Snapchat Inc. is gearing up to pay $15 million in a lawsuit settlement. This announcement is coming on the heels of gender discrimination allegations brought against it by the California Civil Rights Department.
The agency is representing hundreds of former female workers who accuse the company of failing to prevent sexual harassment as well as unfair treatment in pay and promotion.
Who are the Complainants?
Specifically, the female staff seeking redress from the company are those who worked between 2014 to 2024. These former employees will receive a settlement from the company that owns Snapchat, the popular messaging app.
The California Civil Rights Department broke the news on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. However, the court must give the go-ahead for the payment to proceed.
Investigations Lasted for Three Years
The complaints against Snapchat Inc. aren’t recent. They’ve been compiled for a number of years now, including three years spent investigating the various claims against the California-based social media company.
Prominent among the allegations was that it discriminated against female employees in salaries and promotions. The women also claimed that the company carried out retaliation against women who complained about workplace harassment.
Most of the Workers Worked in California
According to the civil rights agency, most of the beneficiaries were former staff who worked for the company in its Santa Monica, California office.
Kelvin Kish, the agency’s California director, expressed satisfaction with the work the civil rights group had done to achieve the favorable resolution. “We’re proud of the work of our state’s innovators who are a driving force of our nation’s economy.”
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More on the Case
Speaking further about the success and impact of the case, Kish said, “This settlement with Snapchat demonstrates a shared commitment to a California where all workers have a fair chance at the American Dream.”
He ended by stating that “Women are entitled to equality in every job, in every workplace, and in every industry.” The settlement includes both direct relief to workers and the cost of litigation.
Snapchat Reacts
Snapchat released a statement stating that it is innocent of the accusations against it. However, the company will pay the settlement to free itself from a costly and extended litigation battle.
“We care deeply about our commitment to maintain a fair and inclusive environment at snap, and do not believe we have any ongoing systemic pay equity, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation issues against women,” the company declared.
The Company’s Growth
From 2015 to 2022, Snapchat witnessed remarkable growth in its staff strength. The company’s workforce spiked from 250 to 5000 within this period. However, the accusations implied that women were sidelined in many ways as the company grew.
The agency revealed that female staff “were actively discouraged from applying for promotions, or lost promotion opportunities to less qualified male colleagues.”
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Women in Certain Departments Were Particularly Affected
According to the Civil Rights Agency’s findings, women in specific sections, such as those in engineering roles, experienced more discrimination. The engineering section made up about 70% of the company’s workforce.
The agency gathered that women in this section faced deliberate obstacles in their bid to climb up the corporate ladder. Many women remained stuck in entry-level positions for very long.
There Were a Good Number of Sexual Harassment Claims
The civil rights group also revealed that many women faced sexual harassment during their time in the company. In addition, they received varying degrees of intimidation when they tried to speak up.
Instead of getting redress for being harassed, the women received negative performance scorecards from their superiors in an attempt to silence them. However, the most unlucky ones lost their jobs in the process.
Women Were Denied Promotion
The women also stated that many of them who deserved promotion were bypassed. It became a habit for male managers to promote male staff over more qualified female employees who could surmount the promotion application hurdles the company had placed on their paths.
A section of the agency’s lawsuit claimed that “Women were told, both implicitly and explicitly, that they were second-class citizens at Snap.”
Safeguarding the Future
In addition to the $15 million payout, the settlement contained a number of requirements for Snapchat to fulfill. One of these requirements is that Snapchat hires an independent consultant to finetune the company’s pay and promotion policies.
Secondly, the tech firm also agreed to a third-party audit to oversee its compliance with stamping out sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination in its work environment.
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Educating Employees on their Rights
Also included in the settlement deal is a demand that the company inform its employees of their rights and privileges regarding discrimination. The company will begin to inform every staff member that they can report cases of unfair treatment and harassment without fear of retaliation.
This is another significant benefit for the company’s old and new staff. New workers will be grateful to have a more conducive work environment, even as the company hires more hands to meet the needs of its 85 million plus users.
One More Win for Civil Rights
This settlement is just one of many victories by California’s civil rights agency. The department has been especially helpful in holding tech giants accountable for the unfair treatment of their staff.
In December 2023, the agency secured an agreement with Activision Blizzard, a notable video game company, to settle issues of pay discrimination against women for $54 million.
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