Pinterest: 200+ employees hold virtual walkout over gender and race discrimination

Today, 236 employees at Pinterest virtually "walked out" to express solidarity with three former colleagues who said they experienced gender and race discrimination at the social media company.

From the New York Times:

Many of the employees also shared and signed an online petition calling on Ben Silbermann, Pinterest's chief executive and co-founder, to change the company's policies.

Then they logged off, staging a virtual walkout.

The series of actions were the latest in a growing employee movement of discrimination lawsuits, harassment accusations and walkouts over injustices across the tech industry and the investors who fund it.

The Pinterest accusations stand out because they include some of the highest-ranking executives at the $21 billion company. In a lawsuit this week, Francoise Brougher, Pinterest's former chief operating officer, accused the company of sex discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination. When she spoke up about a sexist remark from a colleague, she was fired, the lawsuit alleges. She followed the suit with a lengthy blog post, "The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity," which was widely shared in tech circles.

"We know we have real work to do and recognize that it's our job to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for everyone," says Pinterest.

Read more at the New York Times.

Here is the petition to Ben Silbermann, CEO of Pinterest.
Put an end to all forms of discrimination and retaliation at Pinterest