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You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Women's Rights / The War On Women / Who You Gonna Believe?

Who You Gonna Believe?

by Tom Levenson|  October 21, 20155:14 pm| 31 Comments

This post is in: The War On Women, Women's Rights Are Human Rights, Our Awesome Meritocracy

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Stanford University, or your own lyin’ eyes?

Interesting story in yesterday’s Times on a divorce case at Stanford’s business school that cracked open a window on the question of gender discrimination at the school and at the Hoover Institute, the right-wing academic bolus hawked up onto Leland Jr.’s farm.

Much huffing and puffing by Stanford’s administration about how no policies were broken and that there’s nothing really to see here but some unwritten rules that might need to be written down (you think?):

John Etchemendy, Stanford’s provost, would not discuss the claims about the business school and Hoover in detail. He said that Stanford had hired separate outside investigators and that neither had found systemic discrimination. But he acknowledged “weaknesses in management” and said they were being addressed.

Henri_de_Toulouse-Lautrec_013

That’s very nicely weaseled, if I do say so as a connoisseur of the “oh-sh*t, reporters!” dodge-and-weave.  But the true delectable in this mess in response to the reports of the unpleasantness of being female amonst the Hoovers.  Here’s the gist of the complaint:

At the Hoover Institution, which has been a haven for former Reagan and Bush administration figures including George P. Shultz and Condoleezza Rice, a departing employee wrote a seven-page letter to Mr. Etchemendy detailing a “dysfunctional” atmosphere of “cronyism” in early 2013. That spurred Stanford to begin an investigation.

Hoover has 181 full-time employees, more than half of them women, but the research and senior fellows are overwhelmingly men. A new director at Hoover started last month.

The investigation faulted Hoover’s leadership for not casting a net wide enough to bring in new faces. One cultural problem, it said, was membership by Hoover’s leaders in the Bohemian Club, an all-male private club in San Francisco that dates to 1872.

Those of you familiar with San Francisco’s secret history — or Armistaud Maupin’s Tales of the City series — may know about the Bohemian Club, by the way.  It’s both an intriguing example of the oddities to which the rich and powerful subject themselves and a type specimen of the hidden networks through which the 1% exert power.  But that aside, savor this bit of exculpatory reasoning from Stanford’s chief counsel:

Ms. [Debra] Zumwalt cautioned against reading too much into the Hoover report’s conclusions.

Just because the majority of women interviewed felt that it was not always a respectful workplace, she said, “that does not mean that it was not a respectful workplace.”

Oh, counsellor!  I know you’ve got a job to do — but is that all you’ve got?!  #WeakSauce, I’d say.

Snark over:  anyone who labors under the misapprehension that the United States is an equal-opportunity meritocracy isn’t paying attention.  But you  knew that.  Which is reason ∞ why, whatever the failings of the donkey party, there is a difference between a party that explicitly acknowledges that sad fact, and one that denies the plain evidence of their own lyin’ eyes.

 Image:  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, In the Cafe, 1898.

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31Comments

  1. 1.

    Yatsuno

    October 21, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    one that denies the plain evidence of their own lyin’ eyes

    What’s that quote again about a person not believing something if they are paid to not believe it? Or words to that effect?

  2. 2.

    Cacti

    October 21, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    Just because the majority of women interviewed felt that it was not always a respectful workplace, she said, “that does not mean that it was not a respectful workplace.”

    Tom, you should know by now, only white males are capable of objectivity. Everybody else plays race and gender cards. ;-)

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 21, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    @Yatsuno:

    Upton Sinclair: It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

    (No, autocorrect, you idiot, I typed and I meant “Upton,” not “Uptown.”)

  4. 4.

    Mike in NC

    October 21, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    Bohemian Club sounds like Skull & Bones at Yale, which is famous for welcoming the idiot frat boy sons of the 1%.

  5. 5.

    jl

    October 21, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    I know someone married to a pooh-bah who belongs the Bohemian Club. From her stories, they menfolk there think it is amusing when a non-celebrity woman tries to talk all smart and sophisticated, a novelty like a dog that can walk on its hind legs (hat tip some old English guy, Samuel Johnson, I think). There are dispensations for people like Condaleeza Rice, though not sure women can belong to it on equal basis That is about all I know about it, other than it started out as a bunch of rich guys pretending to be nineteenth century hippies out in the redwoods.

  6. 6.

    jl

    October 21, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    @Mike in NC: I don’t think anyone really rates being in the Bohemian Club unless they have already been initiated into some other bigshot club. It is that kind of place, from what I know about it. A country club of country clubs.

  7. 7.

    Darkrose

    October 21, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    Surprise, surprise. A right wing think-tank has issues with gender discrimination. Was it the fact that the offices are right by the campus p3n1$ that clued people in?

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    October 21, 2015 at 5:45 pm

    A Bohemian Grove classic, featuring Henry Kissinger, Cap Weinberger, Al Hague, WF Buckley and a cast of many.

    Yep, it’s all that and then some.

  9. 9.

    Mandalay

    October 21, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    the right-wing academic bolus hawked up onto Leland Jr.’s farm

    I just learned a new word.

  10. 10.

    srv

    October 21, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    Just because the majority of women interviewed felt that it was not always a respectful workplace, she said, “that does not mean that it was not a respectful workplace.”

    I’m going to have to use that somewhere now.

  11. 11.

    kindness

    October 21, 2015 at 5:58 pm

    Eh….the Bohemian Club. It has no real power here in the Bay Area. It’s a beautiful grove. They invite all sorts of folks in. They cavort with little or no clothes at times and get drunk. Sounds like college to me.

    Now the Hoover Institute on the other hand is an abomination on the Bay Area. If I could blow up that tower I would.

  12. 12.

    Brachiator

    October 21, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    Sara Jane Lippincott (1823–1904), who wrote under the pseudonym Grace Greenwood was an honorary member.

    She was the first woman reporter on the New York Times payroll as a reporter. By the 1870s, Greenwood wrote primarily for the Times. Her articles focused mainly on women’s issues, such as advocating for Fanny Kemble’s right to wear trousers, Susan B. Anthony’s right to vote and all women’s right to receive equal pay for equal work.

  13. 13.

    ceece

    October 21, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    What is the link between the GSB dean and the Hoover Institution dysfunction? Not sure how they are related, or why they are both in the same story. Not at all surprised by either one, though.

  14. 14.

    ThresherK

    October 21, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Hey, didn’t Uptown Sinclair form an ace pick ‘n roll team with Downtown Freddie Brown back in the day for the Seattle SuperSonics?

  15. 15.

    Mandalay

    October 21, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    @ceece:

    What is the link between the GSB dean and the Hoover Institution dysfunction?

    Nothing directly, but FWIW you can read the sleazy details of what the dirty dean got up to here. Be mindful that God won’t extend your life by an hour if you read it, and you’ll want to take a shower after rolling around with the pigs. It’s impossible to feel any sympathy for anyone involved.

  16. 16.

    A guy

    October 21, 2015 at 6:19 pm

    World would be a much better place if those ladies stayed home and raised kids in a heterosexual monogamous religiously grounded family.

  17. 17.

    jl

    October 21, 2015 at 6:21 pm

    I believe the provost is the John Etchemendy who is a famous logician, so if this problem gets covered here again, he should get no slack for sloppy arguments.

  18. 18.

    chopper

    October 21, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    ah yes, good ol’ Upton “Funk you up”
    Sinclair.

  19. 19.

    meepbeep

    October 21, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    I just moved to the Bay Area a few months ago, and I’m on the job hunt. I’ve got nearly 10 years of experience in higher ed administration, complete with glowing references, so naturally I’ve been applying at Stanford. But I can’t even get someone there to glance at my resume, never mind deign to interview me. It’s been extremely disheartening – but this post certainly takes the edge off a bit.

  20. 20.

    SRW1

    October 21, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    Just because the majority of women interviewed felt that it was not always a respectful workplace, she said, “that does not mean that it was not a respectful workplace.”

    Shorter version:

    Nothing to see here: Bitches are gonna bitch; it’s what bitches do.

  21. 21.

    feebog

    October 21, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    Just because the majority of women interviewed felt that it was not always a respectful workplace, she said, “that does not mean that it was not a respectful workplace.”

    Wait, what? As someone who occasionally performs hostile work environment/sexual harassment investigations for a federal agency this strikes me as the worse kind of double speak. If a majority of women feel they are not working in a respectful working place you can take it to the bank that it is a hostile work environment.

  22. 22.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    October 21, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    @feebog: Well, hold on. What do the men think of the place?

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 21, 2015 at 6:55 pm

    @feebog:

    I’m assuming that’s some kind of lawyer-speak for, Since we didn’t have official written complaints of it being a hostile workplace, it couldn’t officially be a “hostile workplace.”

  24. 24.

    Susan K of the tech support

    October 21, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    Over the last year, I have had opportunity to learn some first or second-hand information about the BoHo club / Boho Grove camp. People I talked to were either working for or related to men who were members. Even if you’re very elite, it takes a long time for your application for membership to come to fruition. A Great Man from an Oh-So-Prominent family was known to have clucked his tongue at how long it was until his son was finally accepted as a member.

    Have no specifics to offer on how Boho’s male-only exclusivity affects matters in the realm of true equality and opportunity for women other than, well, understanding how Something Like This Would Affect Things In General.

  25. 25.

    Cervantes

    October 21, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    @feebog:

    Take note of that “always.”

  26. 26.

    feebog

    October 21, 2015 at 7:06 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:

    LOL! I used to teach this stuff. I always started by telling the men “there are only two types of men in the workplace; those who don’t get it, and those who get that they don’t get it.” Still true today.

  27. 27.

    BruceFromOhio

    October 21, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    That’s very nicely weaseled…

    Yet another noun-to-verb-conversion phrase that I look forward to using in conversation with my boss.

    I vow to drive it like I stole it.

  28. 28.

    BruceFromOhio

    October 21, 2015 at 7:30 pm

    @feebog: Um, like, this times sixteen jillion. Hello?

  29. 29.

    Spinoza is my Co-pilot

    October 21, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    I’m supposed to care about how fascists (of any gender) at a fascist propaganda mill (which is what the Hoover Institute is) are treated by their fascist overlords?

    Fuck that noise.

    I’m guessing the Fox bimbettes at Fox News are given less respect there and are paid less than their male counterparts, too.

    Too fucking bad for all of them. That’s the world they’re working every day to maintain for everyone, whether they admit it or not.

  30. 30.

    Mike G

    October 21, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    Cronyism, sexism and poor ethics at an institution devoted to propaganda and dominated by right-wingers?
    I am SHOCKED.

    But they must have known the ideological nature of the place before they started.
    Staffers sought to be the pets of powerful evil people, only to find that they were livestock like the rest of us.

  31. 31.

    redshirt

    October 21, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Tom,

    Not sure if you’ll read this, but have you written on the Geoff Marcy situation? I’m curious as to your thoughts, specifically the initial response by the University.

    I was shocked, having followed Marcy’s career for a long time. I had no idea he was such a scumbag.

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