[eulo__]

Such an irrational fear, like worrying about getting hit by lightning on the way to the shops.

Also goodluck convincing anyone that I sexually assaulted someone. People wouldn't be able to take you seriously after a claim like that.

[aiyodev]

Well, you prove my point. It's not likely that someone is going to get hit by lightning but everyone knows not to stand outside under a tree during a lightning storm. Similarly, a man should not be alone with a woman he isn't married or related to. When something has low probability, high risk, and is easily avoidable, you avoid it.

[emsy]

As others pointed out before, women are generally believed, as long as the men who allegedly assaulted them isn't employing a much higher position than the woman.

Is it an irrational fear? As far as probability goes I would say yes. But if you consider the stakes (your career + reputation) plus the cost of countermeasure (having someone with you) it makes sense.

[lqdc13]

How is it irrational? According to the UN, 40-50% of women in Europe experienced unwanted sexual advancement at work[1].

That is, statistically speaking without breaking it down by industry, close to half of women at your workplace are getting harassed and could report the perpetrator.

For comparison, lighting kills 0.000017% of the population per year.

[1] http://endviolence.un.org/pdf/pressmaterials/unite_the_situa...

[SCdF]

> That is, statistically speaking without breaking it down by industry, close to half of women at your workplace are getting harassed and could report the perpetrator.

That is a good point! Were I a perpetrator I too would be worried about that..

Seriously though, what are you trying to say here? Because half of women have been harassed at work you're worried about being alone in the room with one because, you're afraid you'll harass one? Or because you think those reports are false and you'll be accused as well?

Talking to women, ~50% seems like a conservative figure for % who have been (legitimately[1]) harassed at work

[1] Based on their side of the story, I am not a lawyer, police detective, truth detector or omnipresent inter-dimensional being

[lqdc13]

In that case, should 50% of men at your current workplace be immediately fired for previous harassment? You are probably assuming it is one or two people doing all the harassment, but what if it's uniformly distributed?

Different people find different things offensive. Some have a very low tolerance. Some joke to build camaraderie. On the other hand, there is always a way to interpret almost any joke as offensive. Getting the gender wrong by accident is another big one.

Luckily, I haven't ever worked with anyone who might consider reporting someone for an "innocent" from my PoV mistake, but I have met a lot of people like that outside of work.

[SCdF]

> In that case, should 50% of men at your current workplace be immediately fired for previous harassment? You are probably assuming it is one or two people doing all the harassment, but what if it's uniformly distributed?

What if!

I'm guessing there is a cultural issue here, since you've jumped onto firing, which I didn't even realise was something we were talking about . It sounds like in your (US-based) experience people can be trigger fired based on an honest miscommunication (e.g. a joke that unintentionally offended someone).

This is not anything I have ever experienced.

I guess this comes down again to why I found the statistics to be so surprising. Taking those stats by themselves, the US appears to be incredibly paranoid and puritanical about "the other sex", to the point where you're scared to be in the same room as one of them.

In my non-US experience if you make a shitty joke you are called on it, but you're not going to be insta-fired.

If you physically assault someone, or continue to be a misogynistic shit-heel, that is another story..

[learc83]

>It sounds like in your (US-based) experience people can be trigger fired based on an honest miscommunication (e.g. a joke that unintentionally offended someone).

Yes this can easily happen here. There are almost no employee protections in the US. For the vast majority of employees an employer can fire you at any time with no notice for nearly any reason.

If there's a he said she said situation, it's generally worth it to fire any low level employee rather than risk the slightest chance of a lawsuit or bad PR even if they know they'll likely win.

[eulo__]

I think if you're worried about woman calling you out for being a dick, you're probably worried because you're a dick to women.

People aren't malicious in my experience unless you give them cause to be.

[TheOtherHobbes]

That's very much not my experience.

Some people - not many, but enough to be a concern - are simply toxic. They're not reactively toxic. They're as toxic as they can get away with being with as many people as possible.

They don't respond to deterrents or analyse career or personal risks rationally because they just can't help themselves.

[sheepmullet]

> People aren't malicious in my experience unless you give them cause to be.

Oh to be young and in a growth industry....

I've seen so much backstabbing and malicious behaviour from men and women in the workplace. All it takes is bad economic times.

[tnecniv]

What is advancement defined as and how is it different from harassment / assault? The link does not provide a definition.

[lqdc13]

Precisely. I don't know how it's defined.

I know there is a bill called C-16 in Canada. That is if you get the gender of someone wrong 2x, you may be in a world of trouble. Since gender is such a big part of the English language, for me it's easy to get it wrong by accident especially with someone you just met. This is just one in a million things that one might get wrong.