Viral memo written by Google employee alleges pregnancy discrimination

An internal Google memo in which an employee alleges discrimination and retaliation for pregnancy has gone viral within company message boards, according to a report from Motherboard. 

Entitled “I’m Not Returning to Google After Maternity Leave, and Here’s Why,” the memo has reportedly been viewed by more than 10,000 Google employees since its publication last week. Memes supporting the memo-writer and disparaging Google HR’s handling of retaliation investigations have flourished in its wake.

Google told Motherboard that it prohibits retaliation, gives employees multiple channels to report abuse, and investigates all claims.

Despite Google’s response, the detailed memo paints a nauseating picture of what it meant for this woman to be pregnant at Google, and how Google’s HR efforts were inadequate to effectively address discrimination and harassment perpetrated by rogue managers.

“I stood up for a mother on my team and doing so sent me down a path that destroyed my career trajectory at Google,” the memo concludes.

The memo does not start with the writer’s own pregnancy. Instead, the writer reported her manager to HR for making disparaging comments about another mother and the effects of pregnancy on her job performance. HR assured the writer that her reports would not cause retaliation. However, in the months that followed, the manager lashed out to such an extent that the writer experienced stress-based health issues and sought to switch teams. Up until that point, the writer had been on a positive career trajectory, garnering high performance reviews and a promotion.

The writer herself became pregnant, but found herself between a rock and a hard place when staying on the team meant existing in an unhealthy work environment, and moving teams would result in less responsibility. She eventually moved teams, was denied managerial responsibilities, and another manager discouraged her from taking early maternity leave due to health complications. Despite investigations into both managers, HR did not find wrongdoing or make team leadership changes.

“I’m sharing this statement because I hope it informs needed change in how Google handles discrimination, harassment and retaliation,” the memo reads. “This is a long read, but the details are important in understanding the often drawn-out, isolating and painful experience of victims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.”  

You can view the full memo, via Motherboard, here.

The memo is the latest crest in a wave of tech industry employee activism. Organizers of the Google walkout — the November protest in which 20,000 employees walked out to protest the company’s handling of sexual misconduct — also alleged experiencing retaliation for their actions in April. 

While the memo shows that individual managers are responsible for discrimination and retaliation, it also portrays a larger Google system that isn’t functioning for employees the way Google says it does. Google revamped sexual misconduct reporting systems in response to the walkouts, but the issue of how Google HR protects the company’s interests, vs. its employees rights, appears to be more widespread.

“If anything similar has happened to you, know that you’re not alone,” the memo reads.