'I'm a Creep,' And Other Silicon Valley Mea Culpas: So What?

Employment lawyer Richard Cohen asks: What can be done about the persistent problem of sexual harassment?

“While I’d like to believe that I’m not a bad or evil person, regardless it’s clear that some of my past actions have hurt or offended several women. And I probably deserve to be called a creep.”

Well, now that you mention it – yep, you probably do.

And for good measure, the speaker added that he was a “clueless, selfish, unapologetic and defensive ass.”

This was the admission of the founder of the start-up incubator 500 Startups, who resigned after the New York Times reported on his alleged acts of sexual harassment. He joins another VC investor who issued his own apologia, as I noted last week: “It is outrageous and unethical for any person to leverage a position of power in exchange for sexual gain … it is clear to me now that that is exactly what I’ve done.”

“You are a creep!”

There, he asked for it and I said it. Now then – does everyone feel better?

But so what? Does this act of personal absolution change anything?

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Silicon Valley’s Sexism

In its short history, Silicon Valley has seen more than its share of sexual harassment, and lawsuits brought by the alleged victims. But is public self-flagellation the answer? Maybe it’s a start, but don’t count on it as a solution.

Already, as the Times wrote, “even as the movement to grapple with harassment gathers momentum, some venture capital firms are privately grumbling about having to deal with the issue … Some men have the feeling that the conversation has turned into a ‘witch hunt … They’re asking when people will stop being outed.’”

Seem to be a whole lotta “witch hunts” these days.

Rob Lenihan noted recently in Business Insurance that “Workplace bullying has reached ‘epidemic level’ … The San Francisco-based Workplace Bullying Institute’s 2017 U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey, released earlier this month, estimated that 30 million American workers have been, or are now being, bullied at work, while another 30 million have witnessed it.”

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An Institute spokesperson said that bullying is “abusive conduct that takes the form of verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, humiliation or workplace sabotage or work interference.”

The definition of workplace sexual harassment is somewhat similar, but these non-consensual acts are based upon the victim’s protected class – gender. And while there are no workplace anti-bullying laws in the U.S., there sure are a lot of sexual harassment laws, federal state and local.

Yet it continues.

Silicon Valley Genius To The Rescue!

So now the luminaries of Silicon Valley have proposed “solutions” to the problem – though not particularly new or creative; we’ve been touting them for years.

As Chantel McGee of CNBC reported, the recent “revelations” of the sexual harassment problem have inspired Silicon Valley to take a “deeper look at what has become a pervasive issue.” She was referring to the “Decency Pledge” of LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman – “how venture capitalists can help fix the culture.”

His other-worldly creative juices flowing, Hoffman proposed, according to McGee, “three different things for VCs”:

  1. VCs should interact with entrepreneurs the same way a manager would with an employee. Sexual relationships and business relationships should not mix.
  2. Those who see VCs behaving inappropriately should share that information with colleagues.
  3. Limited partners should take a zero-tolerance attitude toward this behavior, and stop investing in VCs who behave badly.

“Zero tolerance!” Leave it to the talent unleashed by Silicon Valley to come up with such an original idea!

What About The Mea Culpas?

And where do the mea culpas come in? How come Hoffman did not acknowledge or encourage them? Wouldn’t the sight of an entire religious order of young Masters of The Universe whipping themselves with cat o’ nine tails while crawling on their knees to Cupertino or Palo Alto inspire the necessary change?

He didn’t say.

So What Might Do It?

As Meena Harris in Business Insider wrote, “Finally, the ugly reality of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley is getting the extensive coverage it always warranted. That has happened because of courageous women like Susan Fowler, Niniane Wang, Susan Ho, Leiti Hsu, and so many others who have spoken out.”

Sure, HR is a good thing, and within the current structure of companies perhaps the only thing that will work. In fact, the one thing Hoffman mentioned that deserves further study and emphasis is the expansion of the concept of HR: Hoffman wrote that “the industry should work on building an industry-wide HR function, so that venture capitalists who engage in such behavior face the same sort of consequences they would if their overtures were directed at an employee.”

Not so groundbreaking, but perhaps this contains the beginning of the only corporate solution that is possible today: an industry-wide HR function.

Although Vox’s Laurie Ruettimann might disagree. She said that “Change, however, will not come from new rules or institutions. … Encouraging individual firms to develop forward-leaning policies that address sexual harassment is necessary, but alone such prescriptions are insufficient.”

Here is where women come in. Women must organize, teach and refuse to tolerate harassment. Apologies are cosmetic, minimal, “feel good,” and ineffective. People who are vulnerable, harassed, and marginalized have to feel safe to do something about it.

Takeaway

Valley leaders will decidedly not be the answer, no matter how low they grovel when outed, or how long their apologias confer on them a safe harbor. The answer is a top-down culture of anti-harassment, and one way to achieve this is from the bottom up.

But a caveat – to me. As my wise partner, employment lawyer Amy Epstein Gluck, always counsels me when I wax sanctimonious about this topic: “You are a privileged male who will never be able to experience what women experience in the workplace – don’t put the onus on women.”

She’s right.

Earlier: Sexual Harassment Can Happen… Anywhere

Ed. note: If you practice employment law or are interested in the field, Above the Law cordially invites you to a July 13 webinar that we are hosting with our friends at Lex Machina. It’s free of charge — and because it’s a webcast, you can listen from the comfort of your home or office — but please be sure to register. Thanks!


richard-b-cohenRichard B. Cohen has litigated and arbitrated complex business and employment disputes for almost 40 years, and is a partner in the NYC office of the national “cloud” law firm FisherBroyles. He is the creator and author of his firm’s Employment Discrimination blog, and received an award from the American Bar Association for his blog posts. You can reach him at Richard.Cohen@fisherbroyles.com and follow him on Twitter at @richard09535496.

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