3 ms·

A false dichotomy. A third: Google is currently in hot water with the Department of Labor for their extreme gender pay gap and wants a PR win.

tanilama 9y ago
How is this a PR win? I don't think any company would love victory like this, not ever.
- landon32 9y ago
  It's not a PR win, but it's a mitigated loss. They may have thought by not firing him they were endorsing his opinion, especially when many people were calling for him to be fired.
rifung 9y ago
Disclaimer: I work for Google I assume you're talking about when the Department of Labor asked for more information on employees? If so, I don't believe they actually found any gender pay gap; they were merely asking for more data which Google refused to give up due to privacy concerns. The judge ruled in Google's favor so it's hardly "hot water" (https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/judge-sides-with-google-in-its-battle-with-the-labor-department-over-employee-pay-data/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/judge-sides-with-google-in...)
- dangerlibrary 9y ago
  > The Department of Labor’s increasingly heated dispute with Google over a gender pay gap began, innocently enough, with a routine audit. > During the audit, however, the agency found “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,” according to testimony from a DoL official. > The lawsuit was about accessing data, not the merits of the DoL’s arguments, she says, pointing out that the government has yet to present its case. https://www.wired.com/story/google-department-of-labor-gender-pay-lawsuit/ https://www.wired.com/story/google-department-of-labor-gende...
  - rifung 9y ago
    I stand corrected. Thank you for pointing that out!
jhanschoo 9y ago
I'm personally entertaining the possibility that for Google to engage in a proper response would require it to admit to certain illegal positive discrimination practices.

tanilama 9y ago

How is this a PR win? I don't think any company would love victory like this, not ever.

landon32 9y ago
It's not a PR win, but it's a mitigated loss. They may have thought by not firing him they were endorsing his opinion, especially when many people were calling for him to be fired.

rifung 9y ago

Disclaimer: I work for Google I assume you're talking about when the Department of Labor asked for more information on employees? If so, I don't believe they actually found any gender pay gap; they were merely asking for more data which Google refused to give up due to privacy concerns. The judge ruled in Google's favor so it's hardly "hot water" (https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/judge-sides-with-google-in-its-battle-with-the-labor-department-over-employee-pay-data/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/judge-sides-with-google-in...)

dangerlibrary 9y ago
> The Department of Labor’s increasingly heated dispute with Google over a gender pay gap began, innocently enough, with a routine audit. > During the audit, however, the agency found “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,” according to testimony from a DoL official. > The lawsuit was about accessing data, not the merits of the DoL’s arguments, she says, pointing out that the government has yet to present its case. https://www.wired.com/story/google-department-of-labor-gender-pay-lawsuit/ https://www.wired.com/story/google-department-of-labor-gende...
- rifung 9y ago
  I stand corrected. Thank you for pointing that out!

jhanschoo 9y ago

I'm personally entertaining the possibility that for Google to engage in a proper response would require it to admit to certain illegal positive discrimination practices.