San Francisco (awp / afp) – A former black employee of Google in the United States filed a complaint Friday against the technological giant which she accuses of racial discrimination, believing that she was underpaid and not promoted.
In a document filed in federal court in San Jose, California, attorneys for April Curley claim that “Google is involved in recurring practices of racial discrimination against its black and African-American employees.”
Ms Curley was hired by Google in 2014 to develop recruitment programs for black American students, but says she was marginalized and discriminated against by her former employer, who allegedly used her as a “marketing stunt”.
She says in particular that she was the victim of stereotypes associated with black women in the United States, being described by one of her white superiors as “intimidating”, “hostile” and “angry”.
This same official would have opposed any increase in her salary and any professional promotion.
Ms Curley was fired from Google in September 2020, a dismissal she considers illegal and which she describes as retaliation for her efforts to expose in a report discriminatory practices within the company.
“April Curley was an exceptional employee at Google,” Ben Crump, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, known for having defended many black victims of police violence, said in a statement.
“She was hired in a position far below her skills and was repeatedly unfairly passed over for promotions. Although Google claims to seek to boost diversity, the reality is that it undervalues, underpays and mistreats its black employees, leading to high staff turnover.”
The complaint accuses the Californian group of discrimination on a large scale, with supporting figures. The lawyers note, for example, that only 4.4% of Google employees define themselves as black, against 9.1% nationally for companies in the same sector of activity.
Management positions are only occupied by 3% of black employees, underlines the court document.
Ms. Curley’s lawyers have filed a class action suit on the grounds that other black Google employees have suffered discrimination similar to that experienced by Ms. Curley and must therefore be compensated.
The lawyers also point to an investigation by a California civil rights agency into Google’s treatment of its black employees and another similar investigation launched by the California Assembly.
Asked by AFP, Google did not react immediately.
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