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You know, not every woman who has bad experiences in the tech industry writes a blog post about it and puts it up on HN. A lot of us don't even bother reporting

by dobbin 10y ago

You know, not every woman who has bad experiences in the tech industry writes a blog post about it and puts it up on HN. A lot of us don't even bother reporting it to HR anymore, since we're well aware by now that HR exists to protect the company from lawsuits, not to protect women from harassment. And lawsuits just end up getting you informally blacklisted. I personally know a lot of women, including myself, who have faced issues with sexism and harassment in the tech industry, and most of us have either sucked it up if we decide it's not that bad, or find another job if it is. I doubt any of us would bring it up in front of a male coworker who hasn't already demonstrated that he's "safe" to talk to about these things. I think it's great that more women are feeling comfortable speaking publicly about issues in the industry, but I think many of us are still struggling not to be the nail that sticks out and gets hammered down. Why would someone put their career at risk to "educate" a coworker who has already demonstrated that he doesn't care what women say about it?

prepend 10y ago
This is a really good point and shows how hard it is to gather data on the subject. I certainly don't expect everyone to write a blog post about it, but I would encourage people to tell their stories. Otherwise, we just have more and more hearsay. In this case, HR will work to prevent a very expensive lawsuit. I've seen HR help victims of sexual harassment many times. But without more people speaking up, things will never get better.
dijit 10y ago
That plays well into my murder analogy- that's incredibly unfortunate. I would say, normally, that I'd urge women to report this anyway, but this is what HR is for and that's depressing that it's viewed in such a light- they should absolutely tell their stories though. If you have any female friends who want to work in a truly equal work environment that promotes women as equals; then my studio is aggressively hiring. http://www.massive.se/jobs/ http://www.massive.se/jobs/ ; it's in Sweden but we're also very good at relocating people (thorough support with VISA's and relocation allowances, etc;)

by dobbin 10y ago

prepend 10y ago

This is a really good point and shows how hard it is to gather data on the subject. I certainly don't expect everyone to write a blog post about it, but I would encourage people to tell their stories. Otherwise, we just have more and more hearsay. In this case, HR will work to prevent a very expensive lawsuit. I've seen HR help victims of sexual harassment many times. But without more people speaking up, things will never get better.

dijit 10y ago

That plays well into my murder analogy- that's incredibly unfortunate. I would say, normally, that I'd urge women to report this anyway, but this is what HR is for and that's depressing that it's viewed in such a light- they should absolutely tell their stories though. If you have any female friends who want to work in a truly equal work environment that promotes women as equals; then my studio is aggressively hiring. http://www.massive.se/jobs/ http://www.massive.se/jobs/ ; it's in Sweden but we're also very good at relocating people (thorough support with VISA's and relocation allowances, etc;)