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What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

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Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#11
I'm not going to speak directly regarding the way this individual handled this situation, but in general, if you experience any form of sexual harassment I highly recommend you speak with HR immediately following the incident. Don't allow it to escalate, things can only get worse. Even if it's your first day on the job, you should never feel speaking to HR regarding an incident is a bad idea.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#13
post #7

Is this really a problem with Silicon Valley? I think it's an universal problem you'll find in all industries.

Women who leave seem to think it's worse in tech. Pretty solid data point.

It's probably worse in all sectors where women are a small minority.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#14
post #7

Is this really a problem with Silicon Valley? I think it's an universal problem you'll find in all industries.

Women who leave seem to think it's worse in tech. Pretty solid data point.

That's a pretty terrible data point because of how biased it is.

It's like saying that everyone who abandoned a certain film halfway says the film is bad and concluding that most people in general hate the film: your data points are coming from a group who almost exclusively hated the film in the first place: they're not representative of the entire population.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#15

Is this really a problem with Silicon Valley? I think it's an universal problem you'll find in all industries.

I'm starting to think that I am (or we, men, are) blind to this. If it happens as much as is reported (I don not work in SV, but I'd guess Eastern-ish Europe would be worse), then it must happen before out eyes, or even worse, we are the ones doing it. I honestly can't think of such incident, but this suggest that there were many that I simply ignored, didn't see them as such.

edit: To make it clear, I definitely didn't witness incidents like kissing and lap sitting.. but more subtle ones might come under my radar.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#16
post #7

Is this really a problem with Silicon Valley? I think it's an universal problem you'll find in all industries.

Women who leave seem to think it's worse in tech. Pretty solid data point.

What kind of comparison do "they" have, though? And is it more than a couple of anecdotes amplified by the popularity of the medium they were posted on? Also consider we are on a tech site, so we are more likely to consume tech media which is more likely to report harassment of women in tech.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#18

I probably would've felt more sympathy for her had it not been for the fact that upon scrolling down, she still has google listed as one of her former employers! now if being at google was such a traumatic experience, why reference them in your sexual harassment letter? If it happened to me, I wouldn't list the former employer I worked for.

This is your complaint? How silly.

Re: What I learnt from being sexually harassed at Google

#20

I probably would've felt more sympathy for her had it not been for the fact that upon scrolling down, she still has google listed as one of her former employers! now if being at google was such a traumatic experience, why reference them in your sexual harassment letter? If it happened to me, I wouldn't list the former employer I worked for.

It wasn't Google that harassed her, but one of of Google's employees.
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