Age & gender row | TikTok chief says female staff 'should remain quiet and humble', sacked exec alleges

A former top marketing executive at TikTok is suing the social media giant, claiming she had been forced out of her job after she complained about sex, age and disability discrimination.

In a federal court lawsuit launched in the US, Katie Puris claims that that her 2022 sacking was the culmination of a series of incidents where she reported bias and, in one case, sexual harassment to supervisors and human resources.

Puris, who was nearing 50 when she was dismissed, claims she was subjected to derogatory comments about her age and that Zhang Lidong - the chairman of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, believed women "should remain quiet and humble at all times" and preferred "docility and meekness" in female employees.

She also claims TikTok refused to grant her leave to address medical conditions spurred by the stress and pressure of her job.