Ducks in a Row: Change? Yeah, Right
by Miki Saxon
I read a post by Ellen Pao in Medium in which she asks if anything has really changed.
On its face, it all sounds like meaningful change, right? Or at least it sounds a lot better than the very recent public shaming of women who came forward and the sweeping of bad behavior under the rug. (…) Public apologies and one-off actions are superficial ways to react to criticism or put on a happy face, but they often cover up company culture failures that are hard to fix, especially if no one is seriously trying.
While there have been multiple resignations and apologies (complete with crocodile tears), do you really believe that any of these wealthy, well-known, white guys will land anywhere but on their feet? That their actions will have any permanent effect on their future?
If so, you’re living on a planet to which I’d love to emigrate.
Whereas the women who went public will pay a heavy toll.
I [Pao] have heard from several women who spoke up in this newspaper and elsewhere this year that they continue to face harassment. They have been told that discussing their experiences has limited their careers.
After virtual reality startup UploadVR was sued for sexual harassment in May, a male startup CEO publicly commented that lawsuits like this make him “VERY afraid to hire more [women]. It just seems like such a huge risk as CEO.” His comments went viral and he later retracted, apologized and deleted them.
Retracted, apologized, deleted, none of which is likely to have changed his attitude.
Speaking of UploadVR, which had, and probably still has, one of the worst, sex-drenched cultures in Silicon Valley.
The Valley will protect it, because it isn’t just a guy or a company, but a hub for the VR crowd and, collectively, they need it.
While current publicity is heavily focused on tech, the same actions are alive and well in many venues from the University of Rochester’s Department of Brain and Cognitive, one of the top graduate programs in the US, to women in sports broadcasting.
Are things getting better? Maybe.
But as long as there are no long-term ill effects for guys there is little reason for them to do the hard work of educating against bias, both inherent and societal, and changing culture.
Nothing is as simple as it seems. Be sure to read about an experience, shared by an East Coast founder (published September 20), that turns a spotlight on rarely mentioned fall-out from the harassment problem.
Image credit: TimOve
