• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGoogle

Lawsuit Accuses Google of Discriminating Against Women in Pay, Promotions

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 14, 2017, 2:57 PM ET
Photograph by Getty Images

Three female former employees of Alphabet’s Google filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the tech company of discriminating against women in pay and promotions.

The proposed class action lawsuit filed in California state court in San Francisco comes as Google is facing a sex bias investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The plaintiffs are a former Google software engineer, a former communications specialist and a former manager who worked in various roles at the Mountain View, Calif.-based company. They claim Google pays women in California less than men who perform similar work, and assigns female workers jobs that are less likely to lead to promotions.

“While Google has been an industry-leading tech innovator, its treatment of female employees has not entered the 21st century,” Kelly Dermody, a lawyer for the women, said in a statement.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plaintiffs are seeking to represent a class of women who worked at Google in California over the last four years.

Google is facing a separate probe by the U.S. Department of Labor into its pay practices. The investigation stems from a 2015 audit in which the department says it discovered sex-based wage gaps among Google workers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

The department last month appealed an administrative judge’s July decision that rejected its request for contact information for thousands of Google employees.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

AIMeta
It’s ‘kind of jarring’: AI labs like Meta, Deepseek, and Xai earned some of the worst grades possible on an existential safety index
By Patrick Kulp and Tech BrewDecember 5, 2025
5 hours ago
Elon Musk
Big TechSpaceX
Musk’s SpaceX discusses record valuation, IPO as soon as 2026
By Edward Ludlow, Loren Grush, Lizette Chapman, Eric Johnson and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
5 hours ago
data center
EnvironmentData centers
The rise of AI reasoning models comes with a big energy tradeoff
By Rachel Metz, Dina Bass and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
5 hours ago
netflix
Arts & EntertainmentAntitrust
Hollywood writers say Warner takeover ‘must be blocked’
By Thomas Buckley and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
6 hours ago
person
CybersecurityDigital
Dictionaries’ words of the year are trying to tell us something about being online in 2025
By Roger J. KreuzDecember 5, 2025
6 hours ago
Greg Peters
Big TechMedia
Top analyst says Netflix’s $72 billion bet on Warner Bros. isn’t about the ‘death of Hollywood’ at all. It’s really about Google
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 5, 2025
8 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs and the $38 trillion national debt: Kevin Hassett sees ’big reductions’ in deficit while Scott Bessent sees a ‘shrinking ice cube’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.