By Arré Bench Jul. 14, 2020
An Instagram account, Diet Sabya, has posted an anonymous account of the toxic work culture at beauty start-up Nykaa. It alleges that an unnamed Chief Experience Officer at Nykaa made “rape jokes as common banter”, made fun of an employee’s mental health, and bullied co-workers.
Nykaa is one of India’s most successful start-up stories. The cosmetics and lifestyle e-commerce brand has been shipping products to customers across the country since its founding in 2012. But on Monday, the beauty-focussed brand was the subject of some ugly allegations. An Instagram account, Diet Sabya, known for its coverage of unethical practises like plagiarism in India’s fashion and entertainment industry, posted six stories that, if true, expose a toxic culture at Nykaa’s workplace.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Diet Sabya (@dietsabya) on
The six allegations posted by Diet Sabya all pertain to a certain, unnamed Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at Nykaa. The CXO is said to have made jokes trivialising rape, mocking employees’ mental health and economical status, body shaming, and bullying employees through name-calling and mockery. These four allegations are accompanied by anecdotes that allege the CXO told an employee who had just had a miscarriage that it was “God’s way of weaning out the weak”, and that she dismissed an acid attack survivor for a brand video since she had undergone surgery and wouldn’t “look like a victim”, among others.
Nykaa accused of toxic work culture and employee bullying.https://t.co/HnEHHUD16N
— Aparna (@FuschiaScribe) July 13, 2020
The source for Diet Sabya’s allegations remains anonymous. However, in a report on Inc42, a Nykaa spokesperson denied the accusation, saying, “We have a zero-tolerance policy against any racism, body shaming or any comments that cause humiliation or offence. Nykaa has an internal redressal mechanism to address such cases. The comments are unsubstantiated.”
“The posts allege that the CXO has made rape jokes, made fun of an employee’s mental health, economic status, and indulged in “food shaming” amongst others. ”
Not surprised at all.
https://t.co/rkW3pJ9xNh— MB (@desiboho) July 13, 2020
The comments on the original post by Diet Sabya, which number in the hundreds, contain many people sharing their own negative experiences with the brand, including claims that the company makes its women employees model for the website with no extra pay.
#Nykaa CXO Called Out For Creating Toxic Culture, Rape Jokes https://t.co/imuhvdwxmP #news #ecommerce
— Next Tech What (@NextTechWhat) July 13, 2020
In a series of Instagram stories, Diet Sabya also posted horrific stories from employees who claimed they worked at Cosmopolitan and Little Black Book.
RUMOR: Alleged toxic workplace harassment at @MyNykaa @nykaafashion, @CosmoIndia & @FromLBB
In a post #Metoo era, anonymous user, @dietsabya has reportedly recieved anon messages alleging abuse & more from past or existing employees.
Allegations in screenshots not yet verified https://t.co/kuA9X3ayPn— R.A Karthik Prasad (@RAKarthikPrasad) July 14, 2020
If the accusations being levelled at Nykaa and other organisations after Diet Sabya’s expose are in fact true, then it paints a picture of how prevalent toxic workplace culture is in the supposedly woke media and fashion industry.
Related Content
Social Commentary Layer’r Shot and the Advertising Men’s Club
Advertising has always been a men’s club, and the terminally offensive Shot ad exemplifies how an industry struggling for ideas, almost always turns to treating women as props.
Add to listSocial Commentary Depp vs Heard and the Toxicity of Fanbros
The Depp vs Heard trial is evidence of the kind of toxicity that most male public figures command by being both irreverent and partially toxic themselves.
Add to listSocial Commentary The ‘Babudom’ of our Bureaucrats Echoes a Colonial Mindset
The Thyagraj stadium incident in Delhi is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to members of the Indian Civil Services exploiting the systems they are appointed to uphold. Rather than behave as genial, humble citizens they behave like ‘babus’ with god complexes. But the problem is that we let them.
Add to listSocial Commentary Surviving the Indian Summer as a Sanskari Woman
Every summer, women in India have to contend with ball-scratching, banyan-wearing men either telling them what to wear or leering at them long enough to force them into covering every inch of their burning skin. The body politics of this latest heatwave is a burden only women will be made to carry.
Add to listSocial Commentary Erasing Faiz Only Adds to his Significance
The removal of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry from CBSE’s school curriculum is a naïve step that only furthers the legend and significance of the poet’s seminal work.
Add to listYour weekly dose of Arré
Get the best from arre.co.in, straight to your inbox!
Comments