“So…we’re cool, right?”

This is what one manager, who has been at Facebook since before it went IPO in 2012, said to a colleague of ours after the Medium post Facebook Empowers Racism Against Its Employees of Color unintentionally went viral. Similar sentiments were raised by managers, many of whom are white with tenure, with diverse teams across its Menlo Park, Seattle, New York City, and London offices.

What was initially meant to be an exercise in sharing our challenging experiences turned into a dialogue across many different media channels. The Daily Beast. USA Today. The Guardian. CNBC. The New York Post. The Root. And many more. Forbes noted:

[T]he incidents represent microaggressions that may not have been taken seriously because by their nature they seem more benign on the surface, especially to the majority populations. The 2019 State of Inclusion survey by Deloitte found that the vast majority of bias that is witnessed or experienced in the workplace today is more subtle and covert versus the more blatant discrimination that was seen in the past. It seems the more elusive the discrimination becomes, the more difficult it is to eradicate.

Within Facebook, we were pleased to see Lori Goler, Sheryl Sandberg, and Mark Zuckerberg all express disdain at the behaviors we had experienced. We were saddened by the dozens of people we both knew and didn’t know share on Workplace their own experiences, their frustrations with the lack of action by HR, the dismissiveness presented by other people managers, and the general disappointment with what we had experienced.

We then saw further dialogue occur. Across many different business units, leaders were posting missives around being disgusted and appalled by the experiences we faced, promising an open ear and ready action if we were to face bias and discrimination again. People began to become more open with sharing what had happened, even if they neglected to share with whom the behavior took place. One manager reached out to one of the co-authors who left because of the behavior outlined in the original piece and said “I am sorry we failed you.” The sentiment in private echoed the public statement by a Facebook spokesperson who apologized for what was clearly appalling behavior.

Others around the industry shared their thoughts. Dantley Davis, who leads design at Twitter, addressed the systemic issues at Facebook in a post of his own, sharing what he had witnessed and how he could help those who do not feel they belong at Facebook. Many others, both current and former Facebook managers, privately stated their desire to do more, to be better allies, to be a voice to those who have had trouble finding their own. Another brave woman has shared her own story about what she experienced at Facebook.

We were seen. We were heard. And on Monday, November 11, we felt things were changing.

As a company, it felt like — for a shared moment in time — everyone looked in the mirror and said “we could do better and we should be better.” Facebook, once about moving fast/breaking things and having omitted the latter part of the phrase, embraced a stance of fast action. Zuck promised to speak about this during Q&A that Thursday, and each day leading to that moment felt like decades.

On Tuesday, November 12, several managers convened privately to figure out which of their direct reports, current and former, were authors of the piece. Rather than reflect on their behaviors, they took to scouring social media, engaging with posts, and doing their best to identify who might be part of the cabal of authors who dared to air dirty laundry to the public.

Some managers, in an attempt to save face and reputation, began asking their directs how they felt about their manager and if they were still in their good graces. Within one org, whose Pulse scores numbered in the single digits, there was to be no discussion of the article. As they are in the middle of a major shift in positions, where individual contributors (ICs) are given the choice between staying in a new position they were not trained to be in or receive a severance package, any talk about controversial elements would mean potential termination.

“We’re cool, right?”

On Blind, along with general racist dissent against the authors of the original piece, memes of racist caricatures, comments saying blacks should know their place, and missives of “they deserved it” ran wild before being deleted. There was also general debate around if the behaviors exhibited in the article were actually racist, or if the anonymous authors were just seeking publicity.

(Note: We have been contacted by different law firms and media outlets. We have not gone public with our identities.)

Wednesday, November 13, one day before Q&A. The good managers are continuing to engage in dialogue. Great leaders are taking a stand and saying that the behavior is unacceptable, holding office hours for those wanting a safe space to vent, and creating psychological safety for people who have experienced microaggressions during their tenure at Facebook. Supportive ICs are leaning on each other to find ways to ensure they do not allow the behavior of poor managers and bad actors to reflect the complex dynamics of the company. One white IC, unaware or unmoved by the recent media coverage, went a different direction, instructing a colleague of color before a presentation they both worked on to “not say anything unless I call upon you” — doubling down on the negative behaviors addressed last week.

It is now Thursday, November 14, and Zuck had spoken. At the weekly Q&A, Facebook’s founder and CEO displayed genuine empathy, concern, and authentic disappointment that this is not the company he wanted to build.

We were seen. We were heard. There was hope. We were moving fast again. Or so we thought.

Zuck, in a sudden about face that may have been tinged with good intent, said the behaviors were mostly due to new, inexperienced managers who did not know how to manage conflict well, completely (if unintentionally) dismissing the actions and behaviors of those with tenure, who have weaponized their positional power to invoke a lack of accountability in how they make others feel.

The mirror cracked.

Friday, November 15. A manager, who a co-author had shared experiences about in the previous story, was emboldened by the Q&A and, knowing there would now be no repercussions, lashed out at her direct report during a team meeting, doing her best to make the employee feel small.

Facebook empowered racism against its employees of color. And then it empowered bad managers to act against ICs with no accountability. Managers, no matter how inept or how low their ratings may be, are now considered more valuable than experienced, talented ICs who have and will go to other organizations where they feel more valued than they do at Facebook. There was to be no mandate of bias or belonging training for managers. There was to be no reevaluation or review in qualifications for people managers. There was to be no analysis of the effectiveness of Manager Essentials or Managing Inclusion. What’s the point in saying we’ll do better if we are dismissing managers from being held accountable?

It made us think of Qin Chen, who just two months ago died by suicide as a result of the hostile management culture. And Yi Yen, who was fired for speaking of the incident. And Mark Luckie, who had not only spoken publicly about Facebook’s black people problem but then had his post unceremoniously removed before being restored again. And the countless others who have been failed internally by the platform that was supposed to bring people around the world together.

We were seen. We were heard. There was hope. But it was brief. Zuck spoke to thousands of employees about how deeply he felt about the trials and tribulations underrepresented groups of designers, engineers, people partners and program managers experienced, and then put the onus on managers who don’t care anyway. As if he were to think it would be enough to make us feel better. As if we were meant to accept the behaviors as due to misguidedness rather than misconduct. As if he leaned in to our ear, gave us a pat on our back, and said…

We’re cool, right?

Monday, November 18. Things are back to normal. We are prepping for the holiday season. Finalizing our H2 projects. Giving uncomfortable smiles to people who didn’t say much to us in the past, and knowing nods to each other as we pass by the posters that read “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” and “Black Lives Matter.” On the chalkboard in MPK21, there was a partial quote — now erased — from Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote is not as well known as others, but resonates just as true today as it did fifty years ago.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives here can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

Those of us who chose to stay at Facebook remain because of the promise it held to bring the world closer together. Those who left continue to create impact in ways that will hopefully influence everyone to believe they — and others — can truly belong in any place, at any time. We are all caught in this mutual network we call life, and can either work to build communities of respect, integrity, and shared accountability, or thrive only in service of the one that looks at us in the mirror — with one eye closed, and the other unfamiliar with what is reflecting back.

This week, hundreds of African-American Facebook employees embarked to Menlo Park, California to be part of its annual Black@ event. This event was a global event, allowing us to hear directly from Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg about the importance of inclusion and empowerment, and meeting with colleagues who we may rarely see outside of the hectic day-to-day of the business. Many of us will then go to the AfroTech event in Oakland to share stories, network, and meet up with other engineers, designers, and leaders in the industry.

We may be smiling. We may post on Instagram with industry influencers and celebrities. We may use the IG “Share Black Stories” filter and be featured on marketing pieces. We may embrace each other and share how happy we are to have the opportunity to work with a company that impacts nearly three billion people.

On the inside, we are sad. Angry. Oppressed. Depressed. And treated every day through the micro and macro aggressions as if we do not belong here.

Since Mark Luckie’s brave post nearly one year to this day highlighting the patterns of aggression against black employees, not much has changed. There may be a few more posters on the wall. There may be an effort to recruit diverse talent. But not much has changed to ensure that people are recognized, empowered, and overall treated equitably by their managers and peers. In fact, things have gotten worse, as will be illustrated here through the below incidents that have occurred over the past six months.

The problem is not just with black employees of different genders. The below incidents are also reflective of behaviors against Latinx and female Asian employees.

The experiences highlighted here invoke how we, the twelve Facebook employees present and past who are sharing our stories here anonymously, have been made to feel as employees by Facebook managers, HR business partners, and their immediate white colleagues. To avoid positively identifying the individuals involved, we will not name the people or business units involved. However, all of the below incidents are factual, with witnesses corroborating the behaviors, and have been thoroughly documented.

• Over the half, I have received dozens of anonymous, highly positive peer reviews in the internal performance management tool about my work, my partnership, my collaboration, and my leadership. This feedback was received from people across all levels, from those more junior in their careers, to VPs reporting into senior leadership of the company. My manager chose to ignore this feedback and focused on a single piece of anonymous negative feedback that had no context. The feedback from this person was that I was arrogant, aggressive, and self-serving. When asked about the situation this occurred, she said “this is what someone perceives of you, so you need to change your behavior if you want to stay at Facebook.”
• While eating breakfast, two white employees asked me to clean up after their mess. I am a program manager. I told my manager about the incident. She told me I need to dress more professionally.
• My manager approaches other leaders and managers with manipulative comments in an effort to sway opinion against me. Statements such as “wouldn’t you agree that she is only focused on herself” and “many people have said that she is not smart” have been shared with me by those whom my manager has been in contact with. When those statements that were intended to negatively influence did not work, my manager used those statements without attribution in my performance review.
• My manager has directly asked at least two colleagues to provide me negative feedback on my performance review in order to influence my performance rating, which would negatively impact my total compensation. My colleagues refused and instead referred the incident to HR. HR took no action.
• I spoke at a regular team meeting and gave my opinion about a topic I am a subject matter expert on. I was told after the meeting by the manager that I was disrespectful for speaking at this meeting, that my opinion was not wanted, that I was being arrogant in sharing that opinion, and not to speak at any future meetings unless called upon.
• On Blind, the app that allows for Facebook employees to post anonymous experiences, we see our colleagues treating us with an aggression unshackled from the constraints of Workplace

• I was accused of being a liar and stealing others’ ideas. I asked for specifics about what I allegedly lied about and what I allegedly stole. The response was the person(s) who accused me of this behavior wished to remain anonymous because they did not feel comfortable around me, and that I should assume good intent of them. I asked why good intent was not assumed of me and how I could possibly respond to anything that has absolutely no substance; my manager’s response was that their intent was pure. When asked why others do not need to assume good intent of me, I was told I need to be quiet, more reserved, and highly respectful towards others. When asked how I should respond to the accusation of theft, she said “only I will give you credit for your work, so don’t self-promote on Workplace.”
• I asked about career growth. I was told to just do my core job. “There is no growth for your role.” The only way for a promotion was to “do what I say”, to “not speak to others outside the team unless given permission”, to “not post on Workplace unless it is a project update”, and to be subservient to her whims.
• My manager has stated she does not need to attend manager development trainings beyond Facebook Manager Essentials because she only receives positive feedback from her peers. My manager has also stated she is very inclusive and does not need to attend the Managing Bias or Managing Inclusion classes. To further highlight the lack of personal accountability represented here, a majority of Facebook’s development programs are not mandatory, and no follow up is done from the programs, that allows bad actors to continue their behaviors without question.
• Our org, which is incredibly diverse in representation, had very low Pulse results in the last half. Rather than be transparent about the changes we need to make, our leader said it was our fault for low Pulse scores and we need to do self-reflection on how to improve our performance.
• Much of my manager’s behavior occurs verbally. When asked to reiterate comments via text, either in Quip, on Workplace, or via email, she misstates her comments, carefully avoids confirming everything that was said, and uses statements such as “as we discussed” or “as you confirmed” in an effort to hide her intentions and protect her from potential HR or legal action.
• I was told by my HRBP, after approaching her about the discrimination on my team, “there is no bias at Facebook.”

Racism, discrimination, bias, and aggression do not come from the big moments. It’s in the small actions that mount up over time and build into a culture where we are only meant to be seen as quotas, but never heard, never acknowledged, never recognized, and never accepted. By contrast, our colleagues in the majority populations have been elevated, celebrated, and promoted for doing less than the work we have been tasked to do.

We are remaining anonymous because Facebook creates a hostile culture where anyone who is non-white is made to feel fear for their job and their safety to report any bad behaviors. There is little to no equity in terms of responsibilities, ratings, and reviews. Bad behaviors from non-POCs are elevated while normal actions from POCs are treated as aggressive, angry, and abnormal. Even positive ratings are shared with a negative, threatening tone.

If this post gets any outside attention, the response will be met by M team as “we view diversity as important”, “this behavior is not acceptable,” and “we will increase our efforts to make things better”. And then the cycle will repeat. Facebook is not doing the best it can, and it will continue to be hostile to POCs as long as middle managers and ICs in majority groups are not held accountable. The result of this negligent, hostile, and aggressive behavior from Facebook managers and representatives in HR has caused a significant decline in our physical and mental health and made it significantly difficult, if not impossible, to continue working.

Unfortunately, as long as impact at all costs remains the theme at Facebook, nothing will change. We fear for our safety, our career prospects, and the potential spotlight, lest we be given media attention that we do not want or asked to testify to a Congress that will not take action. We simply do not have the resources to take action against Facebook. We cannot afford to be vulnerable externally because Facebook has made us a vulnerable target internally. The only thing we can hope for in this cathartic exercise is to influence change by sharing our stories and hope that no one else experiences the same discriminatory behaviors that we have.

Because even when you try to shut us down, our voices matter. And no one will listen unless we speak.

EDIT — What happened next? See our November 22 follow-up story: One of Twelve.