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Facebook’s Lack of Women Board Members Inspires Small, But Growing, Protest

Shaunna Thomas (left), co-founder of women's advocacy group Ultraviolet, is joined by other protesters outside Facebook's offices in Manhattan on April 25, 2012. The protesters demanded Facebook appoint a woman to its all-male, all-white board.

Carl Franzen April 25, 2012, 3:10 PM

NEW YORK — Facebook’s normally inauspicious office in midtown Manhattan was the target of about 30 protesters on Wednesday, who gathered to demand that the world’s most successful social networking company appoint a woman to its currently all-male, all-white board of directors — and that the appointment occur soon, before the company begins trading publicly on the nearby NASDAQ exchange, anticipated in mid-May or June.

The protest was organized by Ultraviolet, a new nonprofit 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that seeks to fight sexism, which began its activities in February.

Ultraviolet’s co-founder Shaunna Thomas attempted to hand deliver to Facebook a box of 53,000 petitions signed by users online, but was turned away at the door by building security.

“We know that they know about our complaints,” Thomas told TPM in an interview, regarding Facebook. “We asked them to receive petitions and they refused the opportunity.”

Facebook declined to comment to TPM.

Still, Thomas told TPM that the small protest was a “good first step,” in Ultraviolet’s campaign to get a woman appointed to the Facebook board.

Thomas was joined by members of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in New York and national Congressional candidate Joyce Johnson, who is running to unseat Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) in 2012.

Thomas did not rule out another physical protest, but said that she was reaching out to other women on large corporate boards and to members of Congress to urge them to contact Facebook about the lack of diversity on its board.

“We’re just stunned that in 2012, we have to be arguing that an all white, all male board isn’t good for a company,” Thomas said.

Ultraviolet, which includes Thomas and just “2 to 3” other members on its full time staff right now, has backed several other protest efforts, including against the Komen Foundation over its now infamous decision to pull Planned Parenthood funding, and against Rush Limbaugh’s derogatory comments about law student Sandra Fluke.