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Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by paganel on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @02:37AM (#14601342)
People can also be very manipulative. Following down this path (i.e. "believing that the accuser is right even before the investigation starts") will only lead to less women being hired for relevant positions.

Here's a relevant scenario: I'm a man, I hold a managerial position and I have to choose between hiring another man or a woman as a one of my direct-reports. Let's say both contenders have the same qualifications, they're both equally fit for the job, but then, I, as a manager, start thinking that if I hire the woman she will then possibly think of filing a sexual harassment complaint down the line in order to take my job. Remember the "believe" part, which means that the sexual complaint doesn't even need to be backed by anything real, because most of the times after the complaint has been made public the damage is already done for me, as a male manager, no matter what the investigation finds (if it manages to find anything). So I choose the man over the woman as my direct-report.

Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by orcdork on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @03:51AM (#14601755)
So what you're saying is, in your "relevant" scenario, you would discriminate based on gender for a hiring decision.
Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by endominus on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @05:03AM (#14602135)
I think it would be more fair to say he would discriminate based on perceived risk to himself. In this case, that risk is based on the sex of the person involved, but his argument can also include, for example, hiring someone with lesser qualifications, who is less likely to be promoted past him, over a more experienced candidate.

The more general point would be, be aware of the second order effects of changes you promote. For example, revocation of innocent-until-proven-guilty would almost certainly reduce the chances of people who have blown the whistle of being hired again, as they would present a much higher risk to prospective companies, regardless of whether their claims were true. The fact that they would blow the whistle at all would serve as a huge red flag.

Of course, I don't actually know the incidence of sexual harassment at workplaces, and have no idea whether false reports are even an issue. I strongly doubt they are, but I can somewhat understand male managers fear of them, given that they can ruin careers and marriages. As much as sexual harassment is a problem, I don't think assumption of guilt is an appropriate or long-term effective solution.

Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by paganel on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @05:07AM (#14602153)
When you introduce irrational events into a mostly rational world (i.e. when you introduce "believe before investigation" into a world run by financial compensation) then you're bound to have irrational responses, such as discrimination, yes.
Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by HelloNurse on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @06:38AM (#14602547)
Assuming other people aren't psychopaths is irrational optimism, while desperate defensive strategies like not hiring high-risk people are perfectly rational.
Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by hueving on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @06:07AM (#14602430)
In a world where no evidence is required before firing, then that would be the sane thing to do. Always hire the sex you are not attracted to and make your sexual preference very clear.
Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by Fraterkes on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @07:00AM (#14602638)
Im sorry, but if you extrapolate that kind of paranoia and self-servedness everything has difficult repercusions. Maybe companies shouldnt have an HR department at all because people might decide the risk of someone complaining about them is so big that they stop hiring anyone.
Re:Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O. by ebola1717 on Wednesday June 21, 2017 @02:46AM (#14601396)
Or maybe we just promote more women and gay men to managerial positions :)