For Immediate Release: June 15, 2020

Color Of Change: Pinterest’s Hypocrisy Is Glaring

NATIONWIDE — In response to detailed accounts of rampant discrimination and harassment at Pinterest by former public policy and social impact managers, Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Bank, Color Of Change Campaign Director Jade Magnus Ogunnaike issued the following statement:

“Color Of Change is proud to work with and support the Black people in tech who use their positions to advance justice for our communities. Like so many tech companies that are posting messages of solidarity with Black Lives Matter, Pinterest’s actions undermine the company’s own words. 

Color Of Change worked with Ifeoma and Aerica closely in their former roles to restrict the marketing of plantation weddings on Pinterest and overhaul the company’s anti-harassment policies. We credit them for orienting the company’s policies toward racial justice. However, even while claiming ‘Black lives matter,’ Pinterest sidelined Ifeoma and Aerica after they made the platform safer for Black users. To make matters worse, the company’s leadership failed to intervene after Ifeoma was doxxed by another Pinterest employee.

At a minimum, Pinterest owes Ifeoma and Aerica an apology and due compensation. The retaliation these women experienced underscores the risk Black workers in Silicon Valley endure every day for speaking out against racism and discrimination. To show a serious commitment to racial justice, the company should use this opportunity to change their hostile culture for Black workers and set an example for the tech industry.”   

###