Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks issues of sexual misconduct at Google

Getty/Justin Sullivan

• Thousands of employees walked out of Google
  headquarters worldwide on Thursday.
• At roughly the same time that the walkouts were
  finishing up at Google’s Silicon Valley HQ, Google CEO Sundar
  Pichai gave an expansive interview at New York Times DealBook
  conference in Manhattan.
• Pichai said that Google “didn’t always get it right”
  and that the company hopes to do better when it comes to
  dealing with issues of sexual misconduct. 

The same day that
thousands of employees walked out of Google headquarters in
protest of sexual misconduct allegations against company
executives, Google CEO Sundar Pichai gave an expansive interview
at New York Times Dealbook conference in New York. 

“How do you feel…right this second, when you see these headlines,
what are you thinking?” asked New York Times editor at large
Andrew Ross Sorkin on stage at the conference.

“This anger and frustration within the company — we all feel it,”
said Pichai. “I feel it too. At Google we set a high bar and we
clearly didn’t live up to our expectations. The first thing is to
acknowledge and apologize for past actions. Words alone aren’t
enough, you have to follow up with actions.”

Read more:
PHOTOS: Google employees all over the world left their desk and
walked out in protest over sexual misconduct

“We didn’t always get it right,” Pichai continued. Previously, he
apologized
to employees in a company-wide e-mail. 

Thursday’s walkouts were the result of a
New York Times report published last week that revealed
multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against former Google
executive Andy Rubin, known as the “father of Android.” The Times
report also said that Rubin was
given a $90 million severance package when he left Google,
following an internal investigation into his behavior.

While Pichai admitted that the company is still grappling with
questions raised by the report including whether or not employees
should be expected to sign confidentiality agreements in cases of
sexual harassment, he said that Google hopes to evolve as a
company.

“Moments like this show that we didn’t always get it right,”
Pichai said, referring to the New York Times report. 

Pichai emphasized that Google still hopes to champion one of the
company’s cardinal tenets: a culture of openness and
transparency. Pichai also said that he applauded the women who
had come forward with allegations of sexual harassment. 

“I want to acknowledge the women who step up to do this,” he
said. “It takes extraordinary courage and we want to support them
better.”

Beyond discussing Google’s culture, Pichai’s remarks touched on
China, matters of regulation, and the continuing importance of
artificial intelligence.

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