But on a more serious note... As the woman did not even work at the same company as the guys she complained about, she really had no recourse except to get up a

But on a more serious note... As the woman did not even work at the same company as the guys she complained about, she really had no recourse except to get up and move. That sounds very inconsiderate but it's actually the law. In a legal sense, anybody in a public place, whether it's a bar or a programming convention, has a constitutional right to say what they want. Every employer is responsible for knowing various workplace regulations, including sexual harassment laws. There are only two types of sexual harassment, both of which require working with the alleged offender, "quid pro quo" and "hostile environment": http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/types-of-sexual-harassment.html http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/types-of-sexua... If the woman had worked for the same company as the allegedly offensive guys, she absolutely would have a claim based on them creating a hostile work environment. However, the woman at PyCon didn't work for the same company as the people she complained about. And therefore she had absolutely no claim. Her only right if she was bothered was to get up and move. The only legal claim that may exist now is a wrongful termination suit by the guys that got fired.