California state judge, Judge Mary Wiss has dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing Google of systematically paying women less than men and placing them in positions with less opportunity for promotions.
Wiss called the lawsuit inappropriate as it was brought on behalf of all women who worked for Google in the state of California, and therefore too vague, according to Reuters.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are three former Google employees who worked respectively as a software engineer, a communications specialist, and a manager. They claim that the company pays women less than it does men who perform similar work. They also claim that women are often given jobs that are less likely to lead to promotions.
Google had denied the claims, saying its hiring and promotion processes are vetted to remove any bias.
Wiss said the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence that the work they did for Google was in fact equal to the work done by men who were reportedly paid more, and has given the plaintiffs 30 days to file a new complaint for only the women and specific groups who had experienced pay discrimination.
In response, James Finberg, a plaintiff lawyer, said he would file a new complaint by early next month, Reuters reported.
This lawsuit, Ellis v. Google, is the first that accused Google of gender discrimination, but gender and wider diversity issues are a common theme in Silicon Valley and even the UK. A report by Ascend Leadership in October found that race is a bigger factor than gender in terms of discrimination, while BCS research published last week found that women make up just 17% of tech workforces in the UK.
IT Pro has approached Google for comment on the lawsuit.
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