Pinterest facing shareholder claims based on race, gender bias

After a tumultuous year, multiple Pinterest shareholders have sued the tech company as well as its top executives and board of directors, claiming race and gender discrimination have damaged the firm’s reputation and harmed investors:

• In June 2020, two black female  employees claimed they were retaliated against for seeking equitable pay and left the company as a result.
• In August, Pinterest’s top female executive sued the company alleging gender discrimination and retaliation.

After the claims, more than 200 employees staged a virtual walkout, and nearly 500 signed a petition demanding pay transparency and equality in addition to greater diversity among the company’s executives.

In November, the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) and another individual shareholder both filed derivative suits in separate California federal courts alleging the instances of alleged bias are part of a “long-standing and systemic culture of discrimination and retaliation” that top execs and board members knowingly ignored to the company’s detriment. The lawsuits claim (1) the company has wasted valuable corporate assets on legal costs, and (2) the shareholders have suffered significant damage to their reputations because of the firm’s failure to address the issues.

The lawsuits represent a continuing trend by shareholders to use derivative lawsuits to hold companies as well as individual executives and directors accountable for misconduct.

Pinterest to pay $20M to settle Brougher’s gender discrimination lawsuit