Google Employee’s ‘Story of Retaliation and Discrimination’ While Pregnant Goes Viral

A memeo written by a Google employee acussing the company of pregnancy discrimination was sent to more than 10,000 employees, Vice’s Motherboard reports. Titled “I’m Not Returning to Google After Maternity Leave, and Here is Why,” the memo’s author hopes her account will hold the company responsible for its actions, as well as comfort others who have had to deal with a similar situation.

The message was originally posted by an anonymous employee to an internal company message board designed for expecting and new mothers. From there, it was then shared to other internal message boards and it wasn’t long before the memo went viral outside of the company.

“I’m sharing this statement because I hope it informs needed change in how Google handles discrimination, harassment and retaliation,” the woman writes. “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. Also, if anything similar has happened to you, know that you’re not alone.”

Motherboard attained a full copy of the memo, which you can read here. In the body of the memo, the former Google employee says her manager made discriminatory remarks about pregnant women, which she then reported to human resources. Despite being told “not to worry because strong measures are in place at Google to prevent retaliation,” that was far from the case. “Almost immediately upon my discussions with HR, my manager’s demeanor towards me changed, and drastically. I endured months of angry chats and emails, vetoed projects, her ignoring me during in-person encounters, and public shaming.”

The woman, who was also a manager, says she eventually joined another team, but was told she wouldn’t be managing anyone until she returned from maternity leave because it would “stress the team.”

Towards the end of her pregnancy, the woman claims she experienced life-threatening complications, that called for her to take maternity leave early. This didn’t sit well with her new manager. “During one conversation with my new manager in which I reiterated an early leave and upcoming bedrest, she told me that she had just listened to an NPR segment that debunked the benefits of bedrest,” the former employee writes. “[My manager] also shared that her doctor had ordered her to take bedrest, but that she ignored the order and worked up until the day before she delivered her son via cesarean section. My manager then emphasized in this same meeting that a management role was no longer guaranteed upon my return from maternity leave, and that she supported my interviewing for other roles at Google.”

“We prohibit retaliation in the workplace and publicly share our very clear policy. To make sure that no complaint raised goes unheard at Google, we give employees multiple channels to report concerns, including anonymously, and investigate all allegations of retaliation,” Google says in a statement to Motherboard.

Sadly, this isn’t the first we’re hearing of pregnancy discrimination. Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its rules against pregnancy discrimination in 2015, we still hear about unfair treatment in the workplace. In addition to pregnancy discrimination stories, there are also a handful of lawsuits against companies who’ve made it nearly impossible for women to be both employees and moms. Justice was served earlier this year, when a woman won a 1.5 million lawsuit for breastfeeding discriminaiton, but more often than not these stories don’t end this way. In fact, most moms end up losing their jobs in breastfeeding discrimination cases.

Creating a safe and supportive environment for new moms helps them and, in the long run, their company excel. It’s time companies step up and start supporting females trying to start a family. Otherwise, we all lose.