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Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

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Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#911

Post by morgante »

pas wrote: post #849
limelight wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how anyone could be unsure about that being harassment. It's about as clear-cut as you can get. He should have been fired the day that surfaced. If someone who worked for me ever did something like that, they'd be out the door pronto. It speaks volumes that he wasn't, to the point which I am irrationally tempted to doubt the veracity of her claims. Don't proposition anyone in your reporting chain.…

It's hard to just ignore feelings. You'll have biases. It'll show. (Eventually.) Talk to HR (or your boss), get them (or you) a new team/manager. Or if the feelings go away, then great, crisis averted, but it's rarely that simple.

That's not always possible (especially in a small startup) and I'd argue it's not fair to force them to change teams.

I also disagree with the notion that it'll show eventually. Usually if you consciously suppress them they'll go away pretty quickly.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#912

Post by arkh »

rdtsc wrote: post #889
arkh wrote: post #765

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do men end-up in dangerous yet good paying jobs? Because testosterone. Most young men are more willing to work a shit job if they can get good money than most women who value quality of life.

If we are going to go that route and using testosterone, I posit having more "testosterone" means standing up for what's right even if it means not getting the highest paying position. > work a shit job Right working as a developer at Uber with a high paying 6 figure job is now called a "shit job". I remember when collecting trash and mining was considered a "shit job", I guess we are from different generations...

> I posit having more "testosterone" means standing up for what's right even if it means not getting the highest paying position.

I've lived a long time with very low T. So I don't posit: I experienced how my decision process changed when getting back to normal. I just have to stop some meds and go back down to enjoy less impulsivity and a lot more security based decision making.

> Right working as a developer at Uber with a high paying 6 figure job is now called a "shit job".

Shittier than a simple 9-5 job in some corporation where you can have a good work-life balance, less stress bu less money.

> I remember when collecting trash and mining was considered a "shit job"

They still are. And still have a high percentage of men.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#913

Post by home_boi »

meowface wrote: post #644
home_boi wrote: post #603

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a difference between misogyny and sexual occurrences. If OP had been a male, she would have had as bad, if not worse experience.

That doesn't explain the bizarre jacket drama, or reports from other female coworkers.

The jacket drama had nothing to do with gender really and she was making a big deal out of something trivial. I can imagine the scenario is like "ok we're too cheap to create custom jackets for everyone so we will order the jacket size that fits the majority and the minority can try to fit in it". If the gender ratio was the other way around, there would be a similar situation.

The response to other reports are standard. Whether it is a homosexual boss or a female boss, the company will seek to protect itself.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#915

Post by potluckyears »

patricius wrote: post #763

Whenever I hear about a case of a woman being harassed at work, I can't help but wonder how I would react in a similar situation. I am male and I have never experienced workplace harrassment, but if a female co-worker started writing things like those in the story I can't imagine that it would annoy me the slightest. If she was attractive, I would probably be flattered. If it _did_ annoy me, I would ask the person to…

The stereotypes associated with being a woman in tech trend towards the negative. That means that having other people signal that they see you primarily as a woman first instead of an engineer can be uncomfortable in a professional environment, even when the other person isn't bringing up those negative stereotypes themselves and may even in fact be complimenting your qualities as a woman. Those negative stereotypes exist and people are aware of them, so being signaled that your colleagues are seeing you as a woman first instead of an engineer feels like people are perceiving you in certain ways before they even get to know you and your work.

Basically, if on Day One of a new job your boss says, "I am viewing you as a woman rather than an engineer," given the negative stereotypes about women in tech, it adds a lot more discomfort, anxiety, and frustration about how others are perceiving you in the workplace than an awkward proposition would in a non-professional context.

That said, I think your question implies this is a male/female thing when really it's probably more of a you/me thing. Plenty of guys would also not be okay with being propositioned for sex on the first day by a female manager that they directly report to and who is responsible for their performance reviews.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#916

Post by brudgers »

skj wrote: post #641
brudgers wrote: post #608

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the investigation was serious, chief council or the CEO would be doing it. The new hire provides more cover for the rouge employees conclusion by providing a plausible 'it did not happen on my watch'. C-level positions hit the ground running and the sort of events described in the article are bread and butter regardless of industry. After three months there's no way this was a blind side.

Only because you did it twice... "rogue".

I shall add it to my cannon of mistakes.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#917

Post by QuinnyPig »

home_boi wrote: post #271
knucklesandwich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech workers (across all disciplines) need to unionize to combat this kind of thing. As has been pointed out below, HR that is staffed and incentivized by the company management only serves the interests of the management. A union is the only structure that can actually win demands for workers by organizing workers to withhold their labor. It's not a panacea, and there are several historical examples of union leaders…

I'm of the opinion that the average software engineer in the USA is already overpaid and underworked with excellent benefits and low incentive to unionize. I'm simplifying it a bit but if you don't like your job, just grab a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview and apply to big companies. The big companies pay very well, have good benefits and interview everyone because of the need for a high head count

Great idea. Go work at a company like, say, Uber?

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#918

Post by thomasvillain »

There are reasons for hiding this. There are also reasons for lying. When you purport to have a slam dunk case of harassment and retaliation, but wait until you want to get press for your book — you lose some (but not all) credibility. Just know that having investigated a lot of these stories, very few turn up credible.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#919

Post by FigmentEngine »

its not a great statement for humanity whatever truth does come out. Why people focus on HR when if this is true then the issue is a failed company culture. No amount of great HR can fix bad culture - thats sits with the founder, board and management - and every other employee who turns a blind eye. if it is true, is the company worth or even possible to save? Changing their name wont fix the culture.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#920

Post by solipsism »

facepalm wrote: post #819
kevinburke wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would guess that this happens more often than you imagine. Women often don't share stories like this for fear of retribution at their current company or future companies, or because they think you won't believe them. In addition NDA's are often a condition of receiving severance. Most women in Silicon Valley have had experiences similar to those mentioned in the article (HR disbelief, multiple women reporting same…

Your guessing sounds rather sexist. Why not stick to data instead of guessing? There is enough bias against men already.

I don't channel Reddit very often but... username checks out.
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