“Most people of color working in tech know that there’s a diversity problem. But I’ve never experienced anything like Coinbase.”
The New York Times on Friday published a report that details allegations of a racist culture at the cryptocurrency startup Coinbase.
One particularly striking passage:
One Black employee said her manager suggested in front of colleagues that she was dealing drugs and carrying a gun, trading on racist stereotypes. Another said a co-worker at a recruiting meeting broadly described Black employees as less capable. Still another said managers spoke down to her and her Black colleagues, adding that they were passed over for promotions in favor of less experienced white employees. The accumulation of incidents, they said, led to the wave of departures.
Only 3 percent of Coinbase’s employees are Black, a relatively low number even in the context of the largely white tech industry. (A few points of contrast, per the most recently available public numbers: 4.9 percent of U.S. Microsoft employees are Black; Facebook, 3.9 percent; Apple, 9 percent; Medium, 9 percent.)
Read the full story here:
Earlier this week, Coinbase attempted to get in front of the story with a blog post. “Although the [Times’] story will likely allege that a number of Black employees and contractors referenced in the story filed complaints with the company, only three of these people filed complaints during their time at Coinbase,” the company said. “If we’re made aware of any new allegations that warrant investigation, we will absolutely investigate them — as we do all allegations of misconduct.”
