Steps tech companies can take to protect women and minority employees
susanjfowler.com
susanjfowler.com
No, no no no. White males are not the only aggressors in our society (or even our industry), and zero-tolerance policies for "inappropriate behavior" swing the balance too far in the opposite direction.
More specifically, it eliminates the chance for redemption - for recovering from honest mistakes - and puts the jobs of every single person in the hands of people who haven't earned that power.
I'll agree with not tolerating illegal behavior (and harassment is already well defined enough to incorporate "inappropriate" behavior), within the bounds of the law. Anything beyond that, especially zero tolerance policies, makes it too easy for bad actors to exploit. Once you create that fear of reprisal from your colleagues for a single misspoken word or ambiguously interpreted action, you've lost any chance at having a productive environment.
What needs to happen is a kind of re-education of people to learn how to act appropriately in the company of others or when they choose to associate with others (within a company). And it needs to happen from elementary school. But it needs to avoid the us-vs-them of political correctness. It has to be simple and apply to everyone. The implicit message also has to be the same as the explicit message, in this regard.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions is the first thing that comes to mind --or the cobra effect as well, or production quotas in Marxist systems. In trying to treat one issue, you create another just as problematic issue.
Interestingly, one can see high participation of women in discriminatory cultures like those in India, China, Russia, etc. There professional jobs are an avenue of escape from social domination --and I'm sure we don't want to achieve balance in employment via those means.
The rest are seriously worth getting behind and pushing.