Mon, Jul 10, 2017 page15

• Criticism of Silicon Valley sexism builds momentum

  ‘GENDER HOSTILE’: One disgraced venture capitalist referred to the influence gap between male venture capitalists and female entrepreneurs as ‘frightening’

  • AFP, SAN FRANCISCO
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  A growing chorus of voices denouncing sexist culture is echoing through male-dominated Silicon Valley, knocking a number of Internet industry executives from their perches.

  Accusations concerning the lack of women in tech jobs and unfair, or downright crude, treatment endured by some in the industry have simmered for years, occasionally reaching a boil.

  Uber Technologies Inc’s chief executive officer Travis Kalanick resigned last month, yielding to pressure from investors seeking to clean up the company’s allegedly toxic corporate culture.

  His departure capped a rocky period for the global ridesharing giant, which has been roiled by disturbing reports of cutthroat workplace conditions, harassment and discrimination.

  Before Kalanick’s departure, Uber said it had fired 20 people after examining 215 claims of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional behavior and bullying.

  In addition, venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck last month took an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital LLC in Silicon Valley in the face of allegations he made sexual advances toward female entrepreneurs interested in funding.

  “To say I’m sorry about my behavior is a categorical understatement,” Caldbeck said in a statement. “The power dynamic that exists in venture capital is despicably unfair.”

  In his statement, Caldbeck referred to the influence gap between male venture capitalists and female entrepreneurs as “frightening,” and called the environment “gender hostile.”

  A few days later, tech sector investor Dave McClure confessed to being “a creep” for making “advances towards multiple women in work-related situations, where it was clearly inappropriate.”

  “I selfishly took advantage of those situations where I should have known better,” McClure said in an apology posted online. “My behavior was inexcusable and wrong.”

  The public apologies came in the wake of a New York Times article in which a dozen women in the technology world denounced what they saw as a culture of harassment, some pointing specifically at McClure or Caldbeck.

  “It’s important to expose the type of behavior that’s been reported in the last few weeks, so the community can recognize and address these problems,” Stitch Fix founder and chief executive officer Katrina Lake was quoted as saying in the article.

  Katheline Coleman, who came to Silicon Valley from Canada in 2013, told reporters she was struck by how much of a man’s world it was.

  “What is apparent now with all recent testimonies from female founders is that there is definitely a blurred line between business meetings and happy hours,” Coleman said, referring to after-work social gatherings that typically involve alcohol.

  “These dire happy hours have been a place of choice of rogue VC’s [venture capitalists] and sexual predators,” she said.
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