google Cloud executive Ulku Rowe, alleged she was paid less than less-experienced male counterparts in similar positions.
An eight-person jury found Google guilty after five hours of deliberation.
According to a report from Bloomberg News, the jurors said Google owes Rowe $150,000 for pain and suffering and $1 million in punitive damages.
“Rowe’s suit is the first pay discrimination case filed against Google after the mass walkouts in 2018 during which hundreds of Google workers protested how the tech company has handled sexual misconduct by some of its top executives,” the report explains.
The trial lasted a week, and Google argued that Rowe had the same opportunities and performance criteria as all other employees. The company argued that pay is performance-based, and some years she made more and some years less than other directors.
“Rowe claimed Google discriminated against her by hiring her at a lower level, paying her less than her male peers who were doing similar work, and denying her a promotion for which she was qualified. The promotion, she argued, went to a less qualified man,” the report states. “She came into the job with 23 years of experience in the financial services and technology field but was hired as a level eight employee while other men who were hired at the same time as her, and allegedly had less experience, were hired at level nine. As a level eight employee, Rowe made about $750,000 a year while some of the level nine employees made over $1 million a year.”
Rowe also alleged that she faced retaliation after reporting her concerns about the pay discrepancy.
Despite the lawsuit, it appears that Rowe is still employed by the company.
Her biography on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, also lists her as a current Google employee.
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