Yahoo Employees & Sexual Assault: Woman Accuses Executive of Sexual Assault
A female former Yahoo employee has accused a top company executive of sexual harassment. The woman alleges that she was harassed in exchange for maintaining her position.
Nan Shi has accused her supervisor, Maria Zhang, of sexually harassing her multiple times. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the alleged victim was a principal software engineer, and Zhang forced her to have sexual relations with her. Zhang promised Shi a "bright future at Yahoo" if she complied, then forced her to have "oral and digital sex."
Shi names both Zhang and Yahoo as defendants in her lawsuit and "lists three causes for damages: sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination," reports the Mercury News.
According to Shi's attorney, Matthew Fisher, both women worked in Seattle at a startup Yahoo bought. They both then work for Yahoo in Silicon Valley, and Zhang told Shi that Zhang was moving into Shi's temporary company housing.
"While staying with Plaintiff, Zhang coerced Plaintiff to have oral and digital sex with her on multiple occasions against her will, even after Plaintiff told her she did not want to have sex,'' the complaint alleges. "Zhang told Plaintiff she would have a bright future at Yahoo if she had sex with her. She also stated she could take away everything from her including her job, stocks, and future if she did not do what she wanted.''
Shi, according to Reuters, is seeking monetary and punitive damages for her ordeal. Yahoo denies the charges against Zhang, defending her name and her work.
"There is absolutely no basis or truth to the allegations against Maria Zhang. Maria is an exemplary Yahoo executive and we intend to fight vigorously to clear her name," a Yahoo representative said in an email to Reuters.
However, the company did not help Shi in her situation. The complaint states that once she decided to stop Zhang's sexual assaults, her supervisor began giving her bad performance reviews. When she approached the human resources department, it did not help her; instead, it placed her on unpaid leave and ultimately fired her, the complaint states.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!