60% of male managers are “uncomfortable” working around women
fastcompany.com
fastcompany.com
And rather than trying to approach the problem constructively, the article takes a strong tone throughout that puts the blame on men:
> That means the many, many women in this world who are just trying to do their jobs and make progress in their careers are being stymied by men who are terrified of being, I dunno, unable to control themselves while talking to a woman in the conference room.
No. It's not men who are afraid they're unable to control themselves. It's men who are afraid they'll be falsely accused and won't be able to defend themselves.
When has one accusation been enough to tank a person's career? Do you have an example? Of one accusation - not several dozen accusations from several dozen parties spread out over a period of decades.
https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/21/a-dongle-joke-that-spirale...
And not quite related but somewhat. Here in Canada a man named Lorne Grabher has had a custom license plate GRABHER lost it due to a single complaint.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/grabher-licence-p...
When you attend a conference with a laptop plastered with corporate stickers, you represent your employer. Try to act like a professional, when you do so.
And you're seriously grasping at straws with that second link.
The next thing is how do we do that not just in tech, but wider society since wider society influences such fears?
A cross-correlated one, from multiple independent reports is another story. As is one that stands up to cross-examination and scrutiny.
Reporting harassment by your manager is just as likely, if not moreso to shit on your career, as it is on theirs. They have all the power in this relationship, and every opportunity to retaliate if you aren't believed.
TFA's only suggestion for a cause is because these men are "unable to control themselves while talking to a woman in the conference room." Do you believe the problem is really that 60% of men are unable to control themselves?
There's a problem here, a real problem, but perpetuating ideas such as this really isn't a good way to start solving that problem.
That doesn't mean that 'getting eaten by sharks' is something you should be particularly worried about.
I realize this is a bad situation here, but this is an incredibly uncharitable take. Yes, that is probably true for some men, but others are probably worried about things looking bad even if nothing happens, or about false accusations.
I could believe that 32% more men realize that their inability (or disinterest) in controlling themselves around women might actually have consequences.
To be fair, it puts an increased burden on both parties. Any situation in which people cannot even socialize comfortably is not ideal for productive work.
It's obvious that there is sexual tension between individuals at work sometimes. Given that relationships at work are fairly taboo even assuming both parties are interested, there are not obvious pathways to resolve this without risking your career. Anytime I've ever had any interest in a coworker, the main thought I've had in my mind has usually been to try not to even THINK about getting involved. But, work is just work. Gotta get paid. if I were to to prioritize my actions on my terminal values, what I really want in life, notwithstanding the risk described above, I would try to pursue these relationships.
If your response to an article is to double-down on sexism, you are very much part of the problem.
For everyone else, working for and with women, or having women work for and with you, doesn't have to be scary at all. Just don't be awful, and they probably won't be either. Since you work in tech, presumably, or you wouldn't be here, try thinking of all of your colleagues as "people" instead of "men and women." It's not like it should matter in this field.
That probably isn't very reassuring... and explains exactly why so many men are worried.
I enjoy reading HN, but it absolutely has a sexism problem and it shows everytime an article about something like this is posted. You know how to not get "falsely" accused of harassment? Don't be a creep and don't treat your woman collegues as being lesser-than. Really not that hard. I promise.
For something as serious as rape it's 2% to 10%, for something less serious it would likely be higher.
Most workplaces don't feature many accusations of rape, real or false, so a 2% rate for all of life doesn't seem particularly relevant.
That’s just accusations that make it to court, too - the numbers that are settled behind closed doors are surely far higher.
It seems like we want social change, but we don't want to accept the risk of ostracism that comes with it. We want to change everyone else.