A comprehensive guide to dealing with sexual harassment in the tech industry

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With the spat of sexual harassment incidents by venture capitalists Chris Sacca, Dave McClure, and Justin Caldbeck, there’s a spotlight on how organizations should handle such cases if they occur within their ranks, and how to prevent them from happening.

We highlight a few approaches here.

Zero tolerance

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman thinks there should be a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment:

• VCs should understand that they have the same moral position to the entrepreneurs they interact with that a manager has to an employee, or a college professor to a student. That is to say, as soon as you start discussing potential business deals of any kind with an entrepreneur, there is no such thing as an innocent or appropriate sexual proposition or remark. If you are interested in pursuing a business relationship of some kind, you forfeit the prospect of pursuing a romantic or sexual relationship. If you want to mutually pursue a romantic or sexual relationship, then forfeit the prospect of a business relationship.
• If anyone sees a venture capitalist behaving differently from this standard, they should disclose this information to their colleagues as appropriate – just as one would if one saw a manager interacting inappropriately with an employee, or a college professor with a student.
• Any VC who agrees that this is a serious issue that deserves zero tolerance – and I certainly hope most do think this way – should stop doing business with VCs who engage in this behavior. LPs should stop investing. Entrepreneurs of all genders should stop considering those VCs. This behavior occurs in our industry not just because some believe it’s no big deal, but also because those who do find it unacceptable don’t do enough to actively discourage it.

Hoffman also believes the venture capital industry should create an “industry-wide HR function” so that VCs would face the same consequences as employees who’ve sexually assaulted a co-worker.

Venture capital firm Foundry Group also has a zero tolerance policy, which states:

• Any allegation of sexual harassment within a company we are investors in will result in an immediate investigation, with a goal of having it resolved as promptly as possible. If found to be valid, we will request an immediate termination of the harasser, regardless of job position. We will work with all of our companies to put this policy in place.

• Any allegation of sexual harassment by an employee of a fund we are an LP in will result in an immediate investigation, with a goal of having it resolved as promptly as possible. If found to be valid, we will request the immediate resignation of the harasser, regardless of job position. If the harasser is a GP, we will ask for the immediate resignation of the harasser and, if refused, we will engage with other LPs to explore legal removal of the harasser. We will work with all of the funds that we are investors in to put this policy in place, recognizing that we have much less power and influence as an LP than we do as a direct investor and board member of a company.

A more nuanced approach

Others believe that a less punitive policy would be more appropriate, since there are different levels of sexual harassment, starting from inappropriate remarks up to outright sexual assault.

Brittany Laughlin, a partner at Lattice VC, suggests a policy in which repeated offenses will be dealt with more harshly:

• No harassment in the workplace. No groping, unwanted sexual advances, harassing language, or offensive remarks based on gender/race. More details: EEOC guidelines. If harassment takes place, report it.
• Policy applies, even out of the office. Any work related meeting held anywhere, from boardrooms to hotel lobbies, is considered as workplace, and the policy still applies.
• Disclose personal relationships. Conflicts of interest related to personal relationships should be disclosed before, during, or after an investment. If you are in any way unsure of the nature of your relationship, communicate explicitly with words.
• Over report, don’t under report. All incidents should be reported, either with name or anonymously. All incidents will be recorded and reported to the offending party. Whether you are a witness or a victim, your complaint will be recorded.
• Deliver feedback as soon as possible. Once the incident is delivered to the offending party, there will be a documented conversation with management/peers/colleagues. Action steps could include: a letter of apology, a signed record of the misconduct with planned steps to prevent a repeat offense, and/or a request to seek professional counseling.
• Repeat behavior will be met with more action. If the same behavior is repeated after a prior warning, the company will take additional action to have the individual seek professional help or move on from the company. The company will communicate accordingly about the incident to prevent future harm.
• Intoxication is not an excuse. The policy applies, even when there is alcohol or other substances that impair judgement. If you cannot act appropriately when you imbibe: don’t drink or don’t participate in the event.

Different levels of sexual harassment

Finally, Malaysian entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh, who herself is a victim of sexual assault by Dave McClure, suggests a four-step action plan which includes treating various levels of harassment differently:

Action 1: Clearly define the different levels of “inappropriateness” in a formal company harassment policy

Level A: Verbal or gender harassment:

• Inappropriate comments, remarks, or suggestions have been made that makes the other party feel unsafe or uncomfortable (e.g. in the case of Sarah Kunst)
• Generalized sexist statements and behavior that convey insulting or degrading attitudes about women (e.g. insulting remarks, obscene jokes or humor about sex or women in general)

Level B: Direct sexual propositions or seductive behavior:

• Unwanted, inappropriate, and offensive direct propositions implying sexual advances has been made (e.g. sexual invitations like “would you consider sleeping with me or come to my hotel room,” etc, insistent requests for dinner, drinks, or dates, persistent messages, phone calls, and other invitations)

Level C: Sexual bribery or coercion:

• Solicitation of sexual activity or other sex-linked behavior by promise of reward (eg funding, closing a deal, etc); the proposition may be either overt or subtle.
• Coercion of sexual activity or other sex-linked behavior by threat of punishment; examples include negative performance evaluations, withholding of promotions, threat of termination.

Level D: Sexual imposition

• Unwanted and nonconsensual sexual imposition and physical advances (such as forceful touching, feeling, grabbing, kissing) or sexual assault.

Providing a framework like this clearly defines which boundary has been crossed to both parties and makes it easier for the victim to report the incident without fearing the need to quote the perpetrator verbatim. The perpetrator either made a comment, directly propositioned by inviting, made a threat, or made a physical move.

Firms can define their A to D levels themselves, or better yet, create a standard policy for the entire industry. This effort requires a working committee to come together and define this in a thoughtful, thorough manner. The policy should apply everywhere, even out of the office as long as work is discussed, and all incidents should be reported whether anonymously or named.

To aid you in this, consider referring to local laws which often spell out what constitutes sexual harassment (see examples for India and Singapore).

Action 2: Create a safe channel for harassment reporting

To make it safe, a special channel (like a hotline number to dial) should be created where specific harassment incidents can be reported with no repercussion. If possible, the victim should write a full account of what happened and send it to the perpetrator to make sure he’s aware of his level of inappropriateness and the victim’s full disapproval of it.

Again, to Laughlin’s point, all firms should record the incidents as data points, not accusations. It’s very easy to discredit a story, especially if you personally know the person and stand by his character because you’ve never seen him doing it. But the purpose of recording an incident is to serve as a data point and a warning to the perpetrator, letting him know that it’s not okay. If repeated behavior is reported, the company will have to take firm action and investigate the matter more seriously.

This hotline has to be made highly visible, accessible and be directly addressed by someone at the partner level (perhaps such as Christine in 500’s case) to convey how seriously the firm takes this.

Action 3: Train VCs and founders on how to identify and report the different levels of harassment

Creating and defining a harassment policy isn’t enough. Adequate training should be imparted by all firms, not just to every investor, and staff member, but also founders and portfolio companies.

Given the prevalence of this behavior (sometimes even subconsciously) within our industry, a different kind of awareness and training needs to take place, addressing gaps in power dynamics and the abuse of power that can happen with sexual advances.

Founders and partners of the firm need to be directly involved and speak to their own pledge against sexual harassment in the workplace. There should be a clear avenue where portfolio companies can easily be informed about the firm’s sexual harassment policies and what to do in the event that it happens to them, as well as how to report incidents without feeling compromised in any way.

Action 4: Conduct sexual harassment surveys

VC firms should also conduct frequent and proactive surveys of their (male and female) founders to ask them if they’ve had any form of harassment inflicted upon them, and encourage them to report these incidents.

Separately, they should survey their own partners, associates, and staff members on what behaviors they consider acceptable vs crossing boundaries and ask for admission of any wrong doings as a step to create awareness and as a reminder that there are severe consequences if they are caught violating company policy and abusing their position.

Rules for VCs

Finally, Singapore-based advocacy group Female Founders has a list of tips on how VCs should treat female founders:

• Sexual advances – Don’t hit on them, whether they are pitching to you or if they are a portfolio company. That’s just being unprofessional.
• Objectifying women – Don’t comment on their bodies, looks, or sex appeal. Even if you think you’re funny. You’re the only one enjoying your (sad attempts at) flirting. Let’s stick to business, shall we?
• Power dynamics – If they say no to meeting for a drink late at night, do not pressure them to say yes. No means no, and it only needs to be said once.
• Avoid bias – Assess the business plan gender-blind. In fact, do it race-, religion-, and age-blind too. The business plan speaks for itself.
• Respect their personal life – Don’t question how they will balance parenthood and work. This has already been thought through, discussed with the partner, and planned for.
• Quid pro Quo – Don’t bait funding for their company as a way to get laid. That’s Sexual Harassment 101.
• Be honest – If you have committed any of the above, and you’re caught with your pants down, then write your own damn apology. Please, let’s leave the PR agency out of this.
• An eye for an eye – Don’t take or threaten to take “revenge” on a female founder for speaking out.
• Don’t be an enabler – If you see others in your firm or other VCs behaving in inappropriate ways, call them out. Don’t attend their parties, don’t co-invest with them. Hold your industry to a higher standard.
• Be the change maker – Enable women in your VC firm, make sure there’s at least one women present when making investment decisions and bring women among managing partners of your firm. This will change your company culture and improve your roles. Research proves it.

It listed four things female founders should keep in mind when working with VCs:

• Identify bias – be prepared and alert in all interactions. If the VC asks you out for drinks or wants to meet at a hotel, stand up for yourself and make it clear that you are uncomfortable with the location and would like to meet in an office environment or you will be bringing someone along with you.
• Point it out – during uncomfortable conversations such as interruptions or “mansplaining,” ask the VC if he would act the same way with a man, and ask him to consider it from your point of view.
• Educate them – by discussing openly how you felt mistreated, you not only show you can solve difficult situations but also help VCs change how they treat female founders in the future.
• Reach out – If you feel that you have been disrespected as a woman founder, do reach out to support groups like Female Founders, Crib, Girls in Tech etc who will support you if and when you will reach out.

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