US labour department accuses Google of 'extreme' gender pay discrimination
The technology giant refuted the allegations.
The United States Department of Labour accused Google of “extreme” discrimination against women with regard to compensation, The Guardian reported on Friday. The technology giant, however, has refuted the allegations during a San Francisco court hearing of the case.
“We found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,” Janette Wipper, a Labor Department regional director told the court. The department said that while the investigation has not concluded, it has compelling evidence against the Mountain View-based company. “The government’s analysis at this point indicates that discrimination against women in Google is quite extreme, even in this industry,” said Janet Herold, the department’s Regional solicitor.
”Every year, we do a comprehensive and robust analysis of pay across genders and we have found no gender pay gap,” Google said in its statement.
The internet search giant is a federal contractor, making it mandatory for the company to comply with equal opportunity laws and allowing the Department of Labour access to its data concerning its compliance, the English daily reported.
The development follows reports of gender discrimination, gender pay gap and sexual harassment within the male-dominated industry.