‘Bro culture’ far from tamed in the office, women say
Many are skeptical their complaints will make much of a dent
Women are SAN FRANCIS CO hopeful bro culture could be mortally wounded, but they aren’t quite prepping for its funeral.
“Bro culture,” the exclusionary, male-centric vibe at some companies that has led to a spate of powerful men such as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick losing high-profile roles, is under heavy assault.
A younger generation of women is speaking more openly about what they experience in the workplace, and some companies such as Apple and Microsoft have responded to criticism on issues such as equal pay with efforts to address the disparities.
The shift has resulted in a string of repercussions that have made men think twice about their behavior.
However, many women remain skeptical that their complaints — and the recent outcomes — will make a dent in what they view as long-standing issues of inequality and harassment in the business world. “Will people stop sending memos about what kind of sex is appropriate at a company party? Likely,” says Jessica Rovello, CEO of interactive content company Arkadium, referring to a memo that Kalanick once wrote. “But will this change the way people operate? Probably not.”
Ingrained male habits die hard, Rovello says, recalling countless meetings where, as the only woman in the room, questions she asked were answered with the speaker addressing a male colleague.
The vexing issue came to the fore again this week after an excerpt of Ellen Pao’s upcoming book, Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change, was published in New York magazine on Monday.
Pao, who unsuccessfully sued iconic venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins for sexual discrimination, recounts how her future at the company was derailed after she broke off a relationship with a Kleiner partner who had failed to leave his wife as planned.
She also describes a flight she took on a partner’s private jet during which a tech CEO and other men present talked about porn stars and sex worker preferences. “Sometimes the whole world felt like a nerdy frat house,” Pao wrote.
The word “bro” is a white appropriation of the African-American greeting derived from “brother.” But as a term describing an ethos, bro culture has come to represent a testosteronecharged group reminiscent of a frat house and for some harks back to powerful white privilege that has caused women and minorities to struggle for equality since the founding of the country.
At its core, bro culture aims to create a space where boys can be boys, says Michael Kimmel, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at Stony Brook University and author of Angry White Men: Masculinity at the End of an Era.
“It’s a reaction against the entry of women into virtually every public space, which they see as an invasion,” he says. “Once upon a time, every place was a locker room.”
“Once upon a time, every place was a locker room.” Michael Kimmel, author of Angry White Men: Masculinity at the End of an Era
Kimmel also warns of a toxic byproduct of this culture that extends beyond women. Men who aren’t drawn to the code — the teasing, the boasting, the drinking — can be pressured to “compromise their own values in the name of fitting it with bros,” he says, adding that the pressure to conform can be intense.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which battled Wall Street on the behalf of women decades ago, says women continue to come forward even though the agency hasn’t filed any major financial industry sex-discrimination cases in New York City in recent years.
“That doesn’t mean similar discrimination is not occurring. We certainly have continued to see allegations like that,” says Raechel Adams, an EEOC supervisory trial attorney.
One in four women reported experiencing “sexual harassment” in the workplace, according to a June 2016 EEOC report on workplace harassment.
Additionally, almost 60% of women surveyed reported some form of gender harassment.
“Culture at work is so long standing, and it’s just impossible to beat it down,” says Allison Schieffelin, who won a Wall Street discrimination settlement a decade ago in a case that showed bro culture is hardly a new phenomenon.
Even so, women working in Silicon Valley have made men think twice about the potential consequences of indecent behavior.
Venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck was forced to resign from Binary Capital after being accused by many women of inappropriate advances during business negotiations.
Former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a detailed blog post in February about the ride-hailing company’s sexist environment. Her charges started a cultural tailspin that led co-founder Kalanick to resign in June after eight years of helming his $70 billion start-up.
Dave McClure of tech incuba- tor 500 Startups resigned after being accused of inappropriate conduct.
Retired venture capitalist Chris Sacca apologized for “perpetuating a culture rife with busting chops, teasing and peer pressure to go out drinking.”
And Google fired engineer James Damore on Aug. 7 after he questioned the tech giant’s diversity program.
Criticism of bro culture isn’t limited to the tech industry. New York-based “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, who was convicted Aug. 4 on three securities fraud charges in an investment case, separately has been criticized over his treatment of women.
Freelance writer Lauren Duca early this year reported that Shkreli harassed her after she criticized President Trump in a
“Culture at work is so long standing, and it’s just impossible to beat it down.” Allison Schieffelin, who won a Wall Street discrimination settlement
2016 Teen Vogue opinion piece. Shkreli trolled Duca online, writing he had “a small crush” on her and inviting her to be his date for the presidential inauguration.
The health care entrepreneur said in a July Facebook Live session before the start of jury deliberations in his case: “If I’m acquitted, I get to f--- Lauren Duca.”
Imagine a company that takes its cues from the behavior of a leader such as Shkreli, and you have a sense of how corporate culture can become a tinderbox of inequality, says Joan Williams, a professor at Hastings College of Law and founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law.
“When work becomes a masculinity contest, whether it’s measuring the hours you’re working or the pay you’re making, then often hitting on the women in the office is just another metric of your success there,” she says.