Legal News

Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Twitter
Download PDF
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging that Twitter promotes mostly men.

Summary: Tina Huang has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, alleging that mostly males are selected for promotions.

A woman who used to work at Twitter as a software engineer is now suing the social media company for supposedly using a promotion process that quietly favors men over women. According to CNET.com, Tina Huang argues that Twitter will only alert certain individuals of job opportunities and promotions—and that these individuals are most often male.

  
What
Where


Last year, Twitter sued the United States over its surveillance rules.

On Thursday, Huang filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in a state court in California. The complaint, which was filed in a San Francisco courthouse, was filed just one day after a former Facebook employee accused the company of committing discrimination. According to NBC News, Huang worked in several engineering positions from 2009 to 2014. On Saturday, a San Francisco Superior Court Judge issued a ruling allowing Ellen Pao, who has filed a suit against Klein Perkins Caulfield & Byers, a venture capital firm, for $16 million, to seek punitive damages should a jury issue a ruling in her favor. According to Pao’s suit, the firm retaliated against her after she complained about sexual discrimination in the workplace.

Facebook and Twitter are not alone in facing discrimination lawsuits. On average, tech companies are 70 percent white and male, according to their own statistics. These numbers, combined with a male-dominated culture, have sparked heated arguments and several lawsuits in Silicon Valley.

Get JD Journal in Your Mail

Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!




In 2013, a judge dismissed a gender bias lawsuit that was filed against Wal-Mart.

Huang’s complaint alleges that Twitter has neither a formal job application nor a promotion process. Instead of formal processes, “secret” management committees figure out who will get a promotion without job postings or reviews. The complaint alleges this has led to a gender imbalance in Twitter’s workforce. According to The Verge, the promotion process works by sending mysterious “shoulder taps” to certain employees to notify them of new positions.



Do you think the lawsuit against Twitter will go forward?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

The complaint reads, “Promotion into Twitter’s senior technical positions is based on subjective judgments, by committees that are comprised of and dependent on upper management at Twitter, and predominantly male. These judgments are tainted with conscious or unconscious prejudices and gender-based stereotypes, which explains why so few women employees at Twitter advance to senior and leadership positions.”

Chief legal officers continue to report significant gender pay gaps.

Twitter denies the accusations. It released a statement, saying, “Ms. Huang resigned voluntarily from Twitter, after our leadership tried to persuade her to stay. She was not fired. Twitter is deeply committed to a diverse and supportive workplace, and we believe the facts will show Ms. Huang was treated fairly.”

Huang’s complaint asks “all current and former female employees of Twitter denied promotions in the three years prior to the filing of this complaint” to join the lawsuit.

Source: CNET

Photo credit: ewawomen.com



 

RELEVANT JOBS

Paralegal Legal Assistant

USA-CA-Torrance

Paralegal Legal Assistant Law Office of Robert H. PalmerTorrance, CA, USA Employment Type F...

Apply now

Associate Attorney

USA-FL-Miami

Worker’s compensation defense firm representing employers and insurance carriers has an immedi...

Apply now

Junior Attorney

USA-NV-Las Vegas

We are seeking an attorney to help our law firm continue to grow. This is a small general civil liti...

Apply now

Attorney - Assistant Attorney General

USA-IL-Swansea

The Workers’ Compensation Bureau defends the State of Illinois in workers’ compensation ...

Apply now

BCG FEATURED JOB

Locations:

Keyword:



Search Now

Associate Attorney with 3+ years of litigation experience

USA-GA-Atlanta

Atlanta office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an associate attorney with 3+ year...

Apply Now

Family Law Associate Attorney

USA-TN-Knoxville

Knoxville office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks a family law associate attorney ...

Apply Now

Associate Attorney

USA-WI-Wisconsin Rapids

Wisconsin Rapids office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an associate attorney wit...

Apply Now

Most Popular

SEARCH IN ARCHIVE

To Top