Ifeoma Ozoma

Ifeoma Ozoma is an American policy expert and equity advocate. Her work involves tackling health misinformation and tech accountability. She is the Founder of the consulting firm Earthseed. She was awarded the 2020 Bold Prize.

Ifeoma Ozoma
Born
Anchorage, Alaska
Alma materChoate Rosemary Hall
Yale University
EmployerGoogle
Facebook
Pinterest

Early life and education

Ozoma is from Anchorage, Alaska. She attended Choate Rosemary Hall. She was an undergraduate student at Yale University, where she specialised in political science and the fourth amendment.[1][2]

Career

After graduating, Ozoma joined Google, where she worked on public policy and government liaison. She spent two years at Facebook before joining Pinterest.

In June 2020 Ozoma and her colleague Aerica Shimizu Banks resigned from her position at Pinterest due to racial and gender discrimination.[3][4] They claimed to have been paid unfairly, faced retaliation when calling for change and had their personal information shared by co-workers.[5] In the aftermath of the event, Ozoma and Banks were offered less than a year's severance pay. A few months later, Françoise Brougher, Pinterest chief operating officer, was awarded a $22.5 million settlement for gender discrimination.[6][7] Whilst Ozoma and Banks did not have the same resources to pursue litigation, they were glad that they spoke up, “we’re not in a position that someone in the C-suite would have been. But our integrity means more than anything else, and if we can help other folks, we will,”.[6] In an interview with The Guardian, Ozoma described the settlement as a “slap in the face”.[5] In 2020 she was awarded the Bold Prize, an initiative started by Sabrina Heri Issa that looks to support Black women in technology.[8]

Ozoma is the Founder of Earthseed, a consultancy firm who tackle health misinformation.[9] She serves on the board of First Draft News and works with the Brookings Institution Transatlantic Working Group on Disinformation.[10][11]

References
  1. "Ifeoma Ozoma". Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  2. GmbH, finanzen net. "Two Black women publicly resigned from Pinterest saying they faced humiliation, retaliation and were passed over for promotion". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  3. Duffy, Kate. "Pinterest's $22.5 million gender discrimination settlement is another example of how Black women are ignored, say senior women of color in the tech industry". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  4. Spencer, Erin. "Former Pinterest Employees Allege Racial Discrimination, Unfair Pay And Hostile Culture". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  5. Paul, Kari (2020-12-18). "Pinterest's $22m settlement with executive is a 'slap in the face', Black former workers say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  6. "Pinterest's $22.5M settlement highlights tech's inequities, say former employees who alleged discrimination". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  7. Paul, Kari (2020-12-18). "Pinterest's $22m settlement with executive is a 'slap in the face', Black former workers say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  8. "Introducing the 2020 Bold Prize Honorees". Introducing the 2020 Bold Prize Honorees. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  9. "Speakers". Conference for Truth and Trust Online. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  10. "First Draft welcomes new US board". First Draft. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  11. "Platforms and the Election: An Autopsy (A November 19 Virtual Panel)". Mozilla Foundation. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
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