Skift employees say CEO Rafat Ali acted unprofessionally towards women - Business Insider

  • 📰 BusinessInsider
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 155 sec. here
  • 4 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 65%
  • Publisher: 51%

Malaysia News News

Malaysia Malaysia Latest News,Malaysia Malaysia Headlines

Skift was praised as a progressive startup that could disrupt travel media. But some former employees say the company's mercurial CEO acted unprofessionally and took out frustration disproportionately on women of color.

Over the years, Skift grew to have more than 50 employees, and the Skift Global Forum became a must-attend event for the travel industry.

In a lawsuit filed against Skift, Ali, and Chief Financial Officer Michael Cunniff in November 2019, the company's former vice president of marketing alleged that she experienced gender-based harassment, bullying, and discrimination in the workplace. "When you look at the data, it's clear that Skift is actually an anti-racist company. We're also anti-sexist. And anti-ageist. And anti-privilege," a Skift representative said. For many, that was a good thing.

Ali said that he didn't recall this particular incident but that he did "focus on the quality of the details of our work when we were a smaller company." Ali acknowledged that he did have angry outbursts in the office, but he denied that they were more frequently aimed at women or women of color. "In the beginning, we pretty much made it up as we went to the best of our abilities. We became more intentional as we grew," Ali said.Sources say there was a boys-club environment

Skift said the stickers were created by a "terrific female Guatemalan artist" and were meant to be fun. Enelow-Snyder said that during the group's first meeting, she and others voiced concerns about how they felt the company was being run. Ladies Who Skift had one meeting before the company's leadership team abruptly shut it down. In a companywide meeting this June, Skift issued a formal apology for shutting down Ladies Who Skift.

The complaint goes on to claim that Bonacasa, who was the vice president of marketing, suffered health problems due to the stress she endured at work and that she had stopped menstruating. "We can tell you that Natalie was with us for several years, was the most promoted person in Skift's history , and had senior-level responsibilities while she was with Skift."

She came up with the idea for a podcast about Black travel for Skift. But after she cohosted the first episode in October 2016, she was met with harsh verbal criticism from Ali, she said. "I didn't work with this person very much, but I was pretty surprised — really surprised, actually — to read those tweets, and hurt, as an employee of the company," she said.

Included in the letter, which was signed by 17 current and former employees, was a list of recommendations for Skift to incorporate. One employee who tried to rally support at the time from current and former staffers said the changes would "address the company's history of racial and gender discrimination, lack of diversity, and general toxicity at the company."

"He's very strong in his opinions, but he also really trusts employees to just do their work," the current employee said. "I think that as Skift grew, it was difficult, like with any startup, to have the proper policies or procedures put in place," she said. "So we're really focused on building the community further."Complaints from some employees about Skift's culture arose as the company made impressive gains.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

horrible

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 729. in MY

Malaysia Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Malaysia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

YouTube employee on the top platform trends for marketers and brands - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. SAI Now I know who to blame.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Walmart CEO calls for stimulus, a likely holiday spending boost - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. yea, walmart is my 'weed dealer' 🥴☠️ CEO can join us plebs who've been asking for months. Senate pushed the SCOTUS appointment through and went home. Corporate socialism should end.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Technology stocks lead market lower as tech CEOs grilled by Congress - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. does the GOP really feel they understand technology enough to have this conversation? or are they going to pout until someone says something they want to hear? Disappointing Microsoft outlook? They beat every expectation.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Kushner talking up Trump-branded media outlet, GOP sources say - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. In prison? Evil has landed Anybody who supports this president is morally bankrupt
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Hybrid Robo-Advisors Report from Insider Intelligence - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

COVID-19 mutation: Variant causes most cases in Europe, scientists say - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. Good job nice Keywords here are a mutated strain
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »