S.F. s Pinterest commits to workplace culture changes after $22.5 million discrimination settlement
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Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann addresses a Pinterest media event at the company s corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California on April 24, 2014. Pinterest launched a tool to help people quickly sift through the roughly 30 billion Pins on the service s online bulletin boards to find what they like. AFP PHOTO / JOSH EDELSONJosh Edelson/AFP/Getty ImagesJosh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images
Pinterest on Wednesday committed to workplace policy changes meant to promote inclusion after multiple employees left the company this year over what they described as a discriminatory and retaliatory workplace at the highest levels.
Pinterest Inc. agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle claims of gender discrimination and retaliation by its former Chief Operating Officer Francoise Brougher, as Silicon Valley grapples with growing pressure to address discrimination and diversity issues within its ranks.
Ms. Brougher sued Pinterest in August, alleging the social media company maintained a culture of secrecy among top male executives that resulted in her being left out of meetings and decision-making.
In a blog post, she accused the company of having a hostile work environment for women and that “female executives, even at the highest levels, are marginalized, excluded, and silenced.”
Ms. Brougher, a former executive of Square Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, was hired in 2018 and became Pinterest’s first operating chief and one of the top female figures at the company. She said she was fired in April.
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Pinterest to pay more than $20 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit by former COO Francoise Brougher
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Former Pinterest Chief Operating Officer Francoise Brougher has settled her lawsuit against the San Francisco comany.Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle 2018
San Francisco’s Pinterest will pay more than $20 million to settle a gender discrimination suit brought in August by Francoise Brougher, the company’s former chief operating officer.
The settlement will see Brougher and her lawyers receive $20 million from the social media and online pinboard company. The company will also contribute $2.5 million “to be used towards advancing women and underrepresented communities in the technology industry,” according to a filing with federal regulators.
Former Pinterest executive alleged ‘rampant discrimination’ at boys club’ tech company
14 December 2020 • 11:46pm
Pinterest has agreed to pay $22.5m (£18m) to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit brought by a former executive, one of the largest of its kind to be publicly disclosed.
Françoise Brougher, Pinterest s former chief operating officer, sued Pinterest in August, claiming that she had been sacked for complaining about sexist treatment while at the social media company.
She alleged that she had been paid less than her male colleagues upon joining the company, and that throughout her career there her work was dismissed as “championing diversity issues,” according to a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
Pinterest Settles Gender Discrimination Suit by Former COO for $22.5 Million
Françoise Brougher said she was let go after raising concerns about sexist workplace treatmentRoss A. Lincoln | December 14, 2020 @ 9:16 PM Last Updated: December 14, 2020 @ 9:52 PM
Pinterest
Social media site Pinterest has reached a $22.5 million dollar settlement with former chief operating officer Françoise Brougher, who sued the company in August for gender discrimination.
According to the New York Times, the settlement is one of the largest ever publicly awarded to a single individual. Per the terms of the agreement, Pinterest has not admitted any wrongdoing; Brougher and Pinterest will each donate $2.5 million to charities supporting women and minorities in the tech industry.