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One year after the Google walkout, key organizers reflect on the risk to their careers
Source: CNN Business
One year after the Google walkout, key organizers reflect on the risk to their careers
Story by Sara Ashley O'Brien, CNN Business
Updated 2042 GMT (0442 HKT) November 1, 2019
One year ago on November 1, tens of thousands of Google workers spilled out of their offices around the world, protesting sexual harassment, misconduct and a lack of transparency at one of the most powerful tech companies in the world.
In New York City, hundreds of workers gathered in a park near Google HQ, holding signs like "Women's rights are human rights" and chanting "time is up." Organizers took turns using a megaphone to address the crowd, reading anonymous stories from colleagues who said they'd been treated unfairly by the company.
It was certainly not the first worker uprising at a tech company — nor was it the last, but the sheer numbers of Googlers who participated that day were staggering, galvanizing a broader movement of worker activism.
But orchestrating the act of resistance was not without personal risk.
In the year since then, at least four of the core group of walkout organizers have left Google, including Claire Stapleton and Meredith Whittaker. Both have been very public about what speaking out has cost them and the alleged retaliation they experienced. As a result, they've been thrust into the spotlight as faces of the movement.
-snip-
Story by Sara Ashley O'Brien, CNN Business
Updated 2042 GMT (0442 HKT) November 1, 2019
One year ago on November 1, tens of thousands of Google workers spilled out of their offices around the world, protesting sexual harassment, misconduct and a lack of transparency at one of the most powerful tech companies in the world.
In New York City, hundreds of workers gathered in a park near Google HQ, holding signs like "Women's rights are human rights" and chanting "time is up." Organizers took turns using a megaphone to address the crowd, reading anonymous stories from colleagues who said they'd been treated unfairly by the company.
It was certainly not the first worker uprising at a tech company — nor was it the last, but the sheer numbers of Googlers who participated that day were staggering, galvanizing a broader movement of worker activism.
But orchestrating the act of resistance was not without personal risk.
In the year since then, at least four of the core group of walkout organizers have left Google, including Claire Stapleton and Meredith Whittaker. Both have been very public about what speaking out has cost them and the alleged retaliation they experienced. As a result, they've been thrust into the spotlight as faces of the movement.
-snip-
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/01/tech/google-walkout-one-year-later-risk-takers/index.html