Google Says Woman Claiming Bias Given Equal Opportunities to Men

Google employee Ulku Rowe was given the same opportunities and subjected to the same performance criteria as her male counterparts, despite Rowe’s arguments to the contrary, the tech giant’s lawyer argued Tuesday.

Rowe’s pay is based on performance and some years it was lower than fellow directors and other years was higher than other directors, Paul Hastings LLP Partner Kenneth Gage said during opening arguments on the first day of what’s expected to be at least a five-day trial in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York over Google’s hiring practices.

Rowe, who is director of engineering at Google Cloud, claims Google discriminated against her by hiring her at a lower level, paying her less than her male peers who were doing similar work, and denying her a promotion for which she was qualified. The promotion, she argued, went to a less qualified man.

She came into the job with 23 years of experience in the financial services and technology field but was hired as a level eight employee while other men who were hired at the same time as her, and allegedly had less experience, were hired at level nine. As a level eight employee, Rowe made about $750,000 a year while some of the level nine employees made over $1 million a year.

Google undervalued Rowe when she was hired in 2017 as technical director of financial services at Google Cloud, Rowe’s lawyer Gregory Chiarello, partner at Outten & Golden LLP, said.

Google allegedly also retaliated against Rowe by demoting her after she complained about discrimination.

The case, Chiarello said, is about holding Google accountable for setting a low bar for how women in tech should be treated and paid.

Rowe is bringing her case under the New York equal pay law. The law, Gage said, doesn’t guarantee equal outcomes for pay, just that there’s equal opportunity.

Rowe wants Google to give her the position she was denied and to set her compensation and benefits at a level comparable to that position, and wants Google to pay damages.

Several Google executives are expected to testify as witnesses throughout the trial, including Google Cloud Vice President and Chief Technology Officer William Grannis. Grannis hired Rowe and had said she has potential for promotions and for reaching a level 10 or higher status at the company.

The case is Rowe v. Google LLC, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:19-cv-08655, open statements 10/10/23.