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Mark Zuckerberg says that corporate culture needs more “masculine energy,” but a new lawsuit alleges that the company’s culture has been silencing women for years.
Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta employee who worked at the company for roughly 15 years, is suing the tech giant for sex discrimination and retaliation, alleging instances of sexual assault, and a pattern of being passed over for promotions.
“Whether it was the boss assaulting me or telling me that I needed to have sex with him to get a promotion, or whether it was telling me that I couldn’t be recognized because of the ways it would negatively impact a male VP who had made a mistake, all of these behaviors come down to a disregard for women,” Stonelake told my colleague Lila MacLellan in a recent feature for Fortune. She is seeking damages for her time at Meta, including back pay and benefits (the amount will be determined in court).
Stonelake isn’t the only employee to make such claims. Last fall, a former engineer for Meta filed a lawsuit accusing the company of downgrading his pay and asking him to resign after he raised concerns about gender discrimination at the company. Another ex-product manager is suing the company for wrongful termination, alleging that she was fired after raising concerns about harassment and discrimination at work. Women in the tech industry overall have also been vocal over the years about how hard it is to survive and thrive in a culture that has been so male dominated.
Stonelake eventually took a mental health break from her job, during which she was laid off. Out of the four women working on her team at Meta, she was the third to go on medical leave, according to her lawsuit.
One lawyer that Fortune spoke with said that she’s fielding calls from many former employees swept up in the recent layoffs that affected about 3,600 employees, many of whom believe that sexism and discrimination played a role in their termination. “It’s a troubling pattern of women and other vulnerable employees, especially those on parental leave, potentially facing disproportionate layoffs,” said Andi Mazingo, an attorney of Lumen Law Center in Los Angeles.
But Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg seem to be pushing the company in a direction that doesn’t prioritize addressing these issues. Last month, the company made the decision to ax its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, citing a change in the business landscape. Stonelake told Fortune his recent comments make her even more uneasy about the future culture of the company for women moving forward.
“I fear what any kind of high-pressure strategic area is going to look like and feel like within Meta when it’s unchecked, particularly where there is encouragement on a global stage for the company to be more masculine.”
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
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