Marissa Mayer Pokes Fun At Walmart Protestors

Marissa Mayer Pokes Fun At Walmart Protestors
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - NOVEMBER 19: A protester shouts as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks in conversation with Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff at the 2013 Dreamforce conference on November 19, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The annual Dreamforce conference runs through November 21. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - NOVEMBER 19: A protester shouts as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks in conversation with Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff at the 2013 Dreamforce conference on November 19, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The annual Dreamforce conference runs through November 21. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

When you're a high-powered executive who makes $6 million per year, perhaps you shouldn't make light of wage-earners' plight.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who is on Walmart's board of directors, was interrupted by protestors during a staged interview in San Francisco on Tuesday. As Mayer chatted with Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, a group of women began chanting in protest of Mayer's association with the big-box retailer.

"We don't want any more protests," Benioff said, according to Business Insider. "But if you want to protest, No. 1, you can do it outside. No. 2, it's better to split up when you start. Then when those people get arrested, then a second group stands up. Then a third. I'm just saying."

"That's a design problem right there," said Mayer as the crowd laughed.

The protestors are reportedly part of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OURWalmart, which advocates for better treatment of Walmart employees. Walmart has earned a reputation for paying poorly, providing low-quality health care and preventing unions from being formed.

Though it's not exactly clear what the protesters were yelling, one held up a sign that showed Mayer's face with a thought bubble saying "Why did I join Walmart's board?" The protestors were escorted out of the building after just a minute or two.

Shaky footage of the protest was posted on YouTube, too:

Before You Go

1
Advice To Job Hunting Women
"Find something you're passionate about and just love. Passion is really gender-neutralizing," Marissa Mayer said on Martha Stewart's "Women with Vision" television series in 2011.
2
The Pie 'Isn't Big Enough'
"Right now is a great time to be a woman in tech, but there's not enough women in tech," Mayer told a CES2012 panel hosted by CNET. "[I] worry a lot of times the conversation gets really focused on what percentage of the pie is women. And the truth is, the pie isn't big enough. We're not producing enough computer scientist. We're not producing enough product designers. We need a lot more people to keep up with all of these gadgets, all of this technology, all these possibilities."Mayer also commented on the stereotypical culture within the tech world: "There's all kinds of different women who do this. You can wear ruffles, you can be a jock, and you still be a great computer scientist or a great technologist, or a great product designer."
3
Tangible Technology
"There's just huge growth and opportunity. [T]he fact that the technology is now so tangible in our everyday lives, I think, will inspire a lot more women to go into technology -- and I'm really heartened by that," Mayer said for the MAKERS "Women in Tech" interview series in 2012.
4
Internet Empowered
"I consider myself incredibly lucky to be present in a moment in time when this wonderful and powerful medium, the internet, is empowering geeks -- and especially female geeks -- to express and pursue their passions," Meyer said in a 2012 acceptance speech at the Celebrating Change gala. She had just won the International Museum of Women's first-ever Innovator Award.
5
Geekin' Out
"People ask me all the time, 'What is it like to be a woman at Google?' I'm not a women at Google; I'm a geek at Google. And being a geek is just great," she said in an interview for CNN's "Leading Women" series in 2012.

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