Once Celebrated As Diversity Hire, Google's Black Deaf Employee Is Now Suing

Google hired the first and only black, deaf employee, Jalon Hall, who was marketed as a diversity hire to claim an inclusive environment and steadfast social growth for the company in 2020. After working with Google for more than 3 years, she was subjected to discrimination based on her race and disability. In an interview with Wired, she said, “I felt a sense of humiliation, recognizing that my career wasn’t progressing." 

"Aggressive, Black, Deaf Woman!"

The problem wasn't sudden, but gradual. Jalon had reported previously to Human Resources but couldn't get much changed yet. The amusing thing is that she did not quit her job at Google. Jalon told Wired, "It would be selfish to quit Google; I’m standing in the gap for those often pushed aside." Jalon believes that even though her experience hasn't been smooth, her resigning from Google would be a further setback for not only the black community but also the disability community, which has a chance of representation through her. While Google did celebrate her hiring, it gave a certain platform to people belonging to both communities.

While filing charges, she revealed that Google's manager at the company's machine learning research program made derogatory statements that said, "Aggressive black deaf woman” and told her to “keep her mouth shut and take a sales role.”

The issue arose when Jalon mentioned to Wired that according to her contract with Google when she joined in 2020, they provided her access to sign language interpreters at all times. After working for three years, she revealed that her access to interpreters was not easy and that the process created hindrances. She also mentioned how she still holds the position of a level two employee, whereas other employees, after three years, get promoted to level three. She further adds that she was excluded from meetings and round table discussions. 

This is not unusual, but how can women and people belonging to black and disabled communities get representation if companies like Google get sued over discriminatory charges? In response to the lawsuit, Google claimed that the lawsuit was filed too late but never clarified if it stood true or not, giving a rather vague response.