- Susan Fowler Rigetti, the woman who blew the whistle on Uber’s sexist culture, has been hired by The New York Times.
- Fowler Rigetti will serve as The Times’ technology opinion editor based in San Francisco.
- She first rose to prominence in February 2017 when she published a blog post detailing rampant sexual harassment at Uber.
- Her blog post sparked a chain of events, including a wide-scale investigation into Uber’s culture and an investor uprising that forced out CEO Travis Kalanick.
Susan Fowler Rigetti, the woman who blew the whistle on Uber’s culture of sexual harassment, has a new role: editor at The New York Times.
Fowler Rigetti, who up until now has worked as an engineer in Silicon Valley, most recently at Stripe, will be The Times’ technology opinion editor based in the San Francisco area.
“As our tech editor, she will be responsible for commissioning – and sometimes writing – pieces on all the ways technology is shaping our culture, economy, relationships, politics and play,” The Times wrote in a press release announcing Fowler Rigetti’s hiring. “She will bring her unique brand of courage, clarity of mind and moral purpose to our pages starting in September.”
Fowler Rigetti first gained attention in February 2017 when she published a blog post titled, “Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber.” Her post told of HR looking the other way as managers allegedly hit on employees and bought just the male members of her team leather jackets.
The blog post went viral and shook the company to its core, eventually leading to an investigation into Uber's culture that resulted in the firing of over 20 people, and an investor uprising that forced Travis Kalanick out as CEO.
Fowler Rigetti went on to file a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the forced arbitration clauses that tech companies routinely make employees sign as a condition of their employment. She also is said to have sold the rights to a movie about her time at Uber, and is writing a book about her life.