Ableist And Sexist Incompetent Manager Gets Blacklisted From Major Tech Companies After Singling Out A Female Senior Security Expert

"While this jerk didn't actually understand most of what my job was, he was sure I wasn't doing it right."

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• October 12, 2023

A low-level tech employee worked slowly to climb her company's ladder. She turned into a well-respected security/emergency specialist over the years.

She was regularly assigned high-profile projects no one else could figure out. Division heads and senior executives were familiar with her work.

Their company was going through a tumultuous time. Managers were shuffled from one team to the next, but OP's small team of 8 remained intact.

They encountered one good manager who immediately assigned OP to head a big project. She was tasked to choose key employees from several divisions to deliver what was needed.

A senior vice president gave them 4-6 weeks to do something no one had done before. On top of that, OP's manager had a long vacation planned.

He couldn't help OP and her team during this crucial, high-profile, and time-sensitive project. OP was called into a meeting with the senior VP, other executives, and their company's legal team.

She reassured them her team was on the right track and everything was above board. Against all odds, they delivered what was asked of them ahead of their deadline.

A few months after OP's impossible project, their manager was replaced. A person OP referred to as Inept Manager took his position.

He had no knowledge about security or what their team did. OP suspected that the Inept Manager had climbed the corporate ladder because he knew the right people.

Inept Manager didn't want the team to contradicting each other in front of other teams during meetings. It was inefficient as things rapidly changed in their industry, especially when it was about product development.

His dumb rule affected release schedules, resources, and made a mess of their system

He also took an obvious instant dislike to OP which other people from her team noticed as well

The reputation she cultivated over her two-decade long tenure took a nose-dive. Anything she did was wrong to her new manager's eyes.

He had no understanding of OP's job, but he was sure she was doing it incorrectly

OP was the only woman in their team and she has a disability. She didn't want to suspect her gender or disability played into Inept Manager's treatment of her, but multiple incidents pointed to them.

Because of her seniority and disability, OP was one of the few people on their floor who had an office with a door on it

Inept Manager's ego couldn't handle the fact that a female subordinate had an office while he had to slum it in a cubicle in their open floor plan office like an average Joe

Other male senior employees had offices as well, but that didn't hurt Inept Manager's ego

He reprimanded OP for other inane things. She was quiet and stared at the floor during one of Inept Manager's meetings and he said she had a bad attitude. After probing as to what he meant, he said he didn't like the look on her face.

OP went to HR to file a formal complaint against her manager. She knew they wouldn't do anything about it, but she wanted a written record of his hostile behavior towards her.

He gave her a bad performance review as she predicted. Their company was laying off people at that time, so things didn't bode well for her. OP sent another email to HR to remind them of her boss's unfair treatment of her.

OP realized it was time to look for greener pastures. She had another job lined up and then went to an employment discrimination attorney.

Her emails to HR proved helpful. The company wrote her a hefty check to stop her from suing them and made her sign an agreement that prevented her from discussing the terms of her separation from the company.

A few months later, OP found out that the person who green lit her separation agreement was the senior VP who relied on her to deliver the Impossible Project

While OP was happy in her new company, a former colleague from her last company asked her if she knew Inept Manager. Apparently, he was one of the candidates she was scheduled to interview the following day.

OP said she was legally prohibited from discussing certain things that concerned Inept Manager. She and her colleague talked later on and OP may have shared some stories about Inept Manager.

Inept Manager was tagged as a "No Hire Ever" at OP's new company. He got aggressive during the interview. He was forced to move to a different locale because other major tech companies found him unhirable.

OP doesn't think Inept Manager knows to this day that she was slyly behind him being blacklisted from other major tech companies.

Redditors think Inept Manager's ego won't let him entertain the idea that his terrible interview was his fault.

They think he can read OP's story multiple times and still fail to recognize he was Inept Manager

Scrap all the self-help books! All you need is to yell to be recognized as a leader!

He truly screwed himself over because he couldn't accept OP had an office with a door

He thought whoever got him his undeserved position would prevent him from being fired from the company

He probably required an office with a door at his new job

If he wasn't so sexist and ableist, he could have been moved to another division after a few months without ever having to work with OP again. He just had to single her out because his ego couldn't take a woman being more respected than him.

He actually tried to tell her how to do her job when he had no idea what it was she actually did. Don't mess with experts when you can't even qualify for a participation trophy.

Chelsi