PBS高端访谈:为什么硅谷的高科技研发公司会存在对女性的性别歧视?

 　　GWEN IFILL: A discrimination lawsuit¹ in California is shining a light on the hiring and promotion² practices of high-tech³ businesses, especially when it comes to women.

　　Jeffrey Brown has our look.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: The case centers on one of the industry's most prominent venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins.

　　Ellen Pao, a former employee there, filed a gender⁴ discrimination suit, claiming she was pressured into a relationship with a married colleague, was barred from key meetings, and passed over for promotion.

　　The company says the relationship was consensual and there was no discrimination. But the case also has a larger echo, playing into a long-running critique of the role and treatment of women in the big-money, male-dominated world of Silicon⁵ Valley, with a Harvard Business Review study finding a — quote — “hostile work environment” for many women, and another by Babson College finding that just under 3 percent of Silicon Valley firms that receive venture capital funding have female CEOs.

　　More now on the case and the larger issue.

　　Nicole Sanchez is the founder⁶ and CEO of Vaya Consulting, a group that helps recruit and retain diverse employees in Silicon Valley. And Nellie Bowles is a journalist who covers the high-tech industry. She is reporting on the trial for Re/code, and was in the courtroom today.

　　Nellie Bowles, this is really being bitterly fought, isn't it? You were there. Fill us in briefly⁷ on the claims and counterclaims.

　　NELLIE BOWLES, Re/code: Yes, it's very intense.

　　This is a hugely historic case. Kleiner Perkins is a really respected venture capital firm here. And Ellen Pao is a really respected entrepreneur now. She is the CEO of Reddit, one of the largest Web sites on the Internet.

　　And she is alleging⁸ that she was passed up for promotions⁹ and ultimately fired from Kleiner Perkins based on her gender and on her complaints about gender discrimination while she was there. And so the stakes are high.

　　If she wins, it's a very big deal.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Nicole Sanchez, you know, every case of course has its particulars, but why is this one resonating so much in the larger world out there?

　　NICOLE SANCHEZ, Vaya Consulting: Well, I think it's the first time anybody has really taken on a firm the size and stature¹⁰ of a Kleiner Perkins.

　　I think, anecdotally, women in Silicon Valley know this thing happens quite frequently. Whether or not we found out that this is the case with Ellen Pao, it is — we are all watching to see what happens because nobody has taken on a firm with this much power in Silicon Valley before.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Staying with you, Nicole, how does it manifest itself? What do you see happening on a daily basis for women?

　　NICOLE SANCHEZ: Well, I think, you know, we need to separate out what we mean by women first of all, because I think, when we say women, there are several groups of women who are facing similar, yet different enough things, that it's worth bearing out.

　　Predominantly, the women in Silicon Valley are still white and Asian, and they face a lot of discrimination, harassment¹¹, things like micro-aggressions that cause people to leave jobs, death by 1,000 cuts. And I think there's a very interesting study that came out of U.C. Hastings recently by a woman named Joan Williams called double jeopardy¹², where women of color, particularly black and Latino women, are facing an additional layer of harassment around race, as well as gender.

　　And this plays out in a lot of different ways, both online in social media, but also in the quiet recesses¹³ of tech companies, where a very male-dominated and particularly white male-dominated sector¹⁴, can — has been getting away with a lot for a really long time.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, Nellie Bowles, you cover the industry. So, what result do you see? Are people walking way from the industry? Are they fighting back? What happens?

　　NELLIE BOWLES: I think they're fighting back. I think some of the cases that we're seeing are so egregious¹⁵.

　　Like, what I'm seeing in the courtroom are a lot of really egregious examples of — whether it's gender-based discrimination or what, of gender issues within Kleiner Perkins are coming to light. So, for example, there was today the revelation that there was an all-male ski trip in which one entrepreneur said, hey, let's try to bring some women on this. And a partner on Kleiner Perkins said, actually, no, on this trip, let's have it be no gals¹⁶.

　　And then there's another story in which a — one partner sort of lured¹⁷ a Kleiner Perkins — a female Kleiner Perkins partner to New York on the auspices¹⁸ of meeting with an important Internet executive, and he turned out not to be there, and it was just a date between the two of them. And then that night, he tried to push his way into her hotel room, and she had to push him out.

　　And then, when she went to her Kleiner Perkins superiors to say that she'd like this man not to be on her review board, they actually denied that request, and he was her reviewer. And so later he was fired, to be fair.

　　But I think we're seeing some really bombshell, like, events coming out of here, and so I think the ripple¹⁹ effect will be huge.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: But, Nellie Bowles, we're also seeing the company — I mean, the company is putting up a strong defense²⁰, right?

　　NELLIE BOWLES: Yes. Oh, yes, they came out swinging.

　　It's not — there's little room to compromise, to put it lightly. They are saying that Ellen Pao was hired basically as a secretary to do scheduling and calendaring, and then that she was never up to the job of being a venture capitalist, and just didn't have the skill set, didn't have the interpersonal skills, wasn't — just wasn't capable of it, with very strong language. So, there's little compromise here.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

　　Nicole Sanchez, back to the industry more broadly. It's interesting, at the same time you see these kinds of cases, we also see some very high-profile women in the tech industry. What is — explain. Is there a disconnect? How do you explain that?

　　NICOLE SANCHEZ: Well, I think that there are some disconnects.

　　And I think that the danger, just like in any sector, is to point to one or two. In this case, I am assuming you mean Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg, who are at the top of their game, no doubt. But it's very easy to point to two and say, well, if they made it, why can't you? And there are things about their profiles, their education, their socioeconomic background that allowed them to do that and really supported them in doing it.

　　And I don't knock them for that. For every Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg, there are literally²¹ thousands of women who don't even come close to that, but are no less talented. So, I think any time we hold up anybody as a role model for all of us, it's very dangerous. It certainly doesn't bear to mind the struggles.

　　I see some of the women I was with yesterday, with one of my clients, some of the engineers who are just trying to get good code out. They're not wanting to be on an executive track. They're not wanting to be managers. They want to be engineers and design really cool things, and still they are facing a set of micro-aggressions to harassment that causes them to not even be able to do that.

　　So that would be my caution about holding up a couple of women as success stories and saying that the rest of can do it.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, we will leave it there.

　　Nicole Sanchez, Nellie Bowles, thank you both very much.

　　NICOLE SANCHEZ: Thank you for having us.

　　NELLIE BOWLES: Thank you so much for having us.

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

3 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

9 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

10 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

11 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

12 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

13 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

16 gals   

abbr.gallons （复数）加仑（液量单位）n.女孩，少女( gal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals. 这时，吉姆手里提着一个锡皮桶，嘴中唱着“布法罗的女娃们”蹦蹦跳跳地从大门口跑出来。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• An' dey thinks dey wants mousy lil gals wid bird's tastes an' no sense at all. 他们想要的是耗子般的小姑娘，胃口小得像雀子，一点儿见识也没有。 来自飘（部分）

17 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

18 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

19 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

20 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

21 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。