A myth about sexual harassment is that it is perpetrated by “old men” from older generations and from unsophisticated environments such as food processing or sports. The myth has just been exploded (once again) in the most unlikely of places. Facebook falls victim to sexual harassment, clearly, sexual harrassment training is necessary for everyone!
Mark Zuckerberg, the multi-billion-dollar CEO at Facebook, had a personal security chief, Liam Booth. Booth has just been fired from Facebook for allegedly engaging in sexual harassment and racism. In addition, Booth apparently made several homophobic statements. It is quite surprising that this would happen given Facebook’s supposed stances against these types of biases and attitudes.
The Zuckerberg Chan Household
There are those of wealth and those of extreme wealth. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Pricilla Chan must be protected from all manner of predators. The family spends up to $20 million annually on security.
Obviously, anyone working closely with the household must also be safeguarded. As personal security chief, Booth was in the innermost sanctum. It was a job almost anyone would covet.
The complaints against Booth were made by former employees of Zuckerberg’s household staff. The charges describe sexual harassment and battery (striking in some fashion), racism and homophobic comments directed at Zuckerberg’s staff and his wife. Zuckerberg’s wife is Chinese. Presumably, the racist comments were made about her.
Up until recently, Booth was assigned to the Zuckerberg family charitable organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, since 2017, where he had been working for about two years.
Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Chan Zuckerberg Family Office said,
“The allegations against Liam Booth were brought to the office’s attention for the first time by The Bloom Firm after both former employees had left employment by the family office and engaged legal counsel. As soon as The Bloom Firm presented these allegations, the family office engaged Munger, Tolles & Olson, an outside law firm, to conduct an investigation of all allegations made by The Bloom Firm to determine whether the claims have merit. The investigation is ongoing.”
How Did He Get There?
How is it that one of the most socially conscious organizations of this century would put a man like Liam Booth? How could he fail so miserably especially in this age of the #MeToo movement and thus embarrass the entire organization?
It would seem somewhat obvious that in selecting a candidate for core competencies beyond professional skills, that a candidate who had been trained on issues of bullying, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse would have been part of his training. After all, an organization such as Facebook and by extension, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative would have expected no less. Sadly, the candidate they hired was indeed a lot less.
While the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation is at the forefront of social issues, they are hardly alone in maintaining a public socially-aware stance. It calls into play how security personnel and other employees are being trained on issues concerning sexual harassment, abuse, and social awareness. The obvious answer is that in most cases they aren’t. In most cases, employees in corporate America are not being trained – in depth – as to what is acceptable, and what is not.
Double Disservice – Facebook Falls Victim to Sexual Harassment
While not properly training employees on sexual harassment and sexual abuse can create workplaces filled with hostility, it also does a disservice to the employees who harass as well. It goes without saying that there are, and will always be, problem employees who simply don’t care, I would maintain the vast majority of potential harassers and abusers are clueless. Facebook falls victim to sexual harassment, clearly, sexual harrassment training is necessary for everyone!
Should we automatically give up on otherwise good employees who are unaware of what does – and does not constitute a hostile, micro-aggressive or inappropriate atmosphere? I think not. As a cornerstone to ethical behavior in the workplace, we should also allow for mistakes and minor improprieties. The answer, of course, is to head off any problems long before they arise. Sexual harassment and abuse training and awareness of those issues should be instituted as a prerequisite to employment and it should obviously include an awareness of what is and is not acceptable. Moreover, it needs to be frequently reinforced at all levels of organizations.
