Techweek Reaps A Whirlwind With Sexist Party Invite Backlash

By Lisa White in News on Jun 4, 2014 9:45PM

The issues surrounding gender diversity affects numerous industries, but one industry that continues to struggle when it comes to a welcoming culture for all genders is the tech industry. This issue raised its ugly head again this week after Techweek, the four-year-old Chicago conference, were called out for sending out an invite to a "Black Tie Rave" which featured snapshots of scantly dressed women posing in sexually flirtatious manners.

Before we go deeper into the backlash, here is a direct quote from Techweek's 'Code of Conduct' that all those attending Techweek must follow (apparently this doesn't apply to Techweek itself): "Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter and other online media."

Obviously (and thankfully), numerous people were not happy with this behavior and social media became a firestorm of reasonable anger. Several members of Techweek's Tech100 list publicly called out Techweek on this behavior and asked to be taken off of the list, including Harper Reed, CEO of Modest Inc. and the former CTO of Obama for America; Paul Lee, partner at Lightbank; and Brian Fitzpatrick, engineering manager at Google Inc.'s Chicago office. Microsoft, a presenting sponsor at Techweek, also released a statement regarding the incident:

"It is unfortunate our name was mistakenly associated with the ad as it does not reflect Microsoft’s values or the spirit of the tech community. We don’t condone the objectification of people for any reason, least of all a charity event. Techweek has taken full responsibility for the image selection and has taken steps to resolve the situation, including an open dialogue on the issue.”

Obviously Techweek began damage control immediately, issuing their own version of an apology and a promise of open discussion regarding the incident. Chairman Iain Shovlin included the following line where Techweek passes the buck onto those offended:

"The last thing we want to do is alienate anyone in the community and we sincerely apologize if this event or imagery is offensive to you."

The statement backpedals a bit, basically saying their goal was not to offend or upset and they recognize the criticism and take full responsibility. And putting an emphasis on the event being charity, although we're pretty sure charity and sexy women do not need to go hand-in-hand.

This lackluster response wasn't enough for Techweek sponsor Crain's Chicago Business. Publisher David Synder decided today to pull Crain's sponsorship of the event. Snyder released the following statement regarding his decision:

“Techweek's response to their highly offensive promotion for their Black Tie Rave was not sufficient so we have decided to reconsider our involvement in this year's event.”

The Tribune spoke to public relations director Sara Davine, who told them the photos came from the kickoff event during this year's Miami festival and that the photos have been on Techweek's Facebook page since March "without incident." Maybe Davine is also not familiar with Techweek's "Code of Conduct." Needless to say Techweek might want to reference it more when planning their own events and marketing material. For a more detailed breakdown of the situation, check out some of the responses online below.