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    #MeToo at Badoo, Uber, Google: Bosses who turned a blind eye towards sexual misconduct

    Synopsis

    A woman publicly accused Tesla of ignoring her complaints of 'pervasive harassment'.

    Metoo at workGetty Images
    In her personal blog, ex-Uber engineer Susan J Fowler published an account of a year that involved incidents of sexual harassment and sexism at the company. (Representative image)
    When the line that separates camaraderie from harassment is crossed, heads must roll. But there were times that the founders knew of such misconduct, yet chose to look the other way.

    There was a time when the work culture at startups, with its flat structures, flexible timings, casual dressing and cool parties, was the sought-after lifestyle. But now, the talk is increasingly centred around toxic work environments, steeped in bro culture.

    The latest to be accused of a hostile work environment is Badoo, a London-based dating app founded by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev.

    A recent report by a magazine highlighted instances of women employees having to 'play the game' to get ahead in the organisation. “Playing the game, in one case, meant watching a video of an employee receiving oral sex from a prostitute,” said the report.

    It further spoke about parties that included drugs and attendees being 'naked', with pictures later “shared via an internal email list dedicated to ‘non-work, party stuff’”. And while Andreev wasn’t an active participant, he reportedly chose to turn a blind eye — an accusation that has been levelled at other founders in the past.

    BadooAgencies
    Badoo, a London-based dating app founded by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, has been accused of promoting a hostile work environment.


    Uber and Travis Kalanick
    Perhaps, the most famous case has been that of Uber. In her personal blog, ex-Uber engineer Susan J Fowler published an account of a year that involved incidents of sexual harassment and sexism at the company.

    Travis KalanickAgencies
    Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was blamed for perpetuating a boorish work culture and not doing enough to stop it.


    She shared instances of being solicited openly by her reporting manager and continued harassment that other female colleagues faced. Eventually, it was acknowledged by the senior management and board members that there was “systemic sexism” in the company. Then CEO Travis Kalanick was blamed for perpetuating a boorish work culture and not doing enough to stop it.

    Tesla and Elon Musk
    After Fowler at Uber, there was AJ Vandermeyden, a woman engineer at Tesla. She publicly accused the company of ignoring her complaints of “pervasive harassment”. She said in an interview that when complaints arise at Tesla about workplace issues or inequality, the response is often: “We are focused on making cars. We don’t have time to deal with all this other stuff.”

    Elon Musk 2Agencies
    Tesla, helmed by Elon Musk, had an area in its factory which women named the 'predator zone'.


    An article on an internal event mentioned that some women employees referred to a part of the factory as the “predator zone”, and several of them even raised their hands when asked if they were ever catcalled. The response and comments caught the executives present by surprise. Musk, who didn’t attend this event, has never commented on the meeting. But subsequent, unrelated criticism about the working conditions at the car manufacturer’s factories have met with an all-is-fine attitude from the founder.

    500 Startups and Dave McClure

    With the #MeToo wave reaching the shores of venture capitalists in the Silicon Valley too. Dave McClure’s case was a famous one.

    Dave MclureAgencies
    In 2017, Dave McClure resigned as the CEO of 500 Startups amid allegations that he had behaved inappropriately with women colleagues.


    In 2017, McClure resigned as the CEO of 500 Startups amid allegations that he had behaved inappropriately with women colleagues. In a now-deleted blog post titled ‘I’m a creep. I’m sorry’, McClure acknowledged that he had made advances toward multiple women in workrelated situations. It later came to light that there had been internal investigations against McClure, but the public as well as other partners were kept in the dark regarding this.

    Google and Larry Page
    The big reveal that came late last year about the search giant having negotiated a hefty exit package for Andy Rubin (the creator of Android software), after internal investigations confirmed the sexual misconduct accusation levelled by an employee, shocked many.

    Larry PageAgencies
    Reports suggested that co-founder Larry Page okayed the exit package with a supportive message for Rubin, implying that he was party to the company’s decision to keep the matter quiet.


    Reports at the time suggested that co-founder Larry Page okayed the exit package with a supportive message for Rubin, implying that he was party to the company’s decision to keep the matter quiet. The move spurred 20,000 Googlers in 50 locations to protest the company’s handling of the case. Earlier, Google had stayed silent about the exit of Amit Singhal (then head of search), who too was accused of sexual misconduct.

    An expose on Rubin, published by The New York Times, claimed that Google had varying standards when dealing with sexual harassment. “When Google fires lower-level employees, it typically marches them out immediately and pays little, if any, severance. But for senior executives, Google weighs other factors, said former executives,” it reported.


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