The gender wage gap is a myth that has been debunked repeatedly. Despite bushels of evidence contradicting any disparage in wages based solely on gender, it’s remained a favorite progressive talking point and part of the neo-feminism cannon since it was introduced by the Obama White House.
In any case, Google set out to address what they believed was a gender wage gap negatively impacting its female employees only to find they were actually paying men less for similar work.
According to a report in the New York Times:
When Google conducted a study recently to determine whether the company was underpaying women and members of minority groups, it found that more men than women were receiving less money for doing similar work.The surprising conclusion to the latest version of the annual study contrasted sharply with the experience of women working in Silicon Valley and in many other industries.In response to the finding, Google gave $9.7 million in additional compensation to 10,677 employees for this year. Men account for about 69 percent of the company’s work force, but they received a disproportionately higher percentage of the money. The exact number of men who got raises is unclear.
And this is the money shot — Google, believing intentionally adjusted the income of women upwards, only to reconsider once an analysis found the decision created “a pronounced imbalance in compensation among lower-level software engineers, one of Google’s largest job groups, with a large number of men identified as being underpaid compared with their female peers.”
NYT ctd:
When Google managers initially considered what employees would be paid this year, they decided that more women than men should have their pay adjusted upward to account for factors like how they were compensated relative to their peers, the company said. The money in question came from a discretionary pool earmarked for such purposes.One effect of the adjustments was to create a pronounced imbalance in compensation among lower-level software engineers, one of Google’s largest job groups, with a large number of men identified as being underpaid compared with their female peers. To offset that, further adjustments were made. Google said it saw no pattern in the reasons women were receiving more discretionary pay.The study covered 91 percent of Google’s employees and compared their compensation — salaries, bonuses and company stock — within specific job types, job levels, performance and location.Google said it was important to be consistent in following through on the findings of its analysis, even when the results were unexpected.
James Damore, former Google engineer who was allegedly fired for circulating a memo criticizing the web behemoths diversity policy, later commenced a class action complaint which alleged:
“Google’s open hostility for conservative thought is paired with invidious discrimination on the basis of race and gender, barred by law,” the complaint alleges. “Damore, Gudeman, and other class members were ostracized, belittled, and punished for their heterodox political views, and for the added sin of their birth circumstances of being Caucasians and/or males. This is the essence of discrimination—Google formed opinions about and then treated Plaintiffs not based on their individual merits, but rather on their membership in groups with assumed characteristics.”
Damore later abandoned the class action quest (other plaintiffs remain involved in the court battle) and has instead opted for arbitration.
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