Second chances are hard to come by in America, but not for these high-profile male technology executives who were accused of sexual misconduct and are now getting second chances.
Davey Alba and Ryan Mac of Buzzfeed News report that since mid-2017, when #meToo stormed Silicon Valley, a number of of high-profile tech industry men accused of doing very bad things to women lost their jobs. All those dudes who lost their jobs now have new jobs.
Former Social Finance CEO Mike Cagney, ex-Google-X Director Rich DeVaul, former Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partner Steve Jurvetson are also featured in this who’s-who of the American technology industry’s accused misogynists, perverts, assholes, and sexual abusers.
All of whom have new gigs and new lives.
Gosh they are lucky gentlemen, are they not?
Wonder how the women fared.
“This was a tough subject to report on and one that deserves nuance,” tweeted Buzzfeed’s Ryan Mac.
“The folks advocating for diversity and inclusion in tech all argued there should be a way for those accused of past sexual misconduct back into the industry. The question was after how long, and into what roles?”
One detail in my and @RMac18’s story: @davemcclure and @Scobleizer quietly deleted their blog posts addressing harassment allegations around them. You can only access them via internet archive. https://t.co/sCSnVKqvnn pic.twitter.com/dfeQWrhwg3
— Davey Alba (@daveyalba) April 16, 2019
Dave McClure and Robert Scoble are among the men featured, and their points of view on how they are portrayed were also worth reading, but have been deleted. Interesting choice, wonder why. Maybe they changed their minds about how they’d told their own stories?
Or, maybe:
What does it say about the sincerity of an apology if it's deleted from the web?
https://t.co/uTKLRXzDA2— mat honan (@mat) April 16, 2019
Who knows.
It must be nice to make profound mistakes in life and proceed upward, as you were, with seemingly few or no consequences. Must be nice. Would not know.
“My rapist still works in tech,” says Liz Fong-Jones about a former Google executive.
“Not only does he work in tech, he has a position where he may be supervising people as a CTO,” she says.
“This man is dangerous and is a serial rapist.”
And he is employed, as are the others.
Ugh. My rapist still works in tech :( :(
"One former Google executive, whose advances on a job candidate at Burning Man were reported late last year, is now the chief technology officer at a startup less than four months after leaving the search and advertising giant." https://t.co/ibifSO1wo1
— Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) (@lizthegrey) April 16, 2019
I can prove that I was at his residence on two occasions, including GPS logs, expense reports, calendar entries, emails, and more.
I can't prove aside from my word it wasn't consensual, however. And the other people he assaulted are afraid of coming forward. I don't blame them.
— Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) (@lizthegrey) April 16, 2019
Read the entire feature by Ryan Mac at Buzzfeed, it’s pretty amazing how deep the reporting goes. May it help the world hold these men and others accountable for their actions.
[These Tech Execs Faced #MeToo Allegations. They All Have New Jobs. / buzzfeednews.com]
It's almost like these men still have a Global Playground. https://t.co/QqRBxHiLvv
— Mark Bergen (@mhbergen) April 16, 2019
This was a tough subject to report on and one that deserves nuance. The folks advocating for diversity and inclusion in tech all argued there should be a way for those accused of past sexual misconduct back into the industry. The question was after how long, and into what roles?
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) April 16, 2019
In one of the cases we chronicled, SoFi's former CEO had a new company within months of resigning for admitted misconduct that he lied to his board about. He had a new company within months. That company now has $120M in funding from some of the same investors.
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) April 16, 2019
Hopefully the story sparks discussion in tech. @daveyalba and I had the chance to listen to women who've thought deeply about the subject including @ekp, @aileenlee, @JessicaHLadd, @triketora, and @br_ttany. Maybe others will listen too.
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) April 16, 2019
Also our reporting doesn't exist in a vacuum. Our story would not be possible without the prior work of @ktbenner, @nathanielpopper, @emilychangtv, @lizette_chapman, @mcbridesg, @teddyschleifer, @MikeIsaac + others who have kept the industry accountable. Still, more to be done.
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) April 16, 2019
By exposing men accused of sexual misconduct, the #MeToo movement has derailed careers in entertainment, higher education, and politics. But its impact in the technology industry has been less pronounced https://t.co/ySCvT2auyy
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) April 16, 2019
Still can’t get over that Dave McClure is writing a book on how to excel as a VC. The guy was ousted from his job for sexual harassment allegations less than two years ago.
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) April 16, 2019
"We have not repaired the damage … and just as importantly, we haven't figured out how to prevent it from happening again." https://t.co/nwVcmqwB3O
— Caroline O'Donovan (@ceodonovan) April 16, 2019