This is an open letter, after two weeks of reading about sexual harassment scandals.
Dear Silicon Valley
We know you’re very sorry about creating a culture that for decades has demeaned and excluded both women and people of color. Thanks so much for your multiple apologies. The question is, are you satisfied with your own apologies, or do you want to change things? If you do, I have a few suggestions.
It certainly has been a fascinating couple of weeks. It began with Travis Kalanick‘s departure as Uber CEO, in the wake of a blog post detailing the company’s routine practice of protecting and concealing sexual harassment.
It continued with a piece in the tech website The Information in which women working in Silicon Valley described sexual harassment from Binary Capital co-founder Justin Caldbeck (who now also faces a lawsuit from a former employee). That was followed almost immediately by a New York Times piece in which no less than 24 female entrepreneurs described being sexually harassed. They named names. Not only Caldbeck, but also Shark Tank Shark Chris Sacca and 500 Startups Founder Dave McClure.
Two things happened almost immediately. The first is, the three VCs named are all leaving or “taking a step back from” their jobs. Not only did Justin Caldbeck–whose serial sexual harassment has been an open secret for years–leave Binary Capital, so did its two other partners, leaving the firm’s future in doubt. Sacca didn’t announce that he was quitting because he doesn’t have to–he already retired earlier this year. As for McClure, he’s handed the role of CEO to managing partner Christine Tsai, stepping back from daily operations, and getting counseling.
The second thing that happened is some of the most beautifully worded apologies ever seen on the internet. After initial responses that could be summed up as: “So I asked a few women out. What’s the big deal?” every one of these guys has publicly taken responsibility for his actions, and said he was deeply sorry.
The apologies began with Justin Caldbeck, who wrote this as he announced an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital: “The past 24 hours have been the darkest of my life. I have made many mistakes over the course of my career, some of which were brought to light this week. To say I’m sorry about my behavior is a categorical understatement. Still, I need to say it: I am so, so sorry.”
Chris Sacca, though he disputes the specific accusation in the New York Times story, also issued a lengthy apology for his part in making women feel unwelcome in Silicon Valley. “Listening to these stories, and being reminded of my past, I now understand I personally contributed to the problem,” he writes. “I am sorry.” McClure has just weighed in with the most recent and arguably the most eloquent apology of all, titled “I’m a Creep. I’m Sorry.”
Don’t get me wrong, these are all amazing developments and I’m heartened that these three men have been so quick to admit their faults and apologize for them. But now what? Silicon Valley, will you shake your collective head over the revelations, read the apologies, and go on about your business, relieved that three VCs who committed sexual harassment aren’t in a position to do so anymore?
I hope not, because these three VCs are barely even the tip of the iceberg. Back when Susan Fowler’s blog post about Uber first started causing ripples, another female Uber engineer, Aimee Lucido, blogged that the harassment Fowler described was standard throughout Silicon Valley and not unique to Uber. In fact, she said, she’d had a similar experience at Google, despite its very public efforts toward racial diversity…