The report said Rubin received a $90 million severance package in 2014 even though Google thought the allegations were credible. Rubin has denied the allegations. One speaker, who said she had been at Google for 13 years, said the strike was not just about the multimillion-dollar payout to Rubin. "I'm seeing a level of anger that is entirely justified," she said, saying the employees were out "in support of victims" because it was hard for them to tell their stories. Another speaker shared an anonymous story from another employee, who said one of her managers got drunk and tried to kiss her as she helped him return to his hotel. A third woman said workplace sexual misconduct was not an issue contained to Google's US offices.

"This is a terrible part of our culture, a part that is present here in the Sydney office and the broader Sydney tech community," the speaker said. Despite the heat, hundreds of Sydney Google employees walked off the job on Friday. Credit:Louie Douvis "This is a part of our culture that we need to change." The protests started in Asia and in Europe, and moved to the US before Sydney’s walkout on Friday morning. About 1000 employees at Google’s headquarters in San Francisco walked off the job for half an hour on Thursday, chanting: "Women's rights are workers' rights!"

Loading Hundreds also walked out in New York, carrying signs with messages including "Don't Be Evil" and "Not OK Google". Google's informal motto was "Don't be evil". Walkout organisers want Google to commit to ending pay inequity and to create a publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report and a clearer process for reporting complaints. They are also calling for an end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination.

While speaking at a New York Times event on November 1, Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai said the company clearly did not live up to the expectations of employees when it came to dealing with sexual harassment. "We felt it was important to express our support for the employees today. And the first step you take in these things is to acknowledge and apologise for past actions, for the pain they caused. We sincerely did that to the company," he said. While Mr Pichai said the Rubin incident was from "a few years ago" and Google had changed, he said the company was "committed to doing better". "We are listening to employees; that's partly why today is important and I think there are concrete steps coming out in terms of what we can do better," he said. "I want to acknowledge the women who step up and do this. I think it shows extraordinary courage. And we want to figure out how to support them better and it’s a process and I’m committed to doing better."

With AAP