Hacker News Reader

Comment by showerst | Hacker News Reader

Do these companies not have HR departments? Occasionally idiotic things slip out from employees at bigCo's too, but they're swiftly dealt with. (Which is not to say that there aren't plenty of examples of hideous sexism at big companies, but I haven't ever had a job that didn't present a very clear sexual harassment policy on the first day.)

I'd have to think that the very words "uncomfortable work environment" would strike fear into the hearts of any investors, far more than any competitive threats.

View on HN

Of course they don't, they're a fucking startup. They don't have pointy haired bosses or 900 page corporate manuals outlining when it's OK to take bathroom breaks.

That's _entirely_ different from "If you do anything that will make anyone of {these protected classes} uncomfortable by saying/doing something relating to {their protected class} membership, we could be sued for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, and you will be disciplined".

HR lawsuits are a _huge_ risk, _especially_ for a small company, it seems like a no brainer for people smart enough to run an internet company not to know that a piece of paper and a clear set of instructions, and dealing with this stuff appropriately could save them millions down the road.

There's not enough women for people to worry about it.

I agree with you, but set aside the risk of a lawsuit. Creating an office environment where some people feel uncomfortable or bullied is just wrong. It's also bad for business.

Absolutely!

I guess that I'm not surprised that people could want to set up environments that I consider wrong, or stupid, etc; that happens all the time.

My surprise is that a culture dominated by graduates from elite colleges who grew up with American norms can be completely blind to the idea of sexual harassment/protected class lawsuits.

Maybe it will just take one promising startup _in our industry_ to get totally sunk by a big lawsuit to really help change things, but if so that's a sad statement.

Sure, go ahead and sue me for my money that doesn't exist! Paper millions != real hard millions

Oh please, this isn't black or white. HR dept are not all like that and are beneficial for companies to have. Companies should not. think that the only options are "don't protect women" and "900 page manuals about bathroom breaks"

For a startup that has minimal chance of ever getting the capital to get off the ground it is black and white. I'm not talking about a company with 200 employees and a Series C.

Playing company can certainly bleed you dry before you ever get a chance to build something that can sell.

You can get HR paperwork from a third-party web startup for like $30/head or whatever, just like every other little productivity tool startups are all buying from each other in the Silicon Valley bubble.

also, don't they have marketing teams that might want to protect an image they work so hard to build.

No, lots of these companies might be half a dozen people and not need or have the work for a dedicated HR dept.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com