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Discrimination at Pinterest

On Behalf of | Oct 5, 2020 | Employment Law

The curtain is slowly but surely being rolled back on the idyllic work environment marketed by many tech giants. Many employees are coming out of the tech industry complaining of toxic work environments, gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and retaliation among other things.

In the past few months, multiple employees from tech giant, Pinterest, have brought legal action against the trendy company. Pinterest, which just last year was among a list of companies where women most like to work, markets itself as a friendly, modern, and progressive workplace.[1] However, recent allegations cast a shadow on the idyllic employer that some have called the nicest company in tech.

Allegations from Multiple Employees All Telling A Similar Story

On July 4, 2020, the Washington Post published an article about two women who came forward with racial discrimination allegations against Pinterest.[2] Then on August 11, 2020 Pinterest’s former Chief Operating Office came forward with allegations of gender discrimination.[3] Recently, on September 11, 2020, more news emerged about bias in the Pinterest workplace.[4] In addition, other former employees have come forward anonymously detailing the level of alleged racial and gender discrimination. According to one anonymous source, black people were being systemically underpaid compared to their white colleagues, and when this information was presented, it was the discovering employee who was punished. The competitive nature of these jobs pushes employees to at times dismiss their rights and try to overcome the cutthroat environment.

How Does This Effect Tech Employees?

The Tech industry is not immune to the laws governing employers and their employees. Even though many of these tech companies market themselves as great places to work, the curtain is being rolled back and their friendly attitude may just be a façade. If these allegations are true, there is no excuse for Pinterest not addressing the concerns raised by these employees and others yet to come forward.


[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/12/01/the-companies-where-women-most-like-to-work/#5541caf2557c

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/03/pinterest-race-bias-black-employees/

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/technology/pinterest-francoise-brougher-gender-discrimination-lawsuit.html

[4] https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21429619/pinterest-workplace-discrimination-finance-team-unequal-culture-bias