Ifeoma Ozoma facts for kids

Ifeoma Ozoma (born in 1991 or 1992) is an American expert in public policy. She is also a strong supporter of fairness in the technology industry. After working at Pinterest for two years, Ozoma resigned. She then spoke out about unfair treatment and racial discrimination she said she experienced there.

After leaving Pinterest, she started her own consulting company called Earthseed. She has worked hard to support laws that protect employees who speak up about problems (called whistleblowers). She also advocates for other worker protections in the tech world. Today, she is the director of tech accountability at the University of California, LA Center on Race and Digital Justice.

She has been recognized by The Root magazine and Time magazine for her important work.

Early Life and Education

Ifeoma Ozoma grew up in two different places: Anchorage, Alaska, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Her parents are immigrants from Nigeria.

For high school, Ozoma went to Choate Rosemary Hall. This is a private boarding school in Connecticut that helps students get ready for college. In 2015, she earned a degree in political science from Yale University.

Career and Advocacy

After finishing college, Ozoma started her career at Google in 2015. She worked in their Washington, D.C., office. Her job involved public policy and connecting with the government. Later, she spent two years at Facebook in Silicon Valley. There, she worked on international relations.

Working at Pinterest

In 2018, Ozoma joined Pinterest to work on their new public policy team. While at Pinterest, she helped make a big change. Pinterest decided to stop promoting former slave plantations as wedding venues. This decision was widely praised. She also worked on important topics like medical misinformation. She helped Pinterest create a rule to ban content that was against vaccinations.

While at Pinterest, Ozoma spent a year trying to get a pay raise. She believed her pay should match that of co-workers with similar experience. She even hired a lawyer to help her discuss her job title and pay.

Speaking Out and Doxing Incident

Ozoma suggested that Pinterest add a warning to posts by Ben Shapiro. She described him as a "white supremacist" political commentator. After this, a co-worker worked with a right-wing group to publish Ozoma's personal phone number, name, and photos online. This act is called doxing. Ozoma then started receiving threats. Pinterest did not help her remove the information. They also did not punish the employee responsible.

Ozoma was already upset with Pinterest's "dangerously inadequate" response to the doxing. She was also frustrated that her efforts to get a raise were not working. The final straw was when a manager criticized her in a performance review. This criticism was about the language she used in the wedding venue policy. In May 2020, Ozoma resigned from Pinterest. She also filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). Eventually, she reached an agreement with Pinterest.

Public Discussion and Company Response

Ozoma started talking publicly about her experiences in June. She broke a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to do so. She felt Pinterest's public support for Black lives after the George Floyd protests was not genuine. Along with her co-worker Aerica Shimizu Banks, who also resigned and filed a complaint, Ozoma publicly stated they were paid unfairly at Pinterest. They also said they faced punishment for asking for changes. Both women said the work environment was unfriendly and unfair to Black women. In August, Pinterest employees held a walkout. They protested the company's unfair treatment of women, especially women of color.

Ozoma and Banks each received less than a year of severance pay when they left. A few months later, Françoise Brougher, Pinterest's former chief operating officer, received a $22.5 million settlement. This was from a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company. Other tech leaders, like Timnit Gebru, criticized Pinterest. They saw a racist difference in how the company treated Ozoma and Banks compared to Brougher, who is white. The Guardian newspaper said that Ozoma and Banks had "laid the groundwork" for others, including Brougher, to speak out. Ozoma called Brougher's settlement a "slap in the face."

In November 2021, Pinterest settled a lawsuit from shareholders. The lawsuit claimed that company leaders allowed a harmful culture of discrimination. This lawsuit was based on the claims made by Ozoma and Banks. The settlement set aside $50 million for efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion at Pinterest.

After leaving Pinterest, Ozoma started Earthseed. This is a consulting firm focused on making the tech industry more fair.

Silenced No More Act

Ozoma helped create California's Silenced No More Act. This law protects employees who speak about unfair treatment or discrimination. It protects them even if they have signed a non-disclosure agreement. Ozoma and Senator Connie Leyva wrote the bill. The California State Assembly passed it. Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October 2021. It became effective on January 1, 2022.

In late 2021, Ozoma inspired Chelsey Glasson, a former Google employee. Glasson had sued Google for pregnancy discrimination. Ozoma also worked with Cher Scarlett, a former Apple software engineer and labor activist. Scarlett was a leader of the #AppleToo movement. Together, they worked to bring a similar bill to Washington state. This bill became law in March 2022. Both Google and Apple have promised to offer Silenced No More protections to all their employees.

Apple Shareholder Proposal

In September 2021, Ozoma, along with a non-profit group called Open MIC, and investment firms Whistle Capital and Nia Impact Capital, made a proposal to Apple's shareholders. They asked Apple to check the risks of non-disclosure clauses. These clauses are often used for employees who have faced harassment or discrimination.

This proposal came after Ozoma and Nia had made a less formal suggestion. They wanted Apple to add a statement to employee agreements. This statement would say that employees are free to talk about "unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination." Apple refused, saying this was already covered by their Business Conduct Policy.

On October 18, 2021, Apple sent a no-action response to the shareholder proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Apple claimed it did not use the types of secrecy clauses that Nia was referring to.

On November 22, 2021, Nia responded to Apple and the SEC. Nia stated they had "received information, confidentially provided, that Apple has sought to use concealment clauses in the context of discrimination, harassment, and other workplace labor violation claims." Scarlett later said she had given Nia this information. On December 21, 2021, the SEC ruled against Apple's filing. This was a win for the activists. Eight United States treasurers asked the SEC to investigate. Shareholders voted to approve the audit proposal on March 4, 2022. Apple released the audit results in December 2022. The company promised not to enforce rules that might stop someone from talking about "unlawful conduct."

The Tech Worker Handbook

In October 2021, Ozoma launched The Tech Worker Handbook. She created it with groups like Omidyar Network, The Signals Network, and Lioness. It is a website with free information for tech workers. It helps them make smart choices about whether to speak out on issues that are important to the public.

The handbook guides workers through what they might face in legal processes. It also explains how to talk to the media. It gives information on how to handle physical and safety concerns. The handbook includes stories and advice from other tech whistleblowers.

Recognition

Ifeoma Ozoma was included in The Root's 2021 "The Root 100" list. This is an annual list of the most influential African Americans in different fields.

Time magazine recognized Ozoma in 2022 on their Time 100 Next list. She was also honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in the same year.

Personal Life

Ifeoma Ozoma lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

See also

In Spanish: Ifeoma Ozoma para niños

• Timnit Gebru
• Sophie Zhang
• Claire Stapleton
• Chanin Kelly-Rae