Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit filed by former COO for $22.5 million

The former COO of Pinterest may be celebrating the holidays $22.5 million richer as Pinterest settles the gender discrimination lawsuit that she brought against the social media giant.

Pinterest already settled the gender discrimination lawsuit that its former COO Francoise Brougher brought against the company in August. Brougher, in her complaint, noted that she was paid a lower salary than her male colleagues. She also alleged that she was left out of important meetings several times and that the company's CFO Todd Morgenfeld would give her gendered feedback. She also claimed that when she spoke out about this kind of "mistreatment," she was fired.

Brougher's complaint came at the heels of public statements aired by two Black women who said that they faced racism as well as sexism at Pinterest. The women were Aerica Shimizu Banks and Ifeoma Ozoma. Both women claimed that they were underpaid even though they spearheaded great initiatives at Pinterest. The two women got severance pay from the company.

Both Brougher and Pinterest will jointly contribute $2.5 million to philanthropic institutions that support women, as well as underrepresented minorities in the technology industry.

New York Times reported that Brougher was glad Pinterest took her lawsuit seriously. She was hoping that it would be the first step in creating a better work environment for everyone.

A spokeswoman for Pinterest said that the company acted swiftly in making the changes that were needed to ensure that its employees would feel supported. She also highlighted how the company added two new board members and how they made salaries in the company more transparent.

Brougher and Pinterest issued a joint statement and sent an email to The Verge. In the email, the statement said that Pinterest recognises the importance of being able to foster a workplace environment that is diverse, inclusive, and equitable. Brougher has welcomed the steps that the company took to improve the workplace environment.

Brougher is just one of the prominent female executives in the tech industry who filed a gender discrimination suit against her former employer. Another was Emily Kramer, who, in July, also filed a discrimination and retaliation suit against financial technology start-up Carta. Kramer was a former vice president for marketing in the said company.

Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit