The Linus Tech Tips abuse allegations are yet another reminder that something absolutely needs to be done about the rampant sexism in the tech industry. If you haven’t heard them yet you can read about them here, but be warned, there is some potentially very triggering abuse and self harm detailed: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1691693740254228741.html
Madison’s story is not unique - we have heard stories like hers time and time again. As a tech professional it makes me sick to share an industry with these horrible people, and to know that little is being done to reign them in.
So, what can be done about this? I don’t have all of the answers, but one thing that comes to mind is that HR departments desperately need actual unbiased oversight, perhaps even from a governing body outside of the company. It has become common knowledge that HR’s primary purpose is to protect the company, and this prevents employees from speaking out and driving internal change even in terrible situations like Madison Reeve and countless others have faced. The way things are run clearly needs to fundamentally change
Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas on how we as a tech community might be able to address these issues, I am truly at a loss. All I want is for tech to be a safe space for everybody to find their passion and success, and it saddens me that we clearly aren’t there yet.
HR departments desperately need actual unbiased oversight
This is the tech industry we’re talking about, so let’s make it buzzword-compliant. What we need is HRaaS: HR as a Service.
NGL, I read it as “harass”, which is kinda ironic.
I’m a woman and I work in tech, as well as had nerdy techy hobbies since I was a child. I’ve definitely not experienced what Madison has experienced in my tech career but I have had plenty of sexist encounters in my time as a retail employee before my current career.
I’ve had a small few creepy incidents in my tech jobs but… Unfortunately what she experienced sounded a lot more like a dude bro gaming circle than an actual company. I’ve seen that behavior, just not in my career. Maybe I’m lucky, but I think the issue is so deeply rooted in LMG that I wouldn’t know how to fix it. It’s a weird gamer culture from what I can gather
HR != employee advocates.
HR has one core job: prevent employees from hurting the company. Sure, they help with payroll and benefits and recruiting and stuff, but at the end of the day, the true purpose of HR is that simple. Sometimes HR’s interests will align with your interests and good ethics in general. Sometimes they don’t. This doesn’t mean that you should default to having an antagonistic relationship with HR - in fact, you should definitely not do that. But you should also remember that HR’s goals may or may not align with your own. They are working for the company, not for you.
True worker representation can only be done by - you guessed it - workers.
Unionize. Solidarity forever.
