A former marketing executive at TikTok claims she was fired for failing to demonstrate the “submissiveness and meekness that is specifically required of female employees.”
Katie Riccio Pulis, who was fired from her role as TikTok’s head of global brand and creative last year, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the ByteDance-owned social media platform Thursday in Manhattan federal court.
Ms. Pulis, who lives on Long Island, claimed that the company exposed her to criticism while her male co-workers got away with it and did not properly address the sexual harassment allegations.
“At every step, Ms. Pulis reported the discriminatory treatment and sexual harassment she faced to her managers, human resources, and employee relations, but the company took no corrective action despite receiving instructions from its China office. ”, the report states. That’s what the complaint alleged.
Mr. Pulis’ resume includes stints as a marketing executive at Google and Meta’s Facebook, and he was hired by TikTok in 2019 as head of North American business marketing.
Despite receiving excellent performance reviews from his superiors after joining TikTok, the situation began to change after Zhang Lidong, the chairman of China-based parent company ByteDance, began insisting that he would tighten control over the social media platform’s day-to-day operations. The lawsuit alleges that this has begun to change. .
Pulis said in her lawsuit that Zhang “did not lead the presentation because she praised her team’s successes and accomplishments because she believed that women should always maintain and express humility.” He claimed that he was “displeased” by what he had done.
“In essence, Zhang Lidong believes that women should be quiet,” the lawsuit alleges.
Pulis claimed in the lawsuit that Zhang refused to criticize male leaders, saying he lacked humility. She claimed that she was “never allowed to present or speak” at bimonthly meetings meant to strategize and document the company’s achievements.
The complaint also alleges that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming expressed a desire to hire younger employees, even if they were inexperienced.
Pulis argued in his lawsuit that the company’s “996” culture, which requires employees to be in the office six days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., discriminates against older employees. This is because younger workers are “less likely to take on child care and other family obligations outdoors.” for work. “
The lawsuit alleges that the pressure to prove himself to ByteDance management ultimately caused Pulis’ health to deteriorate, and he began suffering from ulcers, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome.
In June 2022, Pulis claimed that Christian Lee, an executive at advertising agency Zenith, “became increasingly inebriated” at a dinner at Cannes Lions in France.
The lawsuit alleges that Lee “attempted to sit next to Pulis in an attempt to prevent Pulis from moving away from him.”
The man then “had slurred speech” and “spilled a glass of wine on Ms Pulis’ plate” before “repeatedly touching” her arm and “asking her where she was going to party after dinner and where she was going dancing.” “Can we go?” he started asking. A lawsuit has been filed.
Eventually, another TikTok employee attended the dinner and escorted Pris outside to keep her away from Lee.
When Pulis mentioned the incident to her superiors, she said she was “disappointed” that “the ethics team did not take my concerns seriously.”
Pulis claimed in her lawsuit that she was fired after complaining about the company’s inaction.
The Post has reached out to TikTok and Zenith for comment.
