This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
On August 7, 2020, two Black editorial staff members at Bon Appétit, Ryan Walker-Hartshorn and Jesse Sparks, quit their jobs, marking the latest development in the magazine's ongoing struggle with racial inequality.
Their departures come a day after three journalists of color announced they would no longer participate in Bon Appétit's popular video series, citing inequitable pay.
Walker-Hartshorn, the assistant to the editor in chief, and Sparks, an editorial assistant, accused Condé Nast of failing to recognize their contributions and exploiting them as props in the company's efforts to diversify its workforce.
"I'm no longer going to be in an environment where my value is constantly undermined," Walker-Hartshorn said in an interview. "I feel like it's a hostile work environment — from the corporate side. They're not doing the real work."
Sparks added that he and Walker-Hartshorn had sought raises and promotions, but the company's offers fell short. "We've been doing the work editors do, but we haven't been recognized that way," he said.
Condé Nast responded to the departures, stating that the company had worked with Walker-Hartshorn and Sparks to address their concerns about former leadership at the brand and had offered them enhanced terms to stay through the transition.
However, the company's internal note on the results of a pay equity study concluded that race had played no part in how team members were compensated, a finding that the departing staff members disputed.
Bon Appétit has faced a reckoning over race since the resignation of its longtime top editor, Adam Rapoport, in June 2020. The company has pledged to diversify its staff and has announced the appointment of Sonia Chopra as its executive editor.
