How to “get it right” in the Workplace

This week’s readings focused on Sharon Traweek’s experience as a woman in a particularly male dominated field and the marginalization she faced because of her gender(a socially constructed ideal). In the past year we have seen cases of women being mistreated in the workplace, with large companies such as Google and Uber making headlines. Many believed that these cases should call for a reform in the workplace in regards to their treatment of women. However, Debbie Madden, CEO of Stride(an agile software development consultancy), brings a new perspective to this debate that she claims is not all so new. In her medium article entitled “To Uber: Many in Tech Have Gotten Harassment Against Women in the Workplace Right for Decades”, she claims that treating women with the same respect as men in the workplace is not as hard as people are making it out to be. Madden was specifically bothered by the statement made by Freada Kapor Klein, a partner at the venture capital firm Kapor Capital and an Uber investor where she stated:

“Has anyone gotten it right in tech?’” and her response was “not yet. And that means an opportunity for Uber.”

The problem with this statement according to Madden is that Klein is disregarding all companies that HAVE gotten it right and made the work environment a safe and open place for women. As a CEO of her own company, Madden was able to “get it right” and lists a set of guidelines for companies like Uber to follow/implement in their workspace. Madden suggests a couple simple concepts companies can adopt to fix the problem:

1. Hold people accountable
2. Adopt Zero Tolerance Harassment Policy
3. Invest each incident the day it is revealed

Madden shows that it is not as hard as everyone is making it seem to create a welcoming environment for women in the workplace. This article is important because the tips Debbie Madden provides are transferable to collegiate environments as well. If we adopt these policies as a collective and take incidents seriously with repercussion, workplace environments can improve dramatically for women.

Sources:

Madden, Debbie. “To Uber: Many in Tech Have Gotten Harassment Against Women in the Workplace Right for Decades.” NewCo Shift, Medium, 1 Mar. 2017, shift.newco.co/to-uber-many-in-tech-have-gotten-harassment-against-women-in-the-workplace-right-for-decades-cbac8065e809.

“Prologue and Chapter 3.” Beamtimes and Lifetimes: the World of High Energy Physicists, by Sharon Traweek, Harvard University Press, 1992.