Pinterest Policy Officials Leave, Alleging Discrimination

Two of the three staffers on Pinterest Inc.’s public policy and social impact team departed from the photo-sharing company in late May, alleging publicly that they faced racial discrimination.

The staffers, both Black women, had important public-facing roles at the company, but said they were underpaid and their concerns were dismissed by human resources. Aerica Shimizu Banks represented Pinterest in its relationship with the federal government, but faced “disparaging comments about my ethnicity in front of my team” from her manager, she said on Twitter. Her year working at Pinterest “marked a period of glaringly unfair pay, intense discrimination, and terrifying retaliation.”