We are used to hearing, seeing and reading that women are paid less than men. However, in Google’s case, according to its own internal payments audit, it turns out that Level 4 Software Engineers received less money than women in the same role. This imbalance has led the giant Google to pay $ 9.7 million to adjust the pay of its 10,677 employees.
It’s unclear how many of the employees who received salary adjustments were men, but Google cites underpayment of men as the reason the company decided to send an extra check. Interestingly, The New York Times reports that men received a disproportionately higher percentage of the money.
In 2017, Google paid $ 270,000 to close the pay gaps of 228 employees in six workgroups.
” Our pay equity analysis ensures that compensation is fair to employees in the same job, at the same level, location and performance, ” wrote Lauren Barbato, Google’s principal analyst for pay equity and people analysis, at your blog. “But we know that’s only part of the story. Due to leveling, performance ratings, and payment for promotion impact, this year, we are conducting a thorough review of these processes to make sure the results are successful. fair and equitable for all employees, “he continues.
Meanwhile, Google is still fighting a wage discrimination class action lawsuit and is the subject of a Labor Department investigation related to compensation data.
When Google recently conducted a study to determine whether the company was paying women and members of minority groups less, it found, to almost everyone’s surprise, that men were being paid less money than women for doing similar work. .
The study, which disproportionately led to pay increases for thousands of men, is conducted every year, but the latest findings came precisely as Google and other companies in Silicon Valley are facing increasing pressure to grapple with gender issues instead of work, from sexual harassment to pay discrimination.
Gender inequality is a radioactive topic at Google
The company has been sued by former employees who say they were paid less than men with the same qualifications. And last fall, thousands of Google employees protested the way the company handles sexual harassment claims against top executives.
Critics said the results of the salary study could give a false impression. Google appears to be moving toward a “flawed and incomplete sense of equality” by ensuring that men and women receive similar salaries for similar work, said Joelle Emerson, chief executive of Paradigm , a consulting company that advises companies on strategies to increase. the diversity. That is not the same as addressing “fairness,” says the expert, which would involve examining the structural obstacles women face as engineers.
Google has denied paying women less, and the company agreed that compensation between similar job titles was not in itself a complete measure of fairness.
How is the salary of a Google employee established?
To set an employee’s salary, Google starts with an algorithm that uses factors like performance, location, and job . Managers can then consider subjective factors: Do they think the employee has a solid future with the company? Is he or she paid on a par with peers who make similar contributions? Managers must provide a justification for the decision.
While the pay raise is helpful, critics of Google say it doesn’t compare to what a woman would do if she had been assigned the appropriate pay grade in the first place.
The salary study covered 91% of Google employees and compared their compensation (salaries, bonuses, and company stock) within specific job types, job levels, performance, and location.
Google couldn’t compare how racial minorities fared in terms of wage adjustments, because the United States is the only place the global company tracks workers’ racial backgrounds.
Men make up about 69% of Google’s workforce.
