According to Reuters, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is investigating how Google treats its black female employees. The report stated that after receiving formal complaints, regulators have been asking employees about harassment and discrimination.
The report did not mention that DFEH had made accusations against Google-like Activision Blizzard, and said the ongoing inquiry does not necessarily mean that Google may face accusations.
According to a diversity report released by Google earlier this year, black women accounted for about 1.8% of its employees and left the company at a higher than normal rate. In the report, the company stated that it has room for improvement in retaining underrepresented talent.
We have heard about issues related to fairness from former employees. Earlier this year, four former female employees were given class-action status in a lawsuit filed against Google. These women claimed that they received lower bonuses and wages than their male counterparts.
The company also made headlines before, because artificial intelligence ethicist Timnit Gebru claimed that she was retaliated and fired for asking the company to be more transparent in the publication process of the paper. (Gebru said that she encountered retaliation from the company for her work criticizing her language model).
Another female member of Google’s artificial intelligence ethics team was also fired because she said she faced discrimination when she searched for Gebru in her email.