The Alphabet arm tasked with fighting online harassment and extremism has reportedly cultivated a toxic work culture of its own

Advertisement
The Alphabet arm tasked with fighting online harassment and extremism has reportedly cultivated a toxic work culture of its own

Jared Cohen Jigsaw

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

Jigsaw CEO, Jared Cohen

Advertisement
  • Jigsaw - an Alphabet arm focused on cybersecurity and geopolitical issues, like an API that identifies toxic language online - has a toxic internal work culture of its own, according to a Motherboard report on Tuesday.
  • Female employees at Jigsaw have been the subject of sexist remarks by executives and discriminated against by leadership, according to the report.
  • The climate for women at Jigsaw has gotten so bad, the report noted, that a support group, made up of current and former employees, has been formed to help women who want to leave the company.
  • Read the full Motherboard story here.

Jigsaw - an Alphabet arm focused on cybersecurity and geopolitical issues, like an API that identifies toxic language online -has cultivated a toxic internal work culture of its own, according to Motherboard report on Tuesday.

Female employees at Jigsaw have been the subject of sexist remarks by executives and discriminated against by leadership, according to the report, which cites more than 12 current and former employees.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

The climate for women at Jigsaw has gotten so bad, according to the report, that a support group, made up of current and former employees, has been formed to help women who want to leave the company. And when an internal post at Google encouraged employees to consider applying for jobs at Jigsaw, employees at the Alphabet spinoff reportedly responded: "Proceed with caution."

Other employees who spoke to Motherboard point to Jared Cohen, Jigsaw's CEO, as major source of the company's internal issues.

Advertisement

Read more: Meet the 14 top executives who lead Alphabet's 'Other Bets,' helping the company go beyond just Google

Cohen, who was personally appointed to run Jigsaw - previously known as Google Ideas - by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, has been "disconnected with the day-to-day at the company" and instead, is "more concerned with using Jigsaw as a vehicle to gain visibility and enhance his geopolitical network," one current employee told Motherboard.

Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Read the full Motherboard story here.

Get the latest Google stock price here.

{{}}