Workplace discrimination Former high ranking Pinterest executive sues the company, alleging gender discrimination

The former chief operating officer of Pinterest is suing the company, alleging gender discrimination and wrongful termination. 

In a suit filed in California on Tuesday, Francoise Brougher says she was offered a “less favorable pay structure” than her male peers. She also claimed the head of the company’s human resources department made sexist comments to her when she brought up concerns, alleging she was wrongfully fired in April for speaking out. 

“Instead of taking her complaint seriously, investigating it properly and doing the work to add her concerns about gender discrimination and hostility, Pinterest fired Ms. Brougher to protect the comfort of her male peers,” reads an excerpt from the lawsuit posted on Scribd by the outlet TechCrunch.

USA TODAY reached out to Pinterest for comment but the company has not yet responded. 

A Pinterest spokesperson told the New York Times that it’s reviewing the lawsuit, adding that the company wants “all of our employees (to) feel included and supported.”

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Pinterest is a go-to place on the internet for recipes, outfit inspiration and home decorating tips. In June, the company reported roughly 400 million monthly active users, most of whom are women.

Still, its “workplace is far from perfect,” Brougher said in an open letter on Medium.com the day the lawsuit was filed. 

“The company is steered by men with little input from female executives,” she said in the post. “Pinterest’s female executives, even at the highest levels, are marginalized, excluded, and silenced.”

The microblogging platform’s revenue grew from $500 million to $1.1 billion during the two years she worked there, Brougher said. She went on to say that she believes she was let go for speaking out about “the rampant discrimination, hostile work environment, and misogyny that permeates Pinterest.”

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown. 

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