I shouldn’t have to share this story in the year of our Lord, 2020 - but here we are. I’m an alum of Yale, Google, FB, in the WaPo Tech 202 Network, etc…and recently decided to leave @Pinterest, which just declared ‘solidarity with BLM.’ What a joke. 🙃1/
#BelieveBlackWomen
#BelieveBlackWomen
As a Black woman, seeing @Pinterest’s middle of the night “Black employees matter” statement made me scratch my head after I just fought for over a full year to be paid and leveled fairly… 2/
A year in which I:
a) was doxxed by a white male colleague - he shared my cell number, photo, & name w/ violently racist/misogynistic parts of the internet (followed up by a dangerously inadequate response from @Pinterest - there's so much more to this horrible story😔) 3/
a) was doxxed by a white male colleague - he shared my cell number, photo, & name w/ violently racist/misogynistic parts of the internet (followed up by a dangerously inadequate response from @Pinterest - there's so much more to this horrible story😔) 3/
b) continued to serve as the leader of/spokesperson for @Pinterest's biggest Public Policy wins. See: *scores* of articles and interviews on addressing health misinformation, emotional well-being, stopping promotion of plantation wedding venues. 4/
c) kept all the above quiet for “professionalism,” and in the hope that @Pinterest would do the right thing. Instead, they doubled down on retaliation. 1 wild ex: My manager gave me bad perf review feedback for not both-sidesing the promo of slave plantations. I have receipts. 5/
Now, @Pinterest is claiming to be “Listening and Acting”, mere *weeks* after replacing me and another Black woman colleague who also decided to leave, with...you guessed it. 🥴 6/
I am SO proud of the initiatives I led in my time there - addressing health misinfo decisively is no longer novel thanks to that work. I just wish it wasn’t sullied by the racism, gaslighting, & disrespect from my manager, skip level, and the company’s legal & HR leadership. 7/
Racism is dehumanizing and exhausting. I busted my ass at Yale, Google, then Facebook before Pinterest recruited me as the *second hire* on the global Public Policy team. I led work that raised our public policy profile globally. It didn't matter because I’m a Black woman. 8/
I’ve seen examples of genuine contrition and even *reparation* this past week from others. I hope @Pinterest takes this opportunity to “express not only [their] solidarity but also [**follows through** on their] commitment to taking action.” 9/
Sharing this is scary, especially after being doxxed & knowing the many forms corp retaliation can take. I owe it to myself and Black colleagues still there to hold the company to the commitments it made. @Pinterest, Black employees do indeed matter. Pay us fairly. Period. 10/10
