Google says it's "taken aback " by the government's claim that it doesn't compensate women fairly, and that its its pay practices are gender-blind.

The company said it conducts "rigorous analyses" and found "no gender pay gap" in 52 major job categories it analyzed last year. Google added that analysts who calculate suggested pay don't have access to employees' gender data.

The U.S. Department of Labor had accused Google of shortchanging women doing similar work to men, saying it found "systemic compensation disparities" across the company's workforce.

Google responded in a blog post Tuesday that the department's assertion "came without any supporting data or methodology." The company said it had already produced hundreds of thousands of documents in response to 18 separate requests, and the government is seeking thousands more, including contact details of employees.