
500 Startups partner Elizabeth Yin resigns over McClure situation - Geekette
https://www.axios.com/500-startups-partner-elizabeth-yin-resigns-2452787280.html
======
nikcub
Related:

[https://www.axios.com/exclusive-dave-mcclure-resigns-as-
gene...](https://www.axios.com/exclusive-dave-mcclure-resigns-as-general-
partner-of-500-startups-2452701900.html)

[https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/03/employee-email-
claims-500-...](https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/03/employee-email-
claims-500-startups-leadership-delayed-acknowledging-mcclures-harassment-as-
new-allegations-surface/)

[https://cherylyeoh.com/2017/07/03/shedding-light-on-the-
blac...](https://cherylyeoh.com/2017/07/03/shedding-light-on-the-black-box-of-
inappropriateness/)

This is a big series of stories breaking - not sure why it isn't getting much
traction on HN today.

~~~
hdra
Cheryl Yeoh's story was the #1 story just a while ago, and it is now nowhere
to be seen. I suspect some people are actively downvoting/flagging such
stories.

I'm even more surprised at the how number of people who are still defending
McClure even after all this.

I expected the usual "that can't be the entire story, there must be a detail
they aren't telling us", which is a skepticism I can still somewhat understand
given today's media landscape.

But even now after the details came out, I am now seeing the "that is a normal
behaviour from a heterosexual man" responses. It feels so disheartening to see
that these kind of responses not only exist in the industry but we are
actually having arguments about it. And I'm a man. Hard to imagine how it
would feels for the women in the industry.

~~~
pen2l
> It feels so disheartening to see that these kind of responses not only exist
> in the industry but we are actually having arguments about it.

It's disheartening. But is it surprising? Look at the things the dude sitting
in 1600 pensylvania ave. is saying and has said about women, maybe sadly it is
the unfortunate and sorry state of things today that some men are like this.
There has been a lot of clamor for change, probably most of it genuine about
making things better for the women in the industry. Do you think things will
be considerably better for women in ... say, 10 years? I don't think so.
Actually, based on the things I hear in video game voice chat by folks
sounding like they're 10-15, the future is scary. And don't be fooled into
thinking that this problem is unique to the tech industry (I work in a very
huge hospital, the last CEO was forced to resign because there was some
situation about him giving his mistress a high paying job, similar things
happened to other higher-up staff)

I don't have any good answers as to what _would_ make things better, so I'd be
very curious to hear from users here what are possible solutions.

~~~
mikestew
_Do you think things will be considerably better for women in ... say, 10
years?_

From the perspective of an olde phart who has been around since the 80s, no, I
don't think it will get better because my single data point says things have
been on a downward trend in about the last 15 years. Yes, I feel that
attitudes and behavior have gotten worse, not better, in the last thirty years
or so. Not every company, of course not, but I think there is a lot of "new
normal" going around (the "brogrammer" being just one aspect).

Solutions? You want to "make things better for women in the industry"? Start
by making things better for everyone: the workplace is not a frat house. Maybe
ditch the kegerator, for starters. Alcohol is for when I don't want to be
serious about what I'm doing. Hell, maybe we ditch the shorts and start
wearing long pants to work, even if it's jeans. If I had a _good_ answer, I'd
write a book and retire on the royalties. I don't, so I'll grasp at straws,
but there's something I can't quite put my finger on that says too much
casualness in our work environment spills over to a much more casual attitude
about how we deal with our coworkers. And, again I'm just spitballin', a
casual attitude toward my female coworkers might very translate to, "hey,
baby, nice ass".

------
guard0g
everyone has a mother, sister or daughter and wouldn't want to see this stuff
happen

------
Zikes
Hey dang, still waiting on my ban.

Or a response detailing how HN will be revamping the flagging system to
prevent its abuse for censorship. But I'm not holding my breath for that one.

