Lissa Meade thought she was thriving in her new job at a financial technology company.
The sales and project manager loved her clients and enjoyed her colleagues, and the software developer she shared an office with was teaching her to code. In her late 20s at the time, Meade felt like she was in the beginning of a great career.
And then one night, Meade said, she and a group of colleagues went out to a trivia night at a bar near their Corvallis office. At the end of the evening, the software developer she worked with told her point-blank, in vulgar terms, he wanted to have sex with her. His pregnant wife wouldn't mind, he insisted, suggesting they do it in their office.
Meade said she turned him down and tried to brush off the incident. But the man wouldn't let it go, she said, and began complaining to their superiors about her. He was later promoted, and Meade said he and his friends in the office ostracized her, stalling her career and turning what had been delightful work into a place she dreaded.
"It killed my soul, having to work with those people every day," Meade recalled. "I don't know how to express the feeling of isolation I had working there."
A survey out Tuesday suggests harassment and stereotyping remain common in Oregon's tech scene despite the state's progressive reputation and years of work to improve workplace conduct. Nearly a fifth of female respondents say they experienced harassment on the job in the past year alone, according to the survey from PDX Women in Tech, a nonprofit that seeks to support women working in the regional tech community.
The survey of 804 people working in Portland tech found most women don't report the harassment they experience. PDX Women in Tech board President Megan Bigelow said one reason is that women aren't confident their employers will respond effectively.
While many tech companies have policies designed to prevent harassment and encourage equal treatment of employees, Bigelow said most aren't doing enough to encourage employees to describe their own experiences and raise awareness of what constitutes harassment.
"There isn't a sense of urgency," Bigelow said. "There's just not a lot of awareness campaigns in the workplace, so when people experience harassment they feel isolated because no one's talking about it."
Survey results
PDX Women in Tech, working with SurveyMonkey and Planet Argon, surveyed 804 tech workers to gauge women's attitudes about the industry. Here are some findings:
- Harassment
- Salaries by gender
- Company culture
Source: PDX Women in Tech, based on surveys of 804 tech workers in the Portland area, of whom 81 percent were female.
Gender issues in the tech industry have made national headlines over the past several years amid accusations of harassment and misconduct against prominent executives and investors. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich quit in June after the company uncovered what it called a "past consensual relationship with an Intel employee" in violation of corporate policy.
Workplace harassment isn't confined to tech, of course. It takes place in all kinds of fields.
Nike parted with 11 executives in the spring, for example, acknowledging "conduct inconsistent with Nike's core values." Four employees sued the company last week alleging pay disparities, harassment and discrimination made the company inhospitable to women.
Tech stands out because it's Oregon most vital and economically important industry and because it remains overwhelmingly male. Fewer than 30 percent of the state's tech workers are women.
Meade and other women say the disparity results, at least in part, from a homogenous, male-dominated culture and from an unwelcoming attitude at many employers. She said she never told her bosses about her colleague's conduct in Corvallis.
Since he propositioned her outside the office, Meade said she didn't believe the company would consider it workplace harassment.
"I never reported anything at all," said Meade, now 36. "I didn't think I had a leg to stand on."
Uncomfortable in the office, Meade asked her employer if she could work remotely from Portland. She quit three years ago to work at a Portland tech company Meade said places greater emphasis on workplace values.
It shouldn't matter whether someone harasses a colleague in the office or the bar - it still affects the workplace, said Brenna Kutch, manager of culture, inclusion and development at Portland State University's Office of Information Technology. She said employers have a responsibility to create a workplace environment encouraging open communication and conversations about sensitive topics.
"Trust is such an important thing, and it's really fragile," Kutch said. "You should be able to report things and have them taken seriously."
Cases of explicit harassment and abuse sometimes overshadow more subtle, insidious behavior that can make a workplace unwelcoming, according to Kutch.
For example, the survey found a third of female respondents had been asked to do organizational tasks like event-planning or note-taking outside the scope of their jobs. Just 6 percent of men reported similar requests.
And Kutch said women, people of color and others in underrepresented groups frequently hear comments or jokes reinforcing stereotypes or biases.
"I think, for the most part, people aren't really doing it on purpose. Maybe I'm too optimistic," Kutch said.
Regardless, Kutch said all employees have a responsibility to listen to their colleagues and be alert to potentially offensive language and behavior. A comment that might strike one person as benign may touch a nerve with someone else.
It's natural to become defensive if someone says you did or said something hurtful. Kutch said people should understand the other person's feelings are real. In general, she said, people aren't looking to dwell on an offensive comment. They just want to be heard, and understood.
"It's not about if it was wrong," Kutch said. "It is about: Are you respectful to that person?"
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-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699