[2][3] During her communications work, Stapleton helped produce the company's weekly all-hands meeting, known as TGIF, hosted by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
At her final TGIF in Mountain View in 2012, Page called Stapleton on stage and presented her with a wooden plaque that dubbed her "The Bard of Google".
[7] The employees, led by Stapleton, Meredith Whittaker, a former Google Artificial Intelligence researcher, and five others also put together a list of demands for change, including addressing what they alleged was rampant sexism and racism, getting rid of mandatory arbitration, and better pay for contractors.
[7] In the days following the walkout, Google responded in support, Pichai saying, "I take this responsibility very seriously and I’m committed to making the changes we need to improve", in a memo to employees.
[10] Stapleton and the other leaders acknowledged the progress in a note posted on the Google Walkout Medium account, but criticized leadership saying they, "troublingly erased [the demands] focused on racism, discrimination, and ... structural inequity", and for ignoring the request to elevate the diversity officer to the board.
"[2][5] In April 2019, Stapleton and Whittaker alleged their managers had retaliated against them for their participation in organizing the walkout,[2][5] a claim that Google denied.
She described her decision to quit saying, “If I stayed, I didn’t just worry that there’d be more public flogging, shunning, and stress, I expected it.” Stapleton said she was physically escorted off of the premises by security, who also confiscated her company devices, she also said this was unconventional for departing workers.
[2][5] Stapleton later warned potential Big Tech candidates to be wary of buying into the idea of changing the world from the inside saying, "...if you care about a company’s values, ethics and contributions to society, you should take your talents elsewhere.