Snap agrees to pay $15 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit from the California Civil Rights Department. The lawsuit stemmed from a three-year investigation that found that Snap allegedly failed to “ensure that women were paid or promoted equally.”

The allegations span Snap’s period of rapid growth from 2015 to 2022, when the California-based company increased its headcount from 250 to more than 5,000. During this time, California’s civil rights agency claims Snap paid women less and offered them fewer promotions when compared to male employees.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that women at the company “were routinely subjected to unwelcome sexual advances and other harassing conduct so severe or pervasive that it created a hostile work environment.” When women complained about their work environment, they allegedly faced retaliation in the form of denied promotions, negative performance reviews, and termination.

“We care deeply about our commitment to maintain a fair and inclusive environment at Snap, and do not believe we have any ongoing systemic pay equity, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation issues against women,” Snap spokesperson Ashley Adams says in a statement to The Verge. Adams adds that while Snap “disagreed” with the California civil rights agency’s claims, the company “took into consideration the cost and impact of lengthy litigation” and determined “it is in the best interest of the company to resolve these claims and focus on the future.”

Under the proposed settlement, Snap is to retain an independent consultant to evaluate and make recommendations about Snap’s compensation and promotion policies. It will also need to contract a third-party monitor to audit the company’s sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination compliance. Of the $15 million Snap agreed to pay, $14.5 million will go toward compensating women who worked at the company between 2014 and 2024.

Snap’s work culture has been criticized in the past. In 2018, a former software engineer claimed the company created a “sexist” and “toxic” work environment. The company opened an internal investigation into racism and sexism in 2020, and it released its first diversity report in response to growing scrutiny about its work culture that same year.