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Snap is undertaking an evaluation after allegations of discrimination
Snap conducted an investigation into claims of racism and sexism inside the group, anonymized sources told Business Insider.
According to the reports, the investigative company (Seattle-based Williams Kastner) has contacted all current and former employees. The probe seems to be concerned with stories told by ex-employees in the Mashable report of 9 June about their time working for Snap between 2015 and 2018.
Several sources have told Mashable that they have encountered a discriminatory atmosphere during their tenure at the organization, and that leadership has disparaged Black representation in the media.
One employee said they were asked to replace the lead image of Black actors with a "friendlier face." The same boss told another employee that the story was "too black-heavy" and demanded that any Black characters be replaced by people of other races. The person mentioned the incident in the manager's HR analysis, but did not bring it back.
At the time, Snap told Mashable that he was "looking into" the complaint. At a recent meeting, CEO Evan Spiegel told employees that the company was investigating the incidents reported by Mashable.
Snap is one of the few corporations in Silicon Valley to have never published a diversity survey. During the same conference, Spiegel announced that the organization will continue to keep its diversity figures secret. "We were surprised that all of these revelations have potentially transformed the overall makeup of the tech workforce," the executive said in an interview with CNBC. He said that Snap was working on "a new way to unlock the information right now."
The organization also protested the introduction of the Juneteenth plugin, which urged consumers to "smile and break ties," displaying what seemed to be the imitation of the Pan-African flag. Snap 's head of Diversity and Inclusion apologised in a company-wide email explaining that the feature was the result of a partnership between Black and White workers. Snap is now reviewing this matter through a company representative.
That wasn't the first filter Snap has fallen into trouble — the firm launched a Bob Marley filter back in 2016 that essentially produced blackface, as well as an anime-inspired lens that some users felt turned images into stereotypical Asian caricatures.
