Google employees across the world walk out of offices as protest

Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday confirmed that an executive accused of sexual harassment left the company without an exit package as tension over its handling of such matters heightened.

Word that Rich DeVaul, a director at X lab devoted to “moonshots” such as internet service from balloons, was out came with reports that women employees were organizing a walk-out on Thursday to protest lenient handling of sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Alphabet declined to give details about DeVaul’s departure from the company on Tuesday.

A Google Walkout For Real Change account that sprang to life on Twitter late Wednesday said that employees and contractors would leave their workplaces late Thursday morning in respective time zones.

Demands posted in the tweet included improved processes for reporting sexual misconduct and resolving cases of harassment, as well as a commitment by Google to pay and opportunity equity.

In Silicon Valley, women also are becoming fed up with the male-dominated composition of the technology industry’s workforce — a glaring imbalance that critics say fosters unsavoury behaviour akin to a college fraternity house.

Employees were seen staging walkouts at offices from Tokyo and Singapore to London and Dublin.