I would love to write "It’s Different for Boys", not as a rebuttal, but to explain how two-sided this problem is from a man's perspective.
That sexual harassment and the weirdly dysfunctional sexual culture of business is perpetuated on men as well as women.
I arrived on the scene in the Bay Area start-up culture ~5 years ago from a very different industry / cultural perspective.
I was in LOVE with the idea of the Bay Area tech-start-up culture - it's incredibly magnetic.
Within a month I'd closed a major deal with a new client - they'd just raised tens-of-millions in venture money from prominent VCs, the CEO was very visible in the SF bay start-up culture, etc.
I was living the dream - everything in their office was just as I imagined, the people were all hip and fresh and liberal-earthy-but-wise-and-techie just as I'd hoped.
Then the work day ended and I was invited out to drinks to celebrate our deal with the "boys" from the office.
Drinks led to more drinks, led to a strip club, led to the CEO literally going home with a hooker (and he was dating another prominent valley founder at the time no less).
And nobody batted an eye.
Like the author I don't quite know how to wind this up other than to say this is a two way street.
And the more time I spend with rich and powerful SV men, the more I see a "women as toys" culture perpetuated.
Yes, we're all human susceptible to our very human flaws and needs, but it's insane how completely acceptable sexualized behavior is behind the scenes.
That sexual harassment and the weirdly dysfunctional sexual culture of business is perpetuated on men as well as women.
I arrived on the scene in the Bay Area start-up culture ~5 years ago from a very different industry / cultural perspective.
I was in LOVE with the idea of the Bay Area tech-start-up culture - it's incredibly magnetic.
Within a month I'd closed a major deal with a new client - they'd just raised tens-of-millions in venture money from prominent VCs, the CEO was very visible in the SF bay start-up culture, etc.
I was living the dream - everything in their office was just as I imagined, the people were all hip and fresh and liberal-earthy-but-wise-and-techie just as I'd hoped.
Then the work day ended and I was invited out to drinks to celebrate our deal with the "boys" from the office.
Drinks led to more drinks, led to a strip club, led to the CEO literally going home with a hooker (and he was dating another prominent valley founder at the time no less).
And nobody batted an eye.
Like the author I don't quite know how to wind this up other than to say this is a two way street.
And the more time I spend with rich and powerful SV men, the more I see a "women as toys" culture perpetuated.
Yes, we're all human susceptible to our very human flaws and needs, but it's insane how completely acceptable sexualized behavior is behind the scenes.