Silicon Valley Women, in Cultural Shift, Frankly Describe Sexual Harassment

Because VCs are all populated by serial harassers who now realize they can't get away with this crap?

Or are you saying these will be seen as false accusations and thus it'll scare off VCs who aren't run by mysogynist pieces of sh-t?

Because I'm not sure what the alternative is. If a VC is not in the habit of harassing women, they have nothing to fear. In fact, it'll give them an opportunity to court talented entrepreneurs driven away from the immoral part of the VC spectrum.

Hardest-charging--gotta-make-it-big--screw-the-rules guys are not heading to Wall Street or Hollywood, but to the Valley. That's where all the money and action is.

So this sorta doesn't surprise me.

this response would be as short lived as it is short sighted -- not taking into account that eventually.soon their bias would be measurable and again turn into ethical and PR nightmares for VC's that dont find a way to manage their male problem

Good that they came out, many admitted to it, and some are gone. That's the good news. Still, one was extra weird and messed up that I had to at least look at both of them in how they presented themselves: Marc Cantor vs Wendy Dent. It was one of few where little info and no picture was available for the woman. It already presented his background plus him admitting he sent sexual and weird messages to her in response to her alleged flirting with him and/or presenting herself with sex appeal. Common line of BS but sometimes true. Curious, esp of just what she looks like (I like faces on names), I looked her up:

http://www.wendydent.com/short-bio

http://www.wendydent.com/red-carpets?page=0%2C1

Wow. Got style of a fashion mag, big cleavage in another, then casual in another, and even dancing in front of fires in another. You could've told me the first set was a Hollywood screening or a fashion event with models pushing sexy outfits I'd believe either if it didn't say Hampton screening. That she might use sex appeal to her advantage is believable since many hard-working artists do. Just use every natural or acquired gift you have. She's also just interesting across the board from her bio to writing to photos. I'd consider asking her just because she seems a bit awesome and good looking. Uncommon combo at least in my circles.

That said, I'd probably not do it as a venture capitalist helping her get funding just because of the liability. I might end up in a news article or something. If I did it, there'd be a brick wall between the two with me testing her interest up front. She can tell me what she's comfortable with taking me up on personal/professional interests anywhere from zero (dont work with me) to both. Truth told, her short bio has so much good stuff I'd probably fund her (or help her) on a film-related startup just based on her experience and success in film. I'd do it whether she was interested in me or not.

Side discussion: There's also the side point that keeps coming to mind when I hear women complain that men they went to for money or professional advances showed interest in them. I'm always against anything extorting or harassment where women are clearly uninterested. That's obviously bad. Then, there seems to be an expectation that successful or professional men never show interest in any women who are skilled professionals or founders in favor of... lesser women in clubs, churches, or something? Telling me I must sacrifice all potential for a date or resulting relationship with such incredible women just because they're founders or something with nothing in return... while they can mostly do whatever they want... seems a bit arbitrary, unfair and lots of missed potential. One could argue financial benefits after acquisitions or IPO's from getting more women in but we men are already used to sacrificing time and money in some way for desirable women anyway. Startups come and go but (insert incredible founder) might only happen once.

Just kind of musing on a concern I've heard from a lot of people in and mostly outside that field just talking about rules where men can never hit on or anything close women who are professionals. Also, every one I've heard from reported witnessing a varying chunk of those women would hit on or flit with men they liked who were professionals doing their job. They said that was OK since they initiated. That seemed like a double standard. I always hate those. Good news is other chunk only flirt outside of work to uphold the principle of work & dating separate. Respectable where they ask for a sacrifice and make it themselves. Many men might still not agree to the arbitrary rule, though.

Aside, and not meant at you specifically, but: Next time you hear "a constant murmur" of harassment, racism, or other bad behaviour, _believe it_.

That constant murmur is the sound of a thousand stories like this that don't (yet) have the coordination to hit the pages of the NYT at the same time and become "credible". A month ago, there were dozens of female founders sitting on stories like this who were still afraid to go public. And they were afraid because good, decent people like you, who "had never seen anything like it" would "dismiss it out of hand" if they told.

(Obligatory disclaimers: You don't need to believe every story 100% unconditionally, but "a constant murmur" = "multiple corroborating sources" and should not be ignored. Also, I want to praise rather than criticise the parent comment, because acknowledging why we were ignoring these stories is a vital first step to not ignoring the next one we hear.)