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I am an Uber survivor

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Re: I am an Uber survivor

#291

Post by st3v3r »

macsj200 wrote: post #246
tyre wrote: post #210

I'm really happy she felt comfortable doing this. What an incredibly brave and strong person—I can't imagine what she must be feeling. What I really want to see is the other 20 men on her team tell their bosses to cut that shit out. We cannot rely on the abused to stand up for themselves; for every one who does there are thousands who cannot. It is on every one of us to report abhorrent behaviour, even if we think so…

What specifically is the move forward here, though? I suppose hn as a community has the power to boycott applying to the company, but how else can we drive internal change from an external position? Uninstalling the app and simply choosing to use a competitor's services are another option, but sapping the entire organization of revenue seems like it would hurt drivers and developers at least as much as management, if…

This is kinda like saying, "We should never punish a company for wrongdoing, because they'll pass that on to customers and employees." It doesn't really hold water.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#292

Post by PhantomGremlin »

beastcoast wrote: post #168
vkou wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's surprising to me that neither have pursued Uber in this regard. Reasons to pursue sexual harassment litigation: * You may make some money. Reasons to not pursue sexual harassment litigation: * You will have to devote an enormous amount of money, time, energy, health, and your emotional well-being. * Your lawyers will take half the settlement, either in up front fees, or as a portion of the bounty. * You will g…

There really needs to be a Government organization that can investigate these claims, that employees could report incidents to instead of HR. Like a beefed up Department of Labor that is responsive to employee needs. Tax the corporation to pay for it and dissolve corporations that are repeat offenders.

There is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Employment_Opportunity_C...

I'd never know about it, except, a while ago, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas worked there. During his confirmation hearings there was a real political shitstorm about what might nor might not have transpired there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas#Anita_Hill_all...

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#293

Post by enahs-sf »

spaceflunky wrote: post #260
brianpgordon wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eric Holder certainly does already have an existing business relationship with Uber- http://bigstory.ap.org/article/01685274cc944196af9016ad0a875...

Is it just me or are other people also constantly surprised by how many big names have their hands in the 'uber pot'? It's like there's a massive list of investors and shareholders who are all riding this "sure thing" to big riches. Which makes me wonder two things: 1.) is uber too big too fail? are there so many rich and powerful people invested that they will make uber succeed no matter or 2.) this thing could be t…

I have wondered about this several times. Amidst so many scandals, what would it take for a zenefits-esque meltdown to take place at Uber? The `too big to fail` ethos never works out well for the consumer.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#294

Post by Arizhel »

mousetail wrote: post #240
jordigh wrote: post #95

> tried to trigger me Man, I really wish the internet hadn't decided that "trigger" means to anger or upset someone instead of the original meaning: provoke an anxiety or panic attack, like lighting firecrackers around war veterans. Not that what Uber is doing here to "Amy" isn't despicable. I'm just a little bothered by this relatively frivolous usage of the word "trigger" compared to the original purpose for using…

I think part of what made Susan Fowler's account credible to many people was that she didn't use the same terminology as university political groups (trigger, survivor, etc). The title, "I am an Uber Survivor", and the first few paragraphs, made me immediately skeptical. After she revealed specific examples of Uber's toxic culture, I began to feel quite guilty.

>I think part of what made Susan Fowler's account credible to many people was that she didn't use the same terminology as university political groups (trigger, survivor, etc).

Yeah, you have to look at this girl's age and background. It makes sense that she's going to use that terminology. Every generation has different ways of talking about things.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#295

Post by jlewis7272 »

the-dude wrote: post #53
primitivesuave wrote: post #34

It's unfortunate that the Silicon Valley work culture is being tarnished by companies like Uber. There are many companies that respect women and have HR departments that actually fulfill the purpose of being helpful Resources to Humans. I hope the anti-Uber sentiment grows so other companies can learn from this example. I'm glad the author is sharing her story.

You have got that backwards dude: the Resources are the Humans.

The resources are the humans and the departments responsibility is to keep the company from being sued.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#296

Post by yummyfajitas »

mi100hael wrote: post #125

> I remember how the interviewers constantly tried to trigger me and insulted my intelligence to see if I break under pressure. What the fuck? I'd walk and never entertain an offer from a company that spent the interview insulting and provoking me. Who would be stoked to get an offer after an experience like that, much less accept it??

It wouldn't bother me much.

I've worked with people who couldn't handle pressure, who would just shut down and blank out when you criticized their plans or gave negative feedback. It's not pleasant - such people force you to spend more time thinking about their feelings than about technology or strategy. People like that shut down the free exchange of ideas.

I'd much rather suffer through a grueling interview for a day than work with such people on a daily basis. Being a healthy adult without PTSD, I don't get "triggered" by interviewers questioning me or playing games.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#297

Post by fullshark »

mousetail wrote: post #240
jordigh wrote: post #95

> tried to trigger me Man, I really wish the internet hadn't decided that "trigger" means to anger or upset someone instead of the original meaning: provoke an anxiety or panic attack, like lighting firecrackers around war veterans. Not that what Uber is doing here to "Amy" isn't despicable. I'm just a little bothered by this relatively frivolous usage of the word "trigger" compared to the original purpose for using…

I think part of what made Susan Fowler's account credible to many people was that she didn't use the same terminology as university political groups (trigger, survivor, etc). The title, "I am an Uber Survivor", and the first few paragraphs, made me immediately skeptical. After she revealed specific examples of Uber's toxic culture, I began to feel quite guilty.

Fowler's post was incredibly well written and showed the power of understatement.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#298

Post by dudul »

jhgaylor wrote: post #252
virtuexru wrote: post #213

> My paycheck is 18% less than my less qualified male colleagues. I stopped reading here.

Why? The pay gap is real and was nearly an aside in the article. This article is about a woman being mistreated by men in tech. This comment seems to be as well.

Mistreated by men? Did you miss the part where she writes that almost everybody in HR was a woman?

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#299

Post by ziszis »

panitaxx wrote: post #272

I think it's pretty obvious that Travis Kalanick should resign. He is the constant in all these stories supporting this nasty company culture. In the past year he has also been linked with Uber's shady business (attacks on press, fake income for drivers, etc) . He is the one pushing on borderline legal tactics. Even their business model is borderline legal (if anything). How he can deny knowing anything like the sexu…

There was a time when founders were replaced too soon with "professional management". The pendulum has swung the other way with the mythology of the founder. Now, founders are rarely if ever replaced.

Re: I am an Uber survivor

#300

Post by fullshark »

bermanoid wrote: post #47
harryh wrote: post #31

Why would someone write an anonymous blog post but then declare that they are: 1) A woman in her late 20s 2) Who used to work at Uber in Engineering working on database and networking scalability 3) Went to a top private college 4) has a Masters in Information Systems 5) previous to Uber worked as a Data Analyst in a tech company in the Midwest and left when it was acquired by a Chinese firm 6) Is 5 foot 7 Caucasian…

Because it probably doesn't matter if ex-coworkers at Uber figure out who it is. She just doesn't want this story attached to her real name when people Google her. It's also possible that some of that information is slightly twisted, to throw people off.

Or maybe she wants people at Uber to know who she is, but not the general public.
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