Can you elaborate on the financial problems she was facing? She seems to have been a highly paid Facebook exec who would have had great health insurance. And if her employment was in the US she could keep that insurance through COBRA for between 18 and 36 months.

Life threatening medical problems are obviously horrific and she has my full sympathies. But I'm having a tough time drawing a from that to "coercion" for someone who was a director at Facebook.

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jordanb 10 hours ago | parent | next [-]

She reported not being particularly high paid compared to her peers. When she was hired Facebook didn't care at all about her area (government relations).

As that became more important her role grew but she was never really promoted.

She also was not well informed about how tech compensation works and negotiated poorly (no stock) she came from an NGO background in New Zealand.

Her salary was probably quite a bit more than the average American but she was living in expensive areas (DC and SV) and interacting with extremely wealthy people. At one point Sheryl Sandburg got annoyed that she was leaving work for childcare and told her to hire a live-in nanny. She was living paycheck-to-paycheck on a high income with no wealth accumulation (many such cases).

	▲	smsm42 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		How much is not high? I mean compared to bilionaires a lot of people are paupers, but what about compared to regular people?
	▲	AdrianB1 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
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	▲	crazygringo 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		OK, then honestly it's hard for me to have any sympathy for the idea that she was "coerced". She was being paid lots... but wasn't getting paid even more? If you're an executive at Facebook, you should know how to research negotiation and compensation, and figure out a living situation where you're saving money. You're in the big leagues. If Sheryl expected her to be able to hire a full time nanny, then that's an excellent time to renegotiate a salary than can afford that. If you're an entry-level worker who can't make ends meet in San Fran then of course I sympathize greatly! But if you're an executive at Facebook making enough money that you can even consider a full time nanny... you're not facing any level of "hardship" by which an offer of even more money in exchange for non-disparagement could be considered "coercion". Nobody is in poverty here. Nobody is going to wind up hungry or on the street.

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giancarlostoro 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

COBRA means you pay the full cost of the insurance. So suddenly instead of paying $150 you are now seeing a $500 or more bill, especially if your employer is a major company that pays for all sorts of benefits. COBRA is a joke when you consider you just lost all source of income.

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crazygringo 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The point is, you're not suddenly facing ruinous bankrupting medical expenses.

You're continuing your health insurance. You're paying for your insurance, not your medical care.

She was an executive at Facebook. If she hasn't saved enough for COBRA then I don't even know what to say.

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tbrownaw 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

IIRC, part of the reason that so many countries have specific "here's money specifically for retirement" things (pensions, 401k here in the US) is that many people just don't plan far ahead very well.

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crazygringo 9 hours ago | parent [-]

If entry-level and lower-paid workers aren't saving money then that's understandable. That's why these government programs exist.

If you're an executive at Facebook, I think you have the ability to plan things well. If you still can't save any money, at that point it's hard to see how it's not just your fault.

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Arainach 9 hours ago | parent [-]

She wasn't an executive in the sense you're thinking and certainly wasn't hired as one. She was hired to work in an area Zuckerberg never cared about and never gave anywhere near sufficient resources to.

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crazygringo 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

She's described as an executive and as a director in articles.

I don't know what other sense there is? And what possible relevance is there of the relationship between her role and what Zuck thought? I'm sure Zuck doesn't care much about accounting or HR either. Lots of well paid executives work in areas of corporations that aren't the founder's main focus. That's the kind of problem most people would love to have.

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Arainach 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Directing an area is very different from the title (or compensation) of Director, and it's certainly not equivalent to Director in a tech organization. SWW was hired as "Manager of Global Public Policy" but the book never indicates that she ever has reports or is a manager in that sense, which is generally a requirement to be understood or perceived as a "Director".

If you're surprised media articles don't ask questions and get basic facts wrong, go read any article about a topic you have direct experience with.

	▲	crazygringo 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The articles don't seem to have gotten any basic facts wrong. She had director in her title and reported directly to a vice president, Joel Kaplan, who is now a C-level officer. She managed staff. That's seriously high up in the corporate hierarchy at Facebook. Feel free to read more: "She managed a growing staff and oversaw government relations for entire continents, including Asia and South America. She reported to corporate vice presidents and had direct contact with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, then the chief operating officer." https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/facebook-alleges-h... So again, I don't what you mean by "wasn't an executive in the sense you're thinking". She's seems to be exactly an executive in the sense that everyone thinks.

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laserlight 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> She's described as an executive and as a director in articles.

I once met with a person who used to be a vice president in a major US bank. I was impressed, until much later when I discovered that there were three thousand “vice presidents” in that bank.

	▲	modeless 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		VP is a low rank at a bank but a high rank at Meta. I would be very surprised if anyone at Meta with VP in their title made less than $1M total compensation. "Director" at Meta is also a high rank.
	▲	aix1 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		In investment banking, VP is not a senior title (speaking from personal experience :)). The exact level hierarchy varies from bank to bank, but typically runs something like Analyst - Associate - (Associate VP) - VP - Director/Executive Director/Senior VP - Managing Director

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smsm42 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The book describes Zuckerberg personally thanking her, repeatedly, for her work. It doen't look like something he didn't care about.

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esseph 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Even with insurance you can still easily get 6 figure medical bills. They deny coverage for real problems all the time.

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kg 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> The point is, you're not suddenly facing ruinous bankrupting medical expenses.

This is a powerful assumption given how expensive medicine is in the US - even with insurance - and how often people in their adulthood need medical treatment.

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queenkjuul 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm sorry, no income and >$1000/mo insurance premiums for life saving care absolutely does seem like potentially ruinous medical expense

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teaearlgraycold 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I worked at Google as an L4 for a little over one year and had no trouble paying the COBRA afterwards.

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lokar 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And you pay 102% of what the plan costs, and Meta has a truly deluxe plan, the COBRA fee is enormous

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sporkxrocket 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If you have a family COBRA will be $2k-3k a month.

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loeg 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Again, something that could be a hardship for a junior employee, but she was a director.