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After Meta removed tampons from men’s bathrooms earlier this month, some employees began quietly bringing their own.
In early January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg overhauled company policies, lifting speech restrictions and revising the “Hateful Conduct” policy to allow criticism of gender identity. The tampon removal, previously provided for nonbinary and transgender employees, frustrated some of the more left-leaning staff.
According to The New York Times report: “To protest Mr. Zuckerberg’s actions, some Meta workers soon brought their own tampons, pads and liners to the men’s bathrooms, five people with knowledge of the effort said. A group of employees also circulated a petition to save the tampons.”
Meta’s VP of workplace services emailed petition signers, stating the company didn’t intend to make employees feel unwelcome but had no plans to restore amenities. The email assured them their feedback would be shared with leadership. The Times reported that tampons symbolized quiet rebellions by Silicon Valley workers resisting their bosses’ rightward shift. While tech leaders embrace Trump, employees engage in subtle defiance.
“The quiet dissent underlines who wields the power in Silicon Valley these days: the bosses,” the Times observed, writing this “subtle resistance” is a stark contrast to tech employees’ more public protests during the first Trump administration.
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