Earlier this year, The New York Times wrote that “the tech industry has a problem with ‘bro culture.'” There’s no doubt that the start-up culture is a predominantly male one. Every episode of Silicon Valley prior to the beginning of Season 4 reinforced this point. Only now has the program taken on the issue of what actual sexual harassment in the workplace looks like: proverbial (and literal) dick swinging.
Cheryl Yeoh needs no introduction in Malaysian circles: She was the co-founding CEO of MaGIC (Malaysian Innovation Global and Innovation Creativity Center), the government-funded incubator launched to support entrepreneurial endeavors in ASEAN. She’s since relocated to San Francisco, and is one of the biggest women in tech. One of our own. Malaysia could not be prouder, but she belongs to the world now.
So when she posted on her personal blog last night of her experience with sexual harassment from another Silicon Valley figure, Dave McClure of 500 Startups, the early tech venture fund, the digital world stood straight up with their mouths wide open. This was huge.
The idea of a women working their way up and encountering this crap was something that we all (shamefully) accept as being part and parcel of the world. Something hopefully deterred by a more aware and educated workforce. And of course, the massive lawsuits that come with untoward behavior. There’s nothing like a huge fiscal loss to put off the catcalling that happens in the streets making its way into the office.
Now, this was a strong, powerful woman in tech, someone who lived through three years of silence over her experience, out of fear, uncertainty and who knows what other reaction the public shaming would cause.
What is the context for the harassment? How far up the chain does it go? And when the proverbial s*** hits the fan, who will be accountable?
What made her come forward was not a sudden epiphany, but rather McClure taking it upon himself, in what can only be described as a PR offensive to tell the world that YES, he was indeed a creep. One may wonder if McClure’s need to “put it out there” in a “hey, I’m just harmless, the dork at the office party” kind of way was in relation to the recent outing of similar harassment allegations of Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, and his subsequent public humiliation and firing. The time is nigh for the reckoning of these men; maybe McClure could smell it, and went on the offensive.
Or maybe he just writes piss poor op-eds? Who knows! Who cares!
Yeoh saw how he was trying to define his predatory behavior. To paraphrase her blog post, he was putting it all in the blanket box of misfired flirting. Something like the harmless guy chatting you up at the bar telling you that you may look better in photos, but you look alright enough in real life. And then leaning in for the unwanted kiss. Neil Strauss’ The Game, minus the desired effect.
What her experience showed us, in detail, was that he didn’t understand the line between personal and professional, that his role in her life began with his role as a 500 Startups funder, a position of power over someone trying to develop micro-fund in Southeast Asia.
It was a position he abused, encouraging her and others to drink while ostensibly chatting about work. The two eventually ended up alone in a room, with him refusing to leave, eventually following her into her bedroom and propositioning sex. He then forced his kisses on her, telling her he liked “strong women”.
Cool, so no means no, unless you’re “strong”, in which case it means YES, but only because you said no. Welcome to the mental gymnastics of the rape culture.
He left. Sent her a FB apology — the kind you send for missing lunch — and left it at that. There was nothing that smacked of remorse.
There were other incidents Yeoh spoke of prior, but none had been so forward. They were odd messages, surely not sent by someone dumb enough not to realize they could easily be shared to the press. In retrospect, warning signs.
After the post went viral, McClure stepped down from a leading role at 500, and later was removed from the organization entirely. Considering he was a co-founder, his parachute will indeed be golden, as he jumps out whatever hole he last crawled out of.
But what of the next one? Uber, 500 Startups… Can the industry clean up its act? With a “bros before hoes” mentality permeating through much of the industry, many are willing to keep mum, or even neutralize this behavior.
Who is held accountable, and what of proper punishment? Hopefully the kind that hurts, the kind where you don’t just bounce with your 40% payout, and a vacation long enough where you hope people will just forget.
