Elon Musk Is a Misogynist and It Matters
PCMAGDec 13, 2021
The Facts
A class action suit filed by a pair of former Twitter employees in a San Francisco federal court has alleged that Elon Musk’s Twitter layoffs violated state and federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace.
In their joint lawsuit, Carolina Bernal Strifling and Willow Wren Turkal claim that Twitter disproportionately targeted women, noting that 57% of female employees were laid off on November 4, compared with 47% of male staff.
The Spin
Left narrative
Elon Musk's tweets degrade women on a public platform; Tesla employees endure racial slurs at its California plant; and Twitter algorithms promote content that reinforces stereotypes. The sexist, homophobic, and racial rhetoric of the world's richest man runs counter to Twitter's stated objectives and initiatives on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. As long as Musk is at the helm, gender discrimination will continue to hamper women in STEM.
Right narrative
Debating about whether or not Musk himself is sexist distracts from the more crucial questions regarding his takeover of Twitter and the consequences of the acquisition for broader society. The new management of Twitter could see one of the world's largest social media platforms actively reinforcing the First Amendment and tackling the targeted misinformation that it was previously key in spreading. Let's wait until the result of the lawsuit before overemphasizing the claims of this case.
Nerd narrative
There is a 38% chance that Twitter will have a corporate credit rating in the "C"s or worse before July, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
