Google found it paid men less than women for the same job

The story we’re used to hearing is that women get paid less than men. In Google’s case, according to its own internal pay audit, it turned out male-identified Level 4 Software Engineers received less money than women in that same role. That led to Google paying $9.7 million to adjust pay for 10,677 employees.

It’s not clear how many of the employees who received pay adjustments were men (TechCrunch reached out to Google about this, but the company declined to share any additional data), but Google does cite the underpaying of men as a reason why the company paid more in adjustments for 2018 than in 2017. But The New York Times reports men received a disproportionately higher percentage of the money.

For 2017, Google paid just $270,000 to close any wage gaps for 228 employees across six job groups. Google also cited its new-hire analysis as a reason why the company had to make more adjustments. The analysis, which entailed looking for discrepancies in offers to new hires, accounted for 49 of the total amount spent on adjustments. 

“Our pay equity analysis ensures that compensation is fair for employees in the same job, at the same level, location and performance,” Google Lead Analyst for Pay Equity and People Analytics Lauren Barbato wrote in a blog post. “But we know that’s only part of the story. Because leveling, performance ratings, and promotion impact pay, this year, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of these processes to make sure the outcomes are fair and equitable for all employees.”

Meanwhile, Google is still battling a class-action pay discrimination lawsuit and is the subject of a Labor Department investigation pertaining to compensation data.