Google is under investigation for its treatment of Black female employees

California’s civil rights regulator, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), is currently investigating Google for its treatment of Black female employees.

According to Reuters, who have cited two sources and an agency email, the government organization has interviewed multiple Black women who have worked for Google’s parent firm Alphabet.

The uncovered email stated that the investigation was in connection to alleged harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Further to this, one of the sources told Reuters that interviews had been conducted as recently as last month.

The two sources who spoke about the ongoing situation, claimed that the DFEH is speaking to those who filed complaints about Google and those who did not, as it attempts to get broad perspectives.

At the moment, the DFEH has not responded for comment about this investigation, but Google has discussed the matter.

Speaking to Reuters, a Google spokesperson said: “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.”

An ongoing issue

Google’s treatment of Black workers has made headlines multiple times in recent years. One shocking incident saw a Black employee escorted off the campus by security because they did not believe that he worked for the company.

A lot of people keep DM’ing me asking for the full story…

They ended up taking my ID badge away from me later that day and I was told to call security if I had a problem with it. And that was after holding me up for 30 minutes causing me to miss my bus ride home https://t.co/UBzHDC1ugG

— Angel Onuoha (@angelonuoha7) September 22, 2021

Additionally, the dismissal of Black employee, Timnit Gebru, former technical co-lead of Google’s ethical-artificial-intelligence team, troubled many. Gebru said she was fired suddenly after a disagreement. The situation was exacerbated when CEO Sundar Pichai claimed she resigned and went on to make what Gebru labeled as a self-aggrandizing non-apology.

Gebru told the BBC: “He didn’t even apologize for the company’s handling of it. He said this has sowed doubts among some in our community, that they feel like they might not belong. And for that, he’s sorry.

“It doesn’t say: ‘I’m sorry for the way we handled this. We were wrong. I’m sorry for what we did to her.”

Given that there are growing concerns about a lack of diversity in the workplace as millions leave the workforce as part of the ‘Great Resignation‘, this will be a serious issue for Google. Particularly, as there are additional worries that the workforce in offices will be predominately white males post-pandemic.

Additionally, these controversies and investigations could impact Google’s long-term recruitment strategy. LEWIS has found that only 19% of Gen Z candidates would work for a company that didn’t share their values.

Evidently, the issues at Google could have a lasting impact that negates the work that has been done to further its image (like the 2013 film The Internship).

To overcome these employment issues, managers will need to take responsibility, and leverage data as well as feedback to further the company in its diversity, equity, and inclusion endeavors.