After thousands of Google LLC took to the streets last week in protest over the treatment of women, the company has vowed to make some changes.

Last week’s walkout saw Google employees all over the world gathering outside office buildings demanding an end to forced arbitration in sexual misconduct cases and an end to internal secrecy in such cases.

That came after reports revealed scores of Google employees had been fired for sexual harassment, some of whom had been let go with handsome golden handshakes. An investigation found that Android creator Andy Rubin was let go with a payout amounting to $90 million after being accused of sexual misconduct.

In a letter to staff Thursday, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said that he was committed to making changes. He said there will be more transparency going forward and victims involved in sexual misconduct cases will receive better treatment, but there will also be changes to company policy.

From now on, Google said in a post made available to the public, arbitration will be optional for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. “Google has never required confidentiality in the arbitration process and it still may be the best path for a number of reasons (e.g. personal privacy), but, we recognize that the choice should be up to you,” said the company.

As for transparency, from now on employees will see reports on sexual misconduct in the company, as well as “discuss trends, disciplinary actions taken, and substantiation percentages.” Employees will see how cases are handled and an “Investigations Practice Guide” will be published annually with input from employees.

One of the criticisms last week was how employees were treated after making a claim, with at least one woman saying she was pretty much ignored after saying she had possibly been drugged by another member of staff. Now, said Google, employees will receive extended counseling and support and can have a colleague as support during an investigation.

Mandatory sexual harassment training will be extended to every year rather than every two years, and if any training is missed it will be noted in an employee’s performance review. On top of that, Google said, booze was involved in at least 20 percent of sexual misconduct cases, so excessive alcohol consumption will no longer be tolerated.

“We often hear from Googlers that the best part of working here is other Googlers,” Pichai said. “Even in difficult times, we are encouraged by the commitment of our colleagues to create a better workplace. That’s come through very strongly over the past few weeks.”

Photo: cabriolet2008/Flickr