Dozens of female Microsoft employees claim they deal with shocking behavior at work: requests to sit on a coworker's lap, being called a 'b*tch'

Dozens of women inside Microsoft complained on a long email string of their treatment at the company, according to media reports. The string included some pretty shocking accusations of things women experienced such as being called names and having complaints be shrugged off by male managers and HR. Microsoft's top HR exec reportedly commented on the email thread, saying senior leadership was "appalled" by the stories. All if this comes against the backdrop of a lawsuit Microsoft is successfully fighting that alleges rampant sexual harassment and discrimination at the company

Even as Microsoft is successfully fighting against an attempted class action lawsuit alleging rampant sexual discrimination at the company, some women inside the company have begun to loudly complain about their treatment.

In an email chain spanning more than 90 pages, women inside the company are sharing stories, some of them shocking, reports Quartz's Dave Gershgorn. The email string began on March 20 when a female employee asked another for advice about advancement after spending six years in the same position with no promotion in sight. As the email was shared, dozens of women chimed in, expressing their own frustrating about advancement and sharing stories of other things they experienced at work, Quartz reports. For instance, one woman claims that she was told to sit on a coworker's lap in front of a human resources leader during a work trip. Another said that she has been called a "b*tch" multiple times in the Xbox, Windows & Azure organizations, and alleged that during "roundtable" meetings other women reported the same experience. One alleged that when she reported a terrifying incident by a Microsoft partner (not an employee) who threatened her, her male manager dismissed the threats as "just flirting" and told her to "get over it" and HR shrugged it off since the man was a partner, not an employee. Microsoft did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.

The article details more such stories from women, ranging from how they were belittled through work assignments to sexist comments during work trips. The string was eventually sent to Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft's head of human resources who replied saying she discussed it with senior leadership and was "appalled." She promised that anyone could come to her directly to report such instances and that she would personally look into them with her team. But Microsoft's investigations of sexual harassment or gender discrimination claims have been criticized in the past.

The company is successfully fighting a lawsuit right now brought by three women who claim that Microsoft didn't fully investigate 238 internal complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination. The plaintiffs also claim women are systematically underpaid at Microsoft. Microsoft has consistently denied there are merits to the case and says it is committed to equal treatment of women. In January, a judge ruled in favor of Microsoft and denied class-action status to the case. That means that other women can't join the case. They would have to sue Microsoft on their own, the lawyers for the case say.

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-email-chain-claims-shocking-behavior-toward-women-2019-4

KATHERINE MOUSSOURIS, HOLLY MUENCHOW, and DANA PIERMARINI, on behalf of themselves and a class of those similarly situated, v. MICROSOFT CORPORATION

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.220713/gov.uscourts.wawd.220713.381.0.pdf

How Silicon Valley silences sexual harassment victims Forced to sign NDA’s, other legal clauses, workers fear making claims

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/16/how-silicon-valley-silences-sexual-harassment-victims/

Judge deals blow to women suing Microsoft over gender discrimination

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/06/judge-denies-class-action-status-to-women-in-microsoft-discrimination-case/

Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat execs could be named, shamed, and held personally liable for harmful content under new UK laws

Executives at Facebook, Google, and Snapchat might be held personally responsible if their firms don't delete harmful content off their services, according to UK government plans seen by The Guardian. A government policy paper, to be published Monday, isexpected to introduce a much stricter regulatory regime for tech firms. The UK will establish a new regulator that will have the power to fine tech firms billions if they don't obey a new mandatory code of conduct. Australia is also mulling big fines and even threatening jail time in cases where big tech firms don't tackle violent material on their sites.

Executives at Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat, and other big tech companies may be held personally responsible for harmful content on their services, according to UK government plans seen by The Guardian. Details are scant, but the report suggests individual executives at the major tech firms will be held personally liable if their companies don't delete content relating to terrorism, child abuse, self-harm, and suicide. It is not clear exactly what this personal liability will entail, but the idea of criminal convictions has been floated. "We will consider all possible options for penalties," Jeremy Wright, the UK's culture secretary, told the BBC in February.

The British government is due to publish a policy paper on Monday, which is expected to radically toughen up how tech is regulated in the UK. Business Insider understands that the government's plans are still in draft and will not be finalised until this weekend. The UK's digital minister Margot James told Business Insider in late February that the government would introduce a new tech regulator, which would have the power to impose massive fines on the likes of Facebook and Google if they don't rid their platforms of harmful content. James said the fines could be up to 4% of a company's global turnover, meaning they could hit the billions of dollars in the most severe cases.

According to The Guardian, the government will initially ask the existing media regulator Ofcom to police the tech firms. Eventually, it will create an independent regulator, to be funded by a levy on tech firms. The plans will cover not just social media platforms like Facebook, but online messaging services and even file-hosting sites. The UK government paper comes as governments around the world grapple with how to deal with the proliferation of hate speech and other harmful content online. The internet has historically been seen as beyond regulation but certain shifts have emboldened governments to act. One is that power has coalesced around a few dominant, public American companies, namely Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter, and Snapchat, who can be brought to heel.

https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-and-youtube-execs-to-be-held-liable-for-harmful-content-2019-4

>>6064315

He and his parents have had a very large role to play in depopulation..vaccines unfortunately are a piece of other pieces they are involved in.

Russian academic linked to Flynn denies being spy, says her past contact was ‘used’ to smear him

A Russian-born academic who was at the center of attention in 2017 for past contact with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn told Fox News in an exclusive interview that she is not a spy for Moscow – and, to the contrary, believes she was “used” to smear Flynn. "I think there's a high chance that it was coordinated, and I believe it needs to be properly investigated,” Svetlana Lokhova told Fox News.

Lokhova entered the political firestorm in early 2017, as Flynn was forced out of the Trump administration over lying about his contact with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. At the time, Lokhova was contacted by three American media outlets over a four-day period – and was promptly hit with claims in the press and on social media that she was a Russian operative for Moscow.

The allegations involved her contact with Flynn three years prior at a 2014 dinner at the University of Cambridge, England, when Flynn was Defense Intelligence Agency director. "I'm not a Russian spy and I have never worked for the Russian government," the 38-year old historian and academic said, in an interview first broadcast on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” "I believe that General Flynn was targeted and I was used to do it." Lokhova said the U.K. academic group behind the dinner included American Stefan Halper. The professor, who did not return emails from Fox News seeking comment, is widely reported to be a confidential source in the FBI's original probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Halper also reached out to Trump campaign aides including Carter Page, George Papadopoulos and Sam Clovis. Halper is also at the center of a whistleblower complaint filed last summer that alleges government contractor abuses, as well as excessive payments with taxpayer dollars.

Lokhova said the 2014 Cambridge event was attended by about a dozen people. According to an event flyer, the Cambridge events were organized by Halper and others including Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of British intelligence service MI6. "General Flynn was the guest of honor and he sat on one side of the table in the middle. I sat on the opposite side of the table to Flynn next to Richard Dearlove because I was the only woman at dinner, and it's a British custom that the only woman gets to sit next to the host.” When asked if she was ever alone with Flynn, Lokhova told Fox News, "I have never been alone with General Flynn, before, during or after the dinner."

Documents reviewed by Fox News appear to back up Lokhova’s timeline of events – and raise questions about subsequent unsolicited outreach to Lokhova on Halper’s behalf. In the months following the 2014 dinner, Lokhova said there was no sign of concern, providing Fox News with a May 2015 email indicating the U.S. government tried to set up a similar event with the Cambridge group, including Lokhova, to host a new senior intelligence agency head.

Then in December 2015, Flynn traveled to Moscow as a private citizen and was paid $45,000 to speak at a Russia Today event where he shared a table with President Vladimir Putin. Allegations later emerged that Lokhova – who said she emailed with Flynn a few times after the Cambridge dinner – discussed traveling to Moscow to act as a translator. She flatly denies the allegations, saying, "There was absolutely no discussion of going to Moscow with General Flynn."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russian-academic-linked-to-flynn-denies-being-spy-says-used-to-smear-him