Image sharing and social media service provider Pinterest has reached a settlement agreement to pay its former CEO, Francois Brougher the sum of $20 million over a gender discrimination lawsuit, a regulatory filing showed Monday.
Part of the settlement deal includes the firm investing $2.5 million to increase femeale representation and other under represented groups inthe tech industry, according to a joint statement.
The joint statement by Brougher and Pinterest reads, “Pinterest recognizes the importance of fostering a workplace environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive and will continue its actions to improve its culture”.
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The former CEO filed a lawsuit earlier this year, in which she accused her former employer of paying her lower than her male colleagues, being left out of the company’s decision making process, and subjected to a hostile work environment, after which she was sacked for speaking out against the treatment, according to media reports.
“Although 70 percent of Pinterest’s users are women, the company is steered by men with little input from female executives,” Brougher said in a post on Medium when the suit was filed in August.
“Pinterest’s female executives, even at the highest levels, are marginalized, excluded, and silenced.”
The platform boasts of over 440 million users globally every month, according to Pinterest’s website.
“Women were the first to embrace us; they still make up more than 60 percent of our platform globally – and we’re proud of it,” Pinterest said in a blog post at the end of July.
The platform was unveiled a decade ago, it is a virtual bulletin board platform, with users decorating their boards with pictures showcasing interests including food, fashion, travel and lifestyle.
It also enables users to link to online shopping and other services to find items they have “pinned.”
“I will continue to advocate for workplace equity, including more women in the C-Suite,” Brougher said in a tweet from her verified account on Twitter.
