Hundreds of former and current Planned Parenthood employees have accused the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York of perpetuating systemic racism within the organization.
More than 300 people who work for or previously worked for PPGNY signed an open letter late last week claiming CEO Laura McQuade created a toxic workplace riddled with “abusive behavior and financial malfeasance” and upheld structural, internal racism. The group demanded her removal from the job.
“The CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY), Laura McQuade, has proven to be a toxic leader and autocrat, and we, the current and former staff of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, write this letter to demand her immediate removal,” the letter reads.
McQuade previously worked for Planned Parenthood of the Great Plains in Kansas from 2014-2017 before taking her current position in New York.
“Dozens of staff members have witnessed McQuade yell, berate, slam her fists, verbally abuse, humiliate, and bully employees, often brutally shaming staff members in internal meetings in front of their colleagues. This behavior is out of line for anyone, let alone the CEO of a ‘progressive’ organization. After countless complaints, a law firm was hired by the board to investigate these allegations. The firm interviewed staff members at all levels, including senior leaders, many providing documented evidence of this pattern of behavior. The cost of this, and other investigations into her behavior, was likely significant and has led to no positive organizational change,” the letter reads.
A Planned Parenthood board told the hundreds of people who signed the letter that it “fully supports the work and leadership” of McQuade and summarized efforts within the organization to end racism and to address “significant salary adjustments to advance pay parity.”
“Today we continue to address pay inequity through a compensation alignment project,” the board wrote. “We also publicly committed to race equity as foundational to the organization’s transformation, supported through organizational learning and accountability to staff, patients, and community.”
The signers of the letter said the board’s support of McQuade was “a slap in the face to all staff who are tired of being gaslit and ignored.”
The allegations follow claims of racism from members of the nation’s oldest and largest feminist organization.
Activists associated with the National Organization for Women claimed they experienced or witnessed racism within the organization, according to a report earlier this month. Emails and documents reviewed by the Daily Beast showed allegations of racism, and more than a dozen employees at its national headquarters signed a letter claiming President Toni Van Pelt sidelined nonwhite women.
“I am a black woman, I have experienced racism,” one former employee said. “But what happened there … I have never experienced that before.”
NOW was founded by Betty Friedan and Shirley Chisholm, in addition to other well-known feminists, in 1966 and has chapters across all 50 states.
