New Delhi (Agency): In a striking development, Singapore-based tech executive of Indian descent, Vaishnavi Jayakumar, has leveled accusations against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for racial discrimination. A lawsuit has been filed with the California Civil Rights Department, claiming that Jayakumar has been denied promotions and work opportunities based on her ethnicity.
Prior to joining Meta in January 2020, Jayakumar had been associated with prominent tech corporations such as Disney, Google, and Twitter. She alleged that at Meta, her inquiries regarding professional advancement were met with punitive measures. She felt excluded from opportunities and found herself reporting to colleagues with less experience.
Jayakumar expressed her distress and feelings of marginalization in a LinkedIn post, where she wrote, “I’ve never felt more keenly that as an Asian woman, I’m destined to be a worker, I’m not destined to be a leader”. She added that she had encountered what she perceived to be a prejudiced termination under the guise of a mass layoff last month.
As the Head of Youth Policy at Meta, Jayakumar was tasked with leading a team that advised on age-appropriate policies and product features across all Meta apps. She claims to have contributed positively to the wellbeing of youth on Instagram and other Meta services and received positive feedback during her first two years at the company.
However, Jayakumar’s quest for a promotion was thwarted, hitting what she referred to as the “bamboo ceiling” often faced by Asian-Americans. She alleges that her manager began providing racially-coded negative feedback, denying her suitability for leadership roles despite her extensive experience.
To substantiate her allegations, Jayakumar cites a study by Ascend, a network of Asian and Pacific Islander professionals. The study reveals that while 49% of Meta’s workforce is Asian, only 25% of its executives share that ethnicity.
The backdrop of these allegations is Meta’s substantial workforce reductions. The company terminated over 11,000 employees at the end of 2022 and proceeded to lay off an additional 10,000 in March this year. Jayakumar’s complaint adds to a growing chorus of voices from Asian Americans in the tech industry who are raising awareness about racial bias in Silicon Valley.
According to USA Today, Jayakumar seeks policy modifications from Meta, which include tracking the promotion rates of Asian Americans and training managers to recognize tropes and stereotypes that unfairly affect Asian American employees. Meta, meanwhile, has refrained from commenting on these accusations.