I was fired from Google after my female boss' 'sexist' changes to her department left me feeling hopeless

A former Google executive has revealed how he was left feeling 'depressed and hopeless' by a female boss who he claims undermined him and other men employees in a relentless campaign of discrimination. 

Marco Meier, who worked for the Google advertising team for nearly 13 years before he was fired last year, in a lawsuit accuses Managing Director of Sales Marta Martinez of sexism and making her male co-worker's lives miserable.

The 43-year-old former German pro basketball player claimed he had a promising career with the company but was let go after complaining about gender discrimination from Martinez.

In a bombshell federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York last week, Meier claimed Martinez subjected male employees to a 'relentless campaign' of hostility and discrimination. 

'I felt depressed and hopeless, to be honest, because I had lost control over my career trajectory,' Meier told DailyMail.com.

'Seeing how many other male team leads were let go around me, how I was overlooked for promotions, and then listening to discriminating comments, it seemed clear that the men were being targeted based on our gender.'

It's the latest in a series of workplace discrimination lawsuits in which white men say they've faced discrimination as companies embrace policies that help women and minorities get ahead.    

Meier started as an account executive with the company in 2011 and, after several promotions, was earning $540,000 annually by 2023. 

However, he claimed his 'work environment irreparably and dramatically changed' in 2019 when he began to work under Martinez. 

'I felt that Marta Martinez had an agenda and only supported the female team leads in her department,' Meier told DailyMail.com, echoing the claims made in his 37-page lawsuit.

'It felt like male leadership had no place in her team, and it seemed like I was clearly targeted because of my gender, even though I brought such a unique background to the team.'

Meier says he had loved the job and was planning to finish out his career at Google until he was 'derailed' by the new boss. 

'I felt that I was with my back against the wall,' he says.

'I always gave my absolute best for my team and for Google. I always had excellent manager and performance ratings - until I started reporting to Marta Martinez.' 

The lawsuit alleged that when Meier started with Martinez's team, seven of her nine employees were men, but over the course of four years, she fired most of the men and replaced them with women. 

According to the lawsuit, she allegedly sent such messages as: 'The women on my team have better leadership skills and are better prepared' and 'Men are too aggressive and too competitive.'

The lawsuit alleges that Meier and other team leaders were not allowed to fully take part in meetings and were reviewed much more harshly than their women co-workers.    

It also says men employees struggled to get onto big projects, while lesser qualified women staffers got the opportunities. 

To put it simply, Meier says, women got promotions and men were repeatedly turned down. 

In one instance, Martinez allegedly gave her male and female team members an annual membership to Step-Up, a company that supports only women in leadership, for their Christmas gift.

'I complained several times to HR, and Google even responded in an email stating that Marta Martinez committed a conduct [violation] and was given training,' Meier told DailyMail.com.

'Still, absolutely nothing changed, and then I was fired shortly after.'

After his first complaint, Meier was assigned to a different manager but claimed Martinez spread false rumors about him to his new boss, it is alleged.

'Martinez further retaliated by submitting false and negative performance reviews of [Meier] to his new manager,' the lawsuit says.

Meier then filed his second complaint, and after the company closed that investigation, he said he was fired. 

'Not only was no action taken by Google against Martinez, but merely two months after the purported investigation was completed, Google proceeded to notify [Meier] on January 17, 2024, that his employment would be terminated on April 17, 2024, under the guise of "Role elimination,"' the lawsuit said.

Meier's discrimination and retaliation lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages to be determined after a jury trial.

Google has denied the allegations in the lawsuit and said its investigation into Martinez showed she did not discriminate against anyone.

'We thoroughly reviewed these allegations more than once and found them to be completely meritless and misleading,' a spokesperson said.

'We have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and retaliation and do not promote or make role elimination decisions based on gender, period.'

The case is part of a growing number of suits against diversity-hiring practices since the US Supreme Court's landmark June 2023 ruling to end affirmative action in college admissions.

Lawsuits have claimed that hiring and recruitment decisions made around both jobs and fellowships at large companies are biased against white workers and men.

Advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes, as they are known, say they bring more black, brown, female, and queer talent into offices and colleges and raise morale across the board.

But critics say they're a 'woke' virtue-signaling exercise that fosters backlash discrimination against straight, white men.