[digitalengineer]

I have no idea who this person is. From what I understand she sued her employer because she claims she "was shut out of promotions" and did (or did not) get fired. Then she used Quora to tell the world she was fired. Her employer replied saying she was not fired, but is "in a successful career transition".

I suppose she was done working anywhere. Who would want to hire someone like that?

[Chaotic]

I would hire someone like that. People who are not afraid to stand up and speak loudly when they feel that they have been mistreated are a valuable asset, assuming that you don't mistreat them. For everyone who runs their company on secrets, bullshit and idiocy, they are a terrible liability.

[digitalengineer]

You said it exactly: "They feel that they have been mistreated... It's a feeling and you can never control how someone feels. At her level I would expect her to be professional about it and communicate within the team about her feelings. I don't think suing and posting on Quora helps her or the company involved. That was 100% "feelings" as well. Not professional.

[michaelochurch]

[redacted snark]

You are right that it's often tactically the wrong decision to post about an ongoing dispute. I will give you that. I'd be surprised if any attorney would recommend for her to post on Quora about the termination while the suit was ongoing.

However, this one-sided "professionalism" whereby people are expected to keep the secrets of employers who fuck them over is disgusting. That expectation exists because there's a power relationship, and because society really hasn't advanced much out of the Dark Ages, and not for any good moral reason.

[digitalengineer]

You are referring to people being slavish and excessively subservient to authority figures? I wasn't looking at it that way. I was merely thinking she would like to work somewhere else again. The way she publicly played this makes her look unprofessional. If you have a feeling you're being fucked over, make a case, collect the evidence and by all means, break the news. But don't go all emotional and start posting on Quora and then keep quit about the whole case. The way she handled this does not make her case stronger, only weaker.

[michaelochurch]

Having seen whistle-blowing cases play out, there's never a socially "acceptable" to raise this sort of issue. No matter when you do it, people will say that you were "emotional", blew the whistle "too soon" (oblivious to the failed negotiations they didn't see) and "bit the hand".

In Hollywood movies, people like whistleblowers.

Unfortunately, in real life, whistleblowers almost always get a negative reception, even from people who are supposed to be neutral because they have no obvious interest. (People just don't like bad news, full stop.) And the discussion usually gets to a smear against how they are saying it (status reduction) rather than what they are saying. The goal is to create the appearance that: (a) this person didn't go through proper channels, and (b) therefore isn't worth listening to, and (c) deserves various unrelated adverse consequences (such as being blacklisted from future employment) that will make it harder to concentrate from the case at hand.

You're right that her employment opportunities in the future are damaged by this. That's the reality of the world we live in. It shouldn't be that way, but powerful people tend to protect their own.

[digitalengineer]

You are absolutely correct. Ive seen local whistle blowers get seriously mangled for decades... The info user "michaelochurch" (top) just provided makes me think the company she used to work for is a huge bag of dicks. Her claims might well be relevant. At the end of the day her reputation (and future) could well be seriously damaged. You could ask yourself if that was worth it...

[vijayr]

Who is right or wrong (she or the firm), it is hard for outsiders to decide without knowing the facts. But what is very very sad is the fact that much of the "civilized" society accepts that:

1. Employers can treat their employees like crap, not many people seem to be bothered by it. But when a employee says anything even remotely bad, suddenly he/she is unprofessional, immature etc

2. In the case of whistle blowers, we spend more time arguing the behavior of the whistle blower (aka the "correct" way of whistle blowing) than actually looking into the allegations.

So in short, even if I (the whistle blower) have a legitimate case (racism, ageism, sexism...whatever), then I am expected to act totally "professional" if I ever expect to be taken seriously.

[cube13]

But at her level, as a partner to the firm, she would be expected to deal with litigation. So yes, her behavior here is absolutely a professional issue. Her Quora post is such an insanely bad idea that it does cast some doubt as to her professional behavior, and how she would react in a similar high stress situation involving a lawsuit.

I don't have a problem with the fact that she filed the suit. She clearly felt discriminated and harassed enough to file it. It's fine to drop a line to journalists with the unsealed court documents, and build your public opinion case that way.

[WiseWeasel]

I don't see how suing my employer can ever be the right answer when passed over for a promotion. For something as subjective as employee performance in a company, I am the last person qualified to evaluate my own performance or suitability for leadership. In general, an individual's word is worth less than an organization's, particularly when it concerns their own financial interests. Any winnings in the slim chance a discrimination suit against my employer goes in my favor are likely outweighed by the damage to my career as I am seen as a litigation risk for the rest of my life.

[htmltablesrules]

You are saying you would hire the accuser before her case is even sorted out? Why do you assume her version of events are true, and her employer's version false?

Just because you don't get the promotion you feel entitled to, doesn't mean you should sue your employer for discrimination.

[nancyhua]

I think she definitely cut her ties to the VC world by doing this which is why it's such a big deal despite none of us knowing who she is- she's either forfeiting her career to take a stand, or she's forfeiting her career for money/attention. Which possibility sounds more probable? I don't know.

The only thing I know about her is an article from when this lawsuit first came out saying her married boss gave her a book on sex poetry with a handwritten note inside of it. She claimed he would often make suggestive remarks and the others wouldn't invite her to parties with founders bc having a woman would "kill the buzz" (Is this tenable? Do men think women kill the buzz? I always get invited to stuff but I don't know if I'm missing special male tech networking parties). Those claims sound really gross and easily testable- if she has the book then they should fire that guy and if witnesses come forward saying they had all-male VC-founder parties then that's evidence of gender affecting her networking and career.