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I must admit I don't understand why that guy couldn't be seen to be your friend in front of an audience. If that is not possible (for whatever reason), how doe

I must admit I don't understand why that guy couldn't be seen to be your friend in front of an audience. If that is not possible (for whatever reason), how does it help women? Presumably men can be friends without problems, even in front of an audience. So there would still be an unsolved issue and disadvantage for women.

Mz 13y ago
I plan to write more about this. Part of the problem was that two days earlier, another man in the department was fired over something having to do with an inappropriate relationship to a woman. The entire department was walking on eggshells. I felt it was just extremely bad timing. Another part of the problem is that I had an entry level job and he was very high in the department. So we had very little opportunity to work together, thus it would read as "social relationship" -- again, two days after another man was fired for his behavior towards women. There were other factors. I plan to go into more details in future articles. In this case, I just wanted to talk about the fact that the glass walls of the stairwell fostered a sense of conversational privacy with zero fear of sexual or romantic intimacy occurring. You need conversational privacy to establish trust and do business. But you need a lot more than conversational privacy to pursue romance or sex. The lack of visual privacy mattered to our comfort levels. This man became someone who trusted me and likely would have done a lot for my career had I stayed with the company. That opportunity to talk freely (in the stairwell) without fear that one of us might misinterpret or misbehave was a key moment in the establishment of that trust.
- facepalm 13y ago
  I can see how it would make feel women slightly safer as it would reduce the risk of touching. But it seems to me romantic feelings could still develop easily. On the stairwell, you could ask the other person if they want to go for a coffee or meet after work. Actually the glass walls these days seem to be more necessary for the men who have to insure against accusations of sexual harassment. I've heard for example that professors at universities always leave their door open or try to have other people present when they meet students, to avoid any such accusations. Of course that might help a little, if men need not be afraid of sexual harassment claims there is less need to avoid women in a professional context.
  - jrells 13y ago
    The one thing most emphasized to me by my university regarding teaching was to always keep my door open during office hours, for precisely these reasons. An open door (or glass wall) avoids any he-said she-said situations.

Mz 13y ago

I plan to write more about this. Part of the problem was that two days earlier, another man in the department was fired over something having to do with an inappropriate relationship to a woman. The entire department was walking on eggshells. I felt it was just extremely bad timing. Another part of the problem is that I had an entry level job and he was very high in the department. So we had very little opportunity to work together, thus it would read as "social relationship" -- again, two days after another man was fired for his behavior towards women. There were other factors. I plan to go into more details in future articles. In this case, I just wanted to talk about the fact that the glass walls of the stairwell fostered a sense of conversational privacy with zero fear of sexual or romantic intimacy occurring. You need conversational privacy to establish trust and do business. But you need a lot more than conversational privacy to pursue romance or sex. The lack of visual privacy mattered to our comfort levels. This man became someone who trusted me and likely would have done a lot for my career had I stayed with the company. That opportunity to talk freely (in the stairwell) without fear that one of us might misinterpret or misbehave was a key moment in the establishment of that trust.

facepalm 13y ago
I can see how it would make feel women slightly safer as it would reduce the risk of touching. But it seems to me romantic feelings could still develop easily. On the stairwell, you could ask the other person if they want to go for a coffee or meet after work. Actually the glass walls these days seem to be more necessary for the men who have to insure against accusations of sexual harassment. I've heard for example that professors at universities always leave their door open or try to have other people present when they meet students, to avoid any such accusations. Of course that might help a little, if men need not be afraid of sexual harassment claims there is less need to avoid women in a professional context.
- jrells 13y ago
  The one thing most emphasized to me by my university regarding teaching was to always keep my door open during office hours, for precisely these reasons. An open door (or glass wall) avoids any he-said she-said situations.