Google ordered to pay $1 million to female CEO for gender bias

Google has to pay $1 million in punitive damages for gender bias to Google Cloud development director Ulku Rowe. This decision was made by a jury of the New York District Court, writes Bloomberg.

The company also has to pay the female director $150 thousand for pain and suffering due to discrimination.

This trial lasted for a week. During the trial, Google argued that Ulku Rowe had the same opportunities and was subject to the same criteria as her male colleagues.

However, the director claimed otherwise. According to her, the company hired her for a lower position and paid her a lower salary than men who did the same job.

Ulku Rowe came to the job with 23 years of experience in financial services and technology, but was placed in the eighth level. But other men who were hired at the same time as her and had less experience were placed in the ninth level.

As an eighth-level employee, Ulku Rowe earned about $750 thousand a year, while some ninth-level employees earned more than $1 million a year.

The director also claimed that the company had refused to give her a promotion for which she was qualified. It was allegedly given to a less qualified man.

In the end, the jury said that Ulku Rowe could not prove that Google paid her less than at least two of her male colleagues. However, in the end, they defended the CEO and ordered Google to pay compensation.

Ulku Rowe’s lawsuit was the first pay discrimination case filed against Google after the strikes in 2018. Back then, hundreds of the giant’s employees protested against the way the tech company responded to sexual misconduct by some of its top executives.