As the country begins to grapple with systemic issues in real and meaningful ways, many companies looking to industry leaders for guidance will be disappointed by an all too familiar pattern of lip service followed by inaction.
The most recent company to run afoul is Condé Nast: Priya Krishna, Rick Martinez and Sohla El-Waylly will no longer be in Bon Appétit Test Kitchen videos, as announced today on social media and Business Insider.
For five weeks, the contributing writers and food editors negotiated for fair pay for their contributions to the popular series that many turned to for comfort during quarantine, and ultimately decided to walk away from the table when the global mass media company failed to meet their demands.
“I refuse to be a part of a system that takes advantage of me, while insisting I should be grateful for scraps. This happens far too often, to too many people of color … To my BIPOC peers: Don’t settle. Recognize your worth,” posts Krishna on her Twitter.
Condé Nast spent the summer reckoning with racism, cutting ties in June with Adam Rapoport, former Bon Appétit editor in chief, and Matt Duckor, head of video programming for Conde Nast, over allegations of racial discrimination and offensive behavior. It seems like the company hasn’t learned from that experience yet, and may continue to hemorrhage talent if they don’t reconsider their own policies and more importantly, how they implement them.
Recently, we covered Krishna’s conversation with her mother about rituals during COVID-19 quarantine, as part of the Cherry Bombe Jubilee.
No Comments