Cabo and Shots: A Recipe for Sexual Misconduct at Google

I’ve shared my story of pregnancy discrimination and retaliation at Google. What most people don’t know is that I also experienced sexual harassment at a 2014 offsite in Cabo, not long after joining the company.

My first day at Google was March 3, 2014. I was thrilled to join a company that I perceived as more ethical and innovative than the rest.

The alarm bells should have gone off when I watched the movie The Internship a week before my first day as an exercise in preparing myself for what working at Google might be like. In the movie, a male Googler aggressively hits on a female coworker, there’s binge drinking, and even a trip to a strip club. Little did I know I would soon find myself in a situation very similar to this scene in the movie.

I joined Google as a Level 3 (L3) user experience researcher and was a member of a product team made up of engineers, product managers, and user experience folks. Level 3 is about as junior as you can get at the company. Never mind that I had the same years of experience as most of my L4 male coworkers. I sat on the Social Product Area, the team responsible for Google+. Vic Gundotra was our SVP and lead. Given fewer women than men on the team, I was frequently outnumbered by men in meetings and other work activities.

Within my first months at the company, Vic sponsored a product team offsite in Cabo to celebrate the team’s successes. The year prior, the team went to Hawaii. I remember thinking how lavish it was to send an entire team to another country for a vacation. And this was a vacation of sorts — there were no workshops or business-related activities planned.

The offsite took place at an adult-only, all inclusive beach resort called Secrets. When I arrived at the resort, I remember it hitting me that enjoying the facilities during the day meant my mostly male coworkers would see me in my bikini and the type of clothes that are appropriate for the beach but not for work. I was mortified and decided to hide in my hotel room.

Feeling awkward and that I wasn’t being a good team player in hanging out with my coworkers during the day, I told myself that I would make up for my lack of presence by joining the evening festivities in which I could wear more clothes and not be uncomfortable or stand out.

The only required event to attend at this offsite was a team dinner. On this night, after the dinner, a large group of Googlers decided to explore downtown Cabo. A subset of the larger group and I ended up in a bar and this is where an engineering (L8) director named Rod.

I had no idea who Rod was, but upon his arrival a coworker made a big fuss about his presence and emphasized his seniority. Engineering directors at the time were kind of like celebrities at the company. Not long after showing up at the bar, Rod purchased shots for the group and encouraged all of us to drink up. He personally pressured me to have one, and I did. I remember in the moment wanting to avoid my coworkers thinking I wasn’t having fun. I wanted to fit in.

After the shots, we walked down the street and landed at another bar. More drinks were served and people started dancing. Soon I found that Rod was dancing uncomfortably close to me, eventually putting his hands around me. I tried to walk away several times, but he followed and continued to pull me closer to him. Then the inappropriate comments started in which he told me how attractive and irresistible he found me to be. I was and still am married.

Among the most junior Googlers at the bar and with few women in attendance, I didn’t know what to do. There was pressure to look like I was enjoying myself in order to make a positive impression on my new team. I also didn’t know if Rod, as one of the most senior members of the G+ team, would have influence on my career trajectory.

Fortunately another more senior female coworker and I eventually locked eyes. She intervened, pulled me aside, and acted as a physical barrier between me and Rod. We left the event together.

Some time passed and in 2015 engineer Kelly Ellis shared her story of sexual harassment while on the G+ team. When I read her story, my heart sank. The same person, Rod, who sexually harassed me in Cabo sexually harassed her too. I remember telling my husband and being furious but not knowing what to do. Rod was still at Google and five levels more senior than me.

Upon learning of Kelly’s situation, my coworker who rescued me in Cabo, not me, reported to HR her witnessing the sexual harassment I experienced. She also talked to me and my manager to let us know she spoke to HR about Rod’s inappropriate behavior.

Someone from HR soon scheduled time to talk to me about what happened in Cabo. Among her first questions was, “How much did you have to drink that night?” She also asked me, “Did you tell him to stop?” and “Were other people dancing too?”

I left the meeting feeling judged. The HR rep made me think I was to blame for what happened because from her perspective I put myself in the situation. It was clear that I might get in trouble and compromise my job if I pressed the situation further.

My brain also couldn’t process how a repeated sexual harasser could be a long-time Googler and director. Rod didn’t fit into my idealistic view of what Google was. Pushing the memory aside, I continued with work and didn’t speak of what happened again.

HR never followed up and to my knowledge no action was taken in response to my experience with Rod.

Larry Page said of the movie The Internship, “I think the reason why we got involved is that computer science has a marketing problem…We’re the nerdy curmudgeons.” I guess sexual misconduct is how you make working in tech look cool?

We’re not there yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done to make the tech industry an equitable workplace for women.

Chelsey Glasson is the author of Black Box: A Pregnancy Discrimination Memoir. Check out the book’s introduction, “Barriers to Justice.”