In an exclusive interview, Susan Fowler the engineer who kickstarted a reckoning on sexual harassment in Silicon Valley says the industry must end an obscure legal clause that prevents people like her seeking justice
Susan Fowler has a simple explanation for her decision to become a whistleblower: It was her only option.
The software engineer had no idea that a blogpost detailing her experience of sexual harassment and discrimination at Uber would spread across the globe and pave the way for the ousting of the company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, and many powerful men in tech. The impetus for publishing the 2,900-word story was an obscure legal clause that prevented her from seeking justice in court.
“I was appalled I had unwittingly signed away my constitutional rights,” the 26-year-old told the Guardian. “Somebody had to step up.”
Fowler, whose name has become synonymous with the fight for gender equality in the workplace, is now using her accidental celebrity status to fight what’s known as “forced arbitration”. It’s a practice that allows companies to push employee complaints into secretive hearings, which hide labor violations from the public, silence victims with non-disclosure agreements and often protect serial offenders.
The system has been widely used for decades, but the standards of what’s acceptable in corporate America have dramatically shifted since Fowler came forward. Much of the contemporary #MeToo reckoning can, in fact, be traced back to her 19 February 2017 blog, which foreshadowed the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the uncovering of sexual harassment and abuse in entertainment, media, publishing and a plethora of industries.
Fowler is modest about her impact and in a recent wide-ranging interview said she remained surprised about her fame in the tech world and beyond: “I’m still processing.”
Although she’s outspoken on Twitter and graced the cover of Time magazine alongside Taylor Swift and Ashley Judd as the “Silence Breakers” Person of the Year, Fowler said she is “really introverted and really shy”, adding, “It’s hard for me to get out there and talk.”
But speaking about arbitration and new California legislation to combat the practice comes easily to Fowler, who is now on maternity leave from her job at the tech company Stripe: “This would be the biggest thing you could do to stop the cycle of harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.”
Part of the reason her account of “One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber” went so viral was that by all measures it seemed she did everything right to speak up about documented and blatant harassment – yet was failed at every step.
She alleged that as soon as she was hired, a manager sent her inappropriate messages over the company chat, but that HR brushed aside her complaint and told her to find another team. Fowler wrote that the company protected this man despite claims from multiple female engineers, and despite evidence of numerous instances of discrimination, a manager threatened to fire her if she continued reporting to HR.
Eventually, she quit.
“I think about what I went through and even worse what I saw some of my co-workers go through,” she recalled, “and I think what would make it so this would never happen again?”
The stories of abuse Fowler has heard since speaking out have been devastating, she added: “They ruin lives. They destroy careers. This is such unnecessary suffering.”
Fowler said she was shocked when she realized that Uber effectively forced all its workers as a condition of employment to waive their basic rights to even allege labor violations in court. And so did every other company in the industry and beyond. “I didn’t know how systemic of an issue it was.”
Timeline
A timeline of Uber’s terrible year
Uber’s decision to lift surge pricing during a New York taxi drivers’ work stoppage in protest of the Trump travel ban prompts a viral #DeleteUber campaign.
Former Uber engineer Susan Fowler publishes a blog post with allegations of widespread sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
The New York Times exposes Uber’s use of Greyball, a tool to systematically deceive authorities in cities where Uber was violating local laws.
Uber admits it has for years been underpaying New York City drivers by tens of millions of dollars.
Uber fires 20 employees following the conclusion of an investigation into sexual harassment and workplace culture.
Uber is sued by an Indian passenger who was raped by an Uber driver after reports reveal that a top executive had obtained the woman’s medical records, allegedly in order to cast doubt upon her account.
CEO Travis Kalanick resigns.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Uber had rented fire-prone cars to drivers in Singapore, despite knowing that the vehicles had been recalled over serious safety concerns.
Uber loses its license to operate in London due to a lack of corporate responsibility. The company is appealing the decision.
Uber admits concealing a 2016 breach that exposed the data of 57 million Uber customers and drivers, failing to disclose the hack to regulators or affected individuals. The company paid a $100,000 ransom to the hackers to destroy the information and keep the breach quiet.
Fowler, who said she no longer uses Uber to get around, has recently been outspoken about another population affected by her former company’s tactics – passengers who say they were sexually assaulted by drivers. In March, court records revealed that the company has tried to stop a class-action lawsuit by forcing women into individual private arbitration, a move that critics say would cover up a pattern of abuse.
Fowler is now advocating for a proposed California bill that would prohibit employers from forcing staff to waive their right to bring labor claims in court.
In addition to women in tech, the legislation aims to support vulnerable low-wage and “gig economy” workers who suffer wage theft, discrimination, harassment, assault and other abuses, but are often unable to file complaints due to mandatory arbitration clauses, said the California assembly member Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, who is introducing the bill next week.
“You have women from all walks of life really standing together and saying, hey this affects all of us.”
California often leads the nation in progressive labor protections, but corporations have used arbitration to essentially erase those gains, added Caitlin Vega, the legislative director of the California Labor Federation, the bill’s sponsor: “Our goal is to restore workers’ access to a fair and open process.”
While companies like Uber and Google say they strive to be leaders in diversity and inclusion, they have openly resisted these reforms. Microsoft announced it was ending forced arbitration in harassment cases earlier this year, but no other big companies have followed.
Fowler argued that the industry’s stubborn commitment to the status quo directly impedes diversity efforts at the notoriously male-dominated tech firms. Fowler said she recently met YouTube’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki, after an event and asked her if she would consider waiving mandatory arbitration clauses. The Google executive wasn’t very receptive, Fowler said.
Uber’s new CEO also recently told Fowler on Twitter he would “take a look” at her suggestion, but it’s unclear if the company is considering reforms or would oppose the legislation. An Uber spokesperson claimed the company currently has an “opt-out provision” for arbitration, but declined to say when it was adopted or comment further. Google did not respond to inquiries.
Fowler said her newborn daughter motivates her to continue fighting and using the massive platform she never imagined she would have: “I realize that I have people listening to me, and I can’t squander that opportunity.”
Read more: www.theguardian.com
