The head of New York’s chapter of Planned Parenthood has been ousted amid complaints of discrimination and the inappropriate treatment of staffers.
The organization’s board of directors announced on Tuesday that it had “parted ways” with Laura McQuade, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, after previously stating its support for her, according to the New York Times.
Prior to her exit, hundreds of employees formed a group called Save Planned Parenthood Greater New York and spoke out against McQuade in the form of letters and demanded that she be fired over her alleged misconduct.
“Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist, white woman,” a letter from the group read. “That is a part of history that cannot be changed. While efforts have been made to undo some of the harm from institutional racism, many of these issues have worsened under McQuade’s tenure.”
“After years of complaints from staff about issues of systemic racism, pay inequity, and lack of upward mobility for Black staff, highly-paid consultants were brought in three separate times to assess the situation. Each time, employees of color were brutally honest about their experiences, but nothing changed,” the letter added.
McQuade, in an interview with the New York Times, claimed the allegations against her were false but noted that “this is not the time to refute them.”
“I feel nothing but goodwill toward the organization, and I want them to succeed,” she said. “The work that we have undertaken over the last three years together has been some of the most important work of my life.”
In addition to pushing for McQuade’s removal, the Save PPGNY group also hopes for salary cuts for any chief officers making over $100,000 per year, an independent investigation into the allegations they brought forth, and a “new independent, external, experienced leader, hired by an independent, expert party, in close cooperation with staff and centering our patients and the communities we serve.”
Planned Parenthood in a statement acknowledged that the chapter made positive strides under her leadership, which began in 2017, but sought to move on from her, given the situation.
“During Laura’s tenure, PPGNY made some important operational changes,” the organization said in the statement. “But growing concerns raised by our staff made her continued leadership untenable.”
“Our employees are on the front lines of some of the most critical healthcare work in the country,” it continued, “and we recognize we must make some changes to ensure our clinicians and center staff continue to feel supported in meeting the needs of all patients.”
