Pinterest agrees to $22-million gender discrimination settlement

Pinterest has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit with former COO.

The BBC reported:

Social media firm Pinterest has agreed to pay $22.5m (£16.9m) to settle claims of gender discrimination brought by its former chief operating officer.

The settlement with Francoise Brougher is the largest payout of its kind to be publicly announced.

The photo-sharing company, known for having a heavily female user base, said the action was part of a broader effort to “improve its culture”.

Megan Rose Dickey from TechCrunch wrote:

“Pinterest recognizes the importance of fostering a workplace environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive and will continue its actions to improve its culture,” Pinterest and Brougher said in a joint statement detailing the settlement. “Francoise welcomes the meaningful steps Pinterest has taken to improve its workplace environment and is encouraged that Pinterest is committed to building a culture that allows all employees to feel included and supported.”

Zoe Schiffer from The Verge noted:

The complaint followed public statements from Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, two Black women on the policy team who said they’d faced racism and sexism at the company. Both said they were underpaid despite leading major initiatives at Pinterest, including banning anti-vax posts and putting an end to the promotion of plantation weddings.

Ozoma and Banks got less than a year’s severance when they left the company.