
Silicon Valley's cultural problem is so severe it needs a reset - urahara
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/silicon-valleys-cultural-is-so-bad-it-needs-a-reset-investor-mcnamee.html
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baron816
This is really counter productive. Silicon Valley's problem isn't going to get
better if the media paints the entire place as being hostile to women. That's
just going to scare them off, and that'll make matters worse. Is intentional
sexism endemic in SV? I doubt it. There are clearly some bad apples, but there
are bad apples in every industry. Many/most tech companies have at least gone
to great lengths to accommodate and recruit women and minorities. Compare that
to law, finance, medicine, government, and every other industry dominated by
men. Silicon Valley is a great place for women to work, regardless of its
problems. The best, and probably only way to fix it is to bring more women in.

~~~
s73ver
At the same time, sweeping the problem under the rug and pretending it doesn't
happen isn't going to fix anything either. At least with this approach, those
in charge are pressured to do something about it.

~~~
baron816
I definitely don't think it should be swept under the rug, but I don't think
it needs to be broadcast through the mass media for all the world to see and
for the entire industry to be condemned as misogynists. This shit is awful and
it needs to be dealt with appropriately. If executives don't want to do that,
then they should be held accountable too. But I think there's a way to do
those things without shaming the 99% people who have nothing to do with any of
this.

~~~
s73ver
But they're not shaming us. I don't feel shamed at all by the coverage. I'm
not one of the people they're talking about; I know I'm not, so I don't feel
upset by the coverage.

~~~
dropit_sphere
I think they _are_ talking about you, or are at least playing extremely fast
and loose with phrasing.

Are you part of "Silicon Valley," which "has a culture problem?" Are you one
of "the men" in "the workforce"?

I don't feel ashamed. But this is, to some degree, slander.

~~~
s73ver
And I don’t. I know they aren’t talking about me. Because I don’t do those
things.

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ams6110
I'm in no way excusing any of this behavior but I do not see this is
particularly an SV problem. I see this as a power corruption problem.

Men (and women) with a lot of power can get into a mindset where they think
the rules don't apply to them. I don't think this is unique to SV at all. You
see it with powerful politicians and powerful and/or very wealthy individuals
across the private sector.

Power corrupts. One of the oldest flaws in human nature.

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Zpalmtree
Isn't California/Silicon Valley really liberal? You'd think this would be one
of the places who are the least sexist.

~~~
cle
People tend to rationalize inconsistent behavior when money/power is involved.
Just look at what San Francisco, the home of the 60's counterculture movement,
has now become.

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tp3z4u
I think a lot of tech heads would actually appreciate the bankers cum VCs to
go away and take their bro culture with them.

~~~
ben_jones
Except VC money pays for all the jobs... then no men or women would want to
work here.

~~~
WalterSear
That would be great.

There's been a massive influx of badly motivated people in the last decade.
It's changed the culture and the output of SV profoundly.

[https://medium.com/@micah/silicon-valley-is-
dead-88ed34d943d...](https://medium.com/@micah/silicon-valley-is-
dead-88ed34d943dc)

~~~
ben_jones
So we should just kick out everyone who came here for a job over the past
decade? Does anyone think before coming up with policy reforms or do they just
spew out the first thing they can think of that gives them the moral high
ground?

~~~
WalterSear

      > "...no men or women would want to work here."
    
      > "That would be great."
    
      > "I knew it. The liberal conspiracy wants to deport my children."

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mc32
We definitely need to do something to abate this problem. I'm not sure what
the good solutions are. I also don't know whether it's getting worse or people
disclosing it more openly.

It's crucial that women feel welcome and not be targeted for uninitiated
sexual advances. It's necessary for the continued advancement of our economy.

That said, in addition to having avenues for exposing these abuses, I think it
would be helpful to know the extent of the problem so we would have a better
idea how to manage it.

For example, the problem is way different if < 1% of people engaged in the
behavior vs 10%

At 10% as a society and industry we can't afford to "just get rid of those
people" That's just burying our heads in the sand and ignoring a large
problem. We'd better come up with other solutions like intervention, and
education and on-going treatment and a way for people to recover.

If it's fewer than 1% then maybe it's a personal issue versus an ingrained
social issue.

Either way, we need to understand the scope of the issue in order to
understand it better and address it more effectively. As it is, it's these one
offs where single individuals are addressed but larger social issues remain
unaddressed.

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curtis
There's a difference between a Silicon Valley _VC_ cultural problem and a
"working at a Silicon Valley technology company" cultural problem (and _even_
if we are talking about VC-funded technology companies). Those are really two
different environments, and it does no one a service to conflate the two.

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dropit_sphere
Oh good, this is my non-karma account.

The SV sexism thing is a confluence of several vicious mutually-reinforcing
factors:

\- Smart dudes who didn't see their intelligence sexually rewarded as much as
they thought it deserved to be in their teen/college years, then feeling their
oats a bit when they become sought-after developers

\- the various social pathologies that can arise from this, from feigned
ignorance to creepy come-ons

\- Femininist envy of men daring to make good money without actually being
high-status

\- various parties being insecure and trigger-happy on lashing out

\- tech being one of the very weird parts of the world where the basement-
dweller "While you were partying, I studied the blade" resentment attitude
_actually has marketable value_ , if that blade was devops/ML/latest JS
framework.

Look, most parties involved are being really shitty to each other, but they
mostly do it because they feel that they themselves have been injured or fear
they are in danger of such. I don't imagine anyone's planning on stopping any
time soon.

I do hope that the well-adjusted reader of this comment, however, will take it
upon him or herself to be kind as and when they can.

~~~
gaius
Frankly I cannot wait for the bubble to burst. Some good folks - old skool
geeks - will get hurt I know and I'm sorry for that. But it will be worth it,
and then we can go back to the important things: Star Trek, AD&D and _making
actual technology not just new ways to show ads or steal personal info_.

------
wcummings
We need a _cultural revolution_.

