Female Harassment Exists in the Tech Industry, Victims Began Speaking Up

Reading the numbers and analyzing the graphs, the tech industry has been lopsided in terms of gender. Not a lot of people see it as a significant issue, thinking this is how the world goes for decades. However, if we dig deeper, we will unearth weighty plights that add a hefty mass to this conundrum.

Sexual harassment happens everywhere. Abuse among individuals takes place under our noses while the rest of us work ignorantly towards our ambitions. Women in the tech unroll this truth. A few brave females who experienced harassment in the tech industry speak about their hideous memories.

One by one, female entrepreneurs have shared their stories. They were hesitant at first. Admitting an issue that has been frequently murmured, but rarely exposed is not an easy step. However, once a courageous soul has revealed her terrors, more women rushed to follow.

One of the stories was about a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who rejected a female applicant when she refused to entertain his sexual proposals. Another woman received suggestive messages from a start-up investor. In addition, a chief executive faced sexist comments while trying to raise funds for her online community site.

These are a few of testimonies from women in the tech industry. It also reflects why there is a dominance of male in entrepreneurial fields, when many women are disrespected and discriminated due to their gender. To end this issue once and for all, some women stood up to share their stories despite the risk of ostracism.

More than two dozen women in the tech industry spoke about their recent experiences of sexual harassment. Some women disclosed the names of the investors involved, others kept their personalities hidden. High-profile venture capitalists such as Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital and Dave McClure of 500 Startups were some of the names dropped. The exposés grew when site, The Information reported that venture capitalist, Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital, preyed upon female entrepreneurs.

Justin Caldbeckhas been accused of sexually harassing multiple female entrepreneurs while he worked with three different venture firms for seven years. Most of the harassments took place in meetings when women victims presented their companies to the investor.

Women’s outcry caused the collapse of the Binary Capital, and Caldbeck leaving the firm. Investors pulled out money from the firm’s funds, and several of Silicon Valley’s VCs and technologists, like Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, condemned Mr. Caldbeck’s behavior.

The chain of events triggered a fuss. More and more women spoke about the treatments they have received and endured from tech investors.

“Female entrepreneurs are a critical part of the fabric of Silicon Valley,” said Katrina Lake, founder and chief executive of the online clothing start-up Stitch Fix, who was one of the women targeted by Mr. Caldbeck. “It’s important to expose the type of behavior that’s been reported in the last few weeks, so the community can recognize and address these problems.”

Stories of abuse could be correlated to the number of male and women entrepreneurs in the tech industry. According to the data firm PitchBook, female entrepreneurs receive $1.5 billion in 2016 compared to $58.2 billion for men. Clearly showing that most investors who hold power are male. Due to the few disclosure requirements where the industry operates, many people chose to keep silent about the investors who crossed the line.

“Having had several women come out earlier, including Ellen Pao and me, most likely paved the way and primed the industry that these things indeed happen,” said Gesche Haas, an entrepreneur who said she was propositioned for sex by an investor, Pavel Curda, in 2014.

The case of Ms. Pao sparked a debate regarding whether women have to publicly disclose their experiences of harassment in the industry. Ellen Pao filed a case against her former employer at Kleiner Perkins Caufield& Byers for allegations of gender discrimination. She admitted she turned down sexual advances while working at the prestigious venture firm. However, she lost the fight.

Appalling statements swelled thereafter. Female entrepreneurs like Susan Wu said they were touched without their permission. During a tech gathering in Las Vegas in 2009, Wu said that Mr. Sacca, an investor and former Google executive, touched her face that made her feel uncomfortable. Susan Wu, who is also an investor shared that she was also propositioned by Mr. Caldbeck in 2009, and later avoided him when they crossed paths.

“There is such a massive imbalance of power that women in the industry often end up in distressing situations,” Ms. Wu said.

Not all women who experienced inappropriate behaviors chose to push back. They said they had limited abilities often because they need a job, funding or other help.

Sarah Kunst, 31, an entrepreneur, said she experienced an unfair treatment in 2014 when was applying for a position at the 500 Startups based in San Francisco. Kunst said that during the recruitment process, Mr. McClure, a founder of 500 Startups and an investor, sent her a message on Facebook saying, “I was getting confused figuring out whether to hire you or hit on you.”

Kunst refused Mr. McClure’s advance, and when she shared her experience with one of Mr. McClure’s colleagues, 500 Startups never talked to her again. According to the company, Mr. McClure’s is no longer in charge of day-to-day operations after an internal investigation.

“After being made aware of instances of Dave having inappropriate behavior with women in the tech community, we have been making changes internally,” 500 Startups said. “He recognizes he has made mistakes and has been going through counseling to work on addressing changes in his previous unacceptable behavior.”

Rachel Renock, the chief executive of Wethos, was not able to elude a similar situation. While raising funds for her online community site, she and her female partners faced sexist comments. Some of it said that they should marry for money, that he liked it when they fought back because he always wins, and that they should include more attractive photos of them in their presentations.

Ms. Renock and her partners put up with the comments because they they “couldn’t imagine a world in which that $500,000 wasn’t on the table anymore.” However, they refused the funds from the harasser, but were able to raise the needed money.

Lisa Curtis, an entrepreneur, also faced a belittling experience. Curtis won a startup competition in 2014 in San Francisco. She pitched her food start-up, KuliKuli where she received the most praise from the audience. This achievement opened the doors to possible investments. However, as Curtis stepped off the stage, an investor named Jose De Dios, said, “Of course you won. You’re a total babe.”

De Dios statement was clearly offensive and discriminatory. Thus, later that day Curtis posted the exchange on Facebook, where she received a call from a potential investor. According to Curtis, the investor said, “that if I didn’t take down the post, no one in Silicon Valley would give me money again.” Therefore, she took down the post.

The harassment among women is not a plague that unfurls only in the tech industry. It happens everywhere, with every tick of the clock. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a normal person, it’s necessary to take steps to end any on-going abuse and gender discrimination. People must raise awareness, Victims must have the heart to push back, and speak up. We have the power to annihilate the fiends in every industry, and finally end their gruesome ways. Let's use it, the best way we can.