Transgender Meta employees are silently protesting Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to remove tampons from men’s bathrooms by bringing theirs from home and restocking the company’s supplies.
Shortly after Trump’s victory, Zuckerberg announced various policy changes, including the restoration of freedom of speech, allowing users to freely discuss gender identity issues without violating the platform’s “Hateful Conduct” policy.
The company also embarked on a process to realign its operations in accordance with the new ideological outlook. Part of that involved removing tampons from the men’s bathrooms, a decision that angered transgender male employees, that is, women who identify as men.
According to the New York Times, those employees started bringing their own tampons and restocking men’s bathrooms with the female sanitary products. “Quietly but unmistakably, the tampons, liners and pads reappeared in many of the men’s bathrooms at Meta’s offices,” the NYT reported, describing their return as a “quiet rebellion that Silicon Valley workers have staged as they grapple with the rightward shift of their bosses.”
Additionally, another group started circulating a petition to return female sanitary products to male bathrooms. However, Meta’s vice president of workplace services dashed their hopes by stating that the company had no intention of revisiting the issue.
It remains unclear if Meta removed female sanitary products from women’s bathrooms. If not, the female employees who identify as men are at liberty to access them without restrictions. This differs greatly from men identifying as women trying to access female bathrooms. In fact, women who identify as men but still need tampons should avoid men’s bathrooms for their safety.
Meta may be at a loss on whether or how to remove the restocked tampons in male bathrooms without risking a lawsuit. However, it could impose a policy prohibiting employees from refilling the company’s supplies with personal products as a safety measure.
With many tech companies reducing their workforce, Meta might not fear losing a few employees who do not feel welcome or adequately accommodated. The company has already slashed its workforce by a third and still plans to fire more in the coming months.
Subsequently, Meta should consider having fewer employees who aggressively impose their personal ideology on everybody to avoid potential frivolous lawsuits. Doing so would also enhance a conducive teamwork environment where other employees do not have to walk on eggshells.
Nonetheless, the employees’ “subtle resistance” contrasts sharply with their vocal pro-liberal outbursts that marked Trump’s first term in office. With the hiring frenzy over, tech companies have reasserted their control and are not shy of shedding employees involved in active activism against the companies’ interests.
For example, Google fired 28 employees who opposed the company’s contract with the Israeli government. Nine employees were also arrested for trespassing in the company’s two offices, marking the end of an era where pro-Left employees called the shorts.
Tech companies have also embraced Trump in his second term, in what the Times called “a major departure for a tech industry that has typically leaned left and liberal.” Nonetheless, the impacts of their pro-liberal policies over the last decade will take years to fully undo.
