Former Snap employee says she emailed more than 1,000 engineers at company on last day to highlight ‘toxic’ and ‘sexist’ work culture
Snap says it’s already working to improve company culture and diversity, but acknowledged that ‘we certainly have more work to do’
By Sean Wolfe
A former Snap employee highlighted her qualms with what she described as Snap’s “toxic” and “sexist” culture in an email sent to about 1,300 people on her last day of work, Cheddar’s Alex Heath reports.
Shannon Lubetich, who worked in Snap’s software engineering department, sent the email last November. The email focused on the many ways an engineer could be described — with phrases including “A person who takes more than two days off when their child is born,” “isn’t straight,” and “who doesn’t drink Red Bull or alcohol” — and mentioned that while not everyone would fit that description, “it’s not fine if you think, consciously or subconsciously, that these traits prevent you from being a good engineer.”
After it was sent, the email reportedly sparked a company-wide internal discussion. In an on-the-record interview with Cheddar, Lubetich described how employees, parties, and company culture combined into a “pervading sexist vibe” at Snap.