EQUAL WORK, LESS PAY: Google’s gender pay discrimination extends to the educators who work in its childcare centers, alleges a former preschool teacher. Heidi Lamar, who taught at Google’s Children Center in Palo Alto from July 2013 to August 2017, is among the female plaintiffs who filed suit against the company for not paying women equally.
According to the complaint, Lamar claims she was initially hired at Level 1 salary, which paid $18.51 per hour. Around the same time, a male teacher with less experience—and without a master’s in teaching degree, which Lamar had—started at Level 2, making $21 per hour. When she learned that a less qualified male colleague was hired at a higher salary level, Lamar asked Google to reimburse her for the wage discrepancy. The company allegedly refused.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lamar says that “I didn’t want to work for a company that I can’t trust, that makes me feel like my values of gender equality are being compromised.”
Roughly 150 preschool teachers were employed at the childcare center during Lamar’s four years there, according to the complaint. Only three of the teachers were male.
Google has been frequently accused of underpaying female workers. Last April, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor investigation found “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire work force.” A spreadsheet obtained by The New York Times showed that Google, on average, gives men higher salaries and bonuses.
Other plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit include Kelly Ellis, a software engineer; Holly Pease, a corporate network manager; and Kelli Wisuri, who worked in sales.
