Slashdot Mirror


Former Engineer Says Uber Is a Nightmare of Sexism; CEO Orders Urgent Investigation (susanjfowler.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report on The Verge: A former Uber engineer has published an explosive account of sexism and power struggles in the workplace, with allegations beginning from her very first official day with the company. The engineer, Susan Fowler (who left Uber in December and now works for Stripe), posted the account to her blog on Sunday, calling it a "strange, fascinating, and slightly horrifying story." It is indeed horrifying. Sexism is a well-documented problem in Silicon Valley, but the particulars of Fowler's account are astounding. She says problems began on day one, when her manager accosted her with details of his sex life: "In my first official day rotating on the team, my new manager sent me a string of messages over company chat. He was in an open relationship, he said, and his girlfriend was having an easy time finding new partners but he wasn't. He was trying to stay out of trouble at work, he said, but he couldn't help getting in trouble, because he was looking for women to have sex with. It was clear that he was trying to get me to have sex with him, and it was so clearly out of line that I immediately took screenshots of these chat messages and reported him to HR. When I reported the situation, I was told by both HR and upper management that even though this was clearly sexual harassment and he was propositioning me, it was this man's first offense, and that they wouldn't feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning and a stern talking-to. Upper management told me that he "was a high performer" (i.e. had stellar performance reviews from his superiors) and they wouldn't feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part. The things only get worse for Fowler. Read the full account of her story here. In the meanwhile, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said the company would "conduct an urgent investigation" into the allegations, and promised to fire anyone who "behaves this way or thinks this is OK."

Journalist Paul Carr summing up the situation, says, "Uber's ability to be on the wrong side of every moral and ethical issue is bordering on magical."

5 of 917 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Noob question by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    How you downvote idiological articles on ./ ?

    From the Slashdot FAQ:

    Q: How do you downvote idiological (!) articles on ./ ?

    A: Start by not reading them. And if you do accidentally read an "idiological" article on "./", be sure to not post a comment on it, dumbfuck.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Re:I'm not surprised. by gatkinso · · Score: 3, Funny

    generic_rebuttal

    --
    I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
  3. Re:I'm not surprised. by Grog6 · · Score: 4, Funny

    generic_rebuttal{ .Sexism .Misogeny .SJW .gamergate .HillaryRhodamClinton .Trump .Putin .Nazis
    }
    END: GODWIN_EXIT

    --
    Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
  4. Re: I'm not surprised. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Funny

    The problem is people like you advocating violent responses.

    I think that people who can't spot hyperbole should be publically disembowled in the town square.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  5. Re:I'm not surprised. by ghoul · · Score: 1, Funny

    No wonder more and more men are choosing to be gay. And dont tell me people are born Gay or Hetero. Its not digital its Analog. Everyone is somewhere on the scale from 90% hetero to 90% gay. While the 90% hetero guy would never turn to men even after multiple hearbreaks and the 90% gay guy would never turn to a woman even in mediaval Europe (he would just become a monk or priest) there are those who are 60-40 or 40-60. Depending on how hostile society becomes to hetero relationships and accepting of homo relationships more and more people will choose to go the gay way. Its way less complicated (men understand men much better than women). With how hostile Silicon Valley or ManJose has become to men (the lopsided men-women ratio makes dating really difficult) I would say event the 70-30 or 80-20 are temptem to act upon their 30 and 20 natures.

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**