Pinterest Teams Up With NAACP to Form Inclusion Advisory Council

Pinterest continued to take steps to repair what CEO Ben Silbermann referred to in June as a “broken” culture, teaming up with the NAACP to form a new Inclusion Advisory Council. The new group will meet regularly with Pinterest leadership—including Silbermann and Tyi McCray, who joined the company in August as global head of inclusion and diversity—to review progress against diversity goals, make recommendations to further promote the creation of inclusive features and content and provide guidance centered on company culture. Additional organizations and experts will be selected to join the council based on their breadth of experience navigating key issues in underserved communities. Joshua DuBois will be part of the Inclusion Advisory Council. He served as a director for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama and is currently CEO of Values Partnerships, a consulting firm focused on social impact. Former Pinterest employees Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks took to Twitter in June to air their grievances, which included issues over salary and leveling, as well as retaliation they allegedly faced after speaking up. They are both Black women who held the title of public policy and social impact manager before leaving the company in May. Silbermann then wrote in an email—which was obtained by Bloomberg News and confirmed as accurate by Pinterest—” What I’ve learned over the past few weeks is that parts of our culture are broken. Truthfully, I didn’t understand just how much work we have to do. That’s not an excuse, that’s a failure in leadership, and I’m truly sorry for letting you down. I’m grateful that so many of you had the courage to share your experiences honestly and openly.” He admitted that the company lacks diverse representation, particularly in senior leadership, and said recruiting plans for senior-level roles are now “baked into” the core role expectations and performance reviews for Pinterest’s leadership team. Silbermann also pledged to add a person of color to Pinterest’s board of directors by the end of the year, making good on that promise with the appointments of Skywalker Holdings president Andrea Wishom in August and former executive vice president of programming and strategy for ABC Family’s Freeform channel Salaam Coleman Smith in October. Silbermann said in a statement, “We’re continuing to take steps to make Pinterest a company with an inspired culture, where all employees are empowered and valued, as we build a product that reflects our diverse population of Pinners around the world. Evolving our strategies and actions, alongside experts in the space, will help us create meaningful and lasting change.” McCray added, “Inclusion and diversity is not only a value; it’s foundational to making the best decisions and building the strongest teams. The commitment to this work is a priority across the organization, and we are incredibly grateful to the NAACP and Joshua DuBois for their partnership.” NAACP chief strategy officer Yumeka Rushing said, “This moment of reckoning demands that all organizations not only affirm their commitment to continuing to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, but to take the steps necessary to bring about progress. We are excited to partner with Pinterest to bring together diverse voices and help to drive impactful change.” And DuBois added, “We are proud to work with Pinterest on this critically important advisory board. This board will play a central role in ensuring that Pinterest is listening, learning and partnering with communities, and we believe it will have a significant impact.”