MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Thousands of Google employees at the company’s headquarters walked out of work on Thursday to protest sexual misconduct. Many brought signs that included slogans like "End Rape Culture," "Don't be evil," "Equality for all," "Hey Google, WTF?" and "I deserve to feel safe @ work."

Similar protests took place at numerous Google offices worldwide. The Thursday protests, which featured testimonials by people who say that they suffered harassment and misconduct at the company and were not taken seriously by their superiors, marked one of the most visible instances of Silicon Valley workers protesting in recent years.

Protestors were galvanized by a recent New York Times report that chronicled three top company executives who have received massive payouts over the past decade despite being credibly accused of sexual misconduct.

Cyrus Farivar

Cyrus Farivar

Cyrus Farivar

Cyrus Farivar

Cyrus Farivar

On Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent out an email to employees apologizing for the company's inadequate response. He also wrote that the company would take a "much harder line on inappropriate behavior."

However, the company has not said what, if any, concrete action it plans on taking. No executives spoke to the assembled crowd during the Thursday morning walkout.

One of the organizing leaders of the protestors, who requested anonymity, reiterated that the protest was "the beginning."

"I expect them to meet the demands or be faced with an escalation," she told Ars. "I mean, we already proved that we have tens of thousands of employees across nearly three-quarters of Google offices that are prepared to walk out to demand change. The company doesn't work without them."

Demands

Late Wednesday evening, protest organizers issued a five-point list of demands.

An end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination for all current and future employees. A commitment to end pay and opportunity inequity. A publicly disclosed sexual-harassment transparency report. A clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. Elevate the Chief Diversity Officer to answer directly to the CEO and make recommendations directly to the Board of Directors. Appoint an Employee Representative to the Board.

In December 2017, Microsoft announced that it would end forced arbitration, but few if any major tech firms have followed suit.

Arbitration is a private, quasi-legal procedure originally designed to expedite disputes between corporations. But over time, it has evolved into a system where individuals are compelled, for a variety of reasons, to agree to arbitration decisions versus seeking a court decision. The net result is that disputes that normally would have been adjudicated via the public court process are often processed via private arbitration, which generally favors corporations over individuals.

Worse still, in the world of arbitration, there is no possibility of class-action claims. Arbitration proceedings are additionally often shrouded from public view, meaning it is traditionally difficult to find out about sexual harassment or misconduct claims at corporations.

When Ars specifically asked Google whether it would consider meeting the demands issued by the protestors, spokespeople did not respond directly.

However, we were sent a statement attributed to CEO Sundar Pichai, which largely reiterated what he told employees earlier in the week.

"Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes going forward," he said. "We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action."

Solidarity

Ars spent over an hour at the protests and approached over a dozen employees—nearly all of whom were women—to discuss why they were protesting. All declined to speak with us, with one exception.

"I've experienced various forms of harassment, but most importantly is that I have a daughter who's experienced sexual harassment," said one woman who declined to give her name. "I think it's important to show solidarity and support for those individuals who have been victims of this."

She continued and explained that she felt "privileged" to work at the company and called it "terrific." The woman was hopeful that company's leadership was receptive.

As went on to say: