Pinterest No Longer Silences Ex-Employees Who Want To Speak Out About Discrimination

JAKARTA - Pinterest has promised not to prevent all of its former employees from speaking up about their racial or gender discrimination, even if they are bound by a confidentiality agreement.

This case began when the lawsuit of former Pinterest employees Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks became public. Seeing this, the shareholders did not remain silent and joined the lawsuit by claiming that the company's workplace discrimination against women and racial minorities damaged its reputation.

Now that the lawsuit has been settled by agreement, the company has reportedly agreed to spend $50 million to increase its diversity and equity.

According to an NBC News report quoted by The Verge, Friday, November 26, the lawsuit was filed in November 2020, with shareholders claiming that Pinterest acted irresponsibly and did nothing to address widespread claims of racial and gender discrimination.

The complaint also accuses CEO Ben Silbermann of surrounding himself with men and marginalizing women who dared to challenge the white male leadership group Pinterest.

In the same year in the lawsuit, many women reported including Ozoma and Banks. Pinterest pays them less than male employees, and some report racial discrimination and retaliation for speaking out.

In addition, discrimination in the company's financial team also often occurs. Not only are Ozoma and Banks suing, the company paid $20 million to former COO Françoise Brougher after she alleged that Pinterest paid her less than her male counterpart, didn't invite her to important meetings, and fired her after she exposed the matter.