Google plans to end a long-running program aimed at entry-level engineers from underrepresented backgrounds after participants complained that it imposed “chronic pay disparities.”
According to an internal email reviewed by Reuters, Google plans to end a long-running program aimed at entry-level engineers from underrepresented backgrounds after participants complained that it imposed “chronic pay disparities.”
Google stated that the Engineering Residency would be replaced with a new program, noting that it is “constantly examining programs to ensure they improve and adapt over time to meet the needs of our workers.”
Last year, Google vowed to enhance employee retention for underrepresented groups.
Critics have long claimed that when it comes to hiring, promotions, and salary, Google and its tech industry colleagues favor white, Asian, and male employees.
Since the Black Lived Matter rallies a year ago, businesses have become more sensitive to concerns about labor diversity.
Since 2014, the Google residence, also known as “Eng Res,” has given graduates from hundreds of institutions the opportunity to work on different teams, receive training, and demonstrate their suitability for permanent employment over the course of a year.
Three former tenants stated it provided a group of people with whom they could bond.
According to a June 2020 presentation and an accompanying letter to management signed by over 500 current and past residents, residents were Google’s “most diverse pool” of software developers and came “mainly from marginalized groups.”
Residents received the lowest available pay for their job level, a lesser year-end bonus, and no stock, resulting in a compensation gap “in the mid-tens of thousands of dollars,” according to the presentation.
According to the presentation, nearly all residents became regular employees.
Many alumni have continued to feel the “negative effect” of their starting compensation on their current salary years later, according to the report.
When Google hired permanent residents, it said it worked to eliminate long-term inequities.
After the global outcry following the police killing of George Floyd, Google committed large funding to promote racial fairness.
The letter stated that black, Latinx, and female employees “deserve more than just ‘the opportunity to work at Google.'”
“While Google is willing to commit enormous sums of money outside of the workplace to alleviate racial imbalance, it remains unable to address or even admit the role that the Eng Res program plays in imposing chronic wage discrepancies,” it stated.
On June 2, Vice President Maggie Johnson emailed alumni to inform them that the residence will be replaced with a new program called Early Career Immersion, which Google was developing for 2022. (ECI).
The memo, seen by Reuters, did not specify why the transition was made, although it did state that ECI will involve mentoring and training.
According to the corporation, the initiative would provide permanent employment.
The engineering residency felt “probationary” because of concerns about being offered a job, according to the Google employees’ presentation.
According to Google, the old program aimed to provide “a wide spectrum of high potential engineers” with the opportunity to “hone their talents and obtain important experience as they begin their careers.”
“A new method will be provided via our Early Career Immersion onboarding program.”
Other fixed-term residencies at Google continue to exist, including a 26-month position focusing on internal technical systems and an 18-month program for artificial intelligence researchers.
The business stated that it has no further information about the other homes.
