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AirTalk

How meritocracy is harming the tech startup culture

A protester wears a shirt displaying the logo of smartphone ride service Uber during by a protest by non-licensed private hire drivers blocking the Place de la Nation in Paris on February 9, 2016.
Members of services known in France as "voitures de tourisme avec chauffeur" (VTC - Tourism vehicle with driver) have been protesting against assurances the French Prime minister has given to taxis.  / AFP / Geoffroy Van der Hasselt        (Photo credit should read GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP/Getty Images)
A protester wears a shirt displaying the logo of smartphone ride service Uber during by a protest by non-licensed private hire drivers blocking the Place de la Nation in Paris on February 9, 2016.
(
GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP/Getty Images
)
Listen 17:09
How meritocracy is harming the tech startup culture

Ride-hailing company Uber has been controversy-prone, to say the least.

The latest trouble brewing for the LA-based startup came after a former female engineer accused Uber for mishandling sexual harassment allegations she filed against her supervisor. She claimed that Uber was lenient on her perpetrator because he was a “top performer” at the company.

The allegations have put Uber’s work culture -- where meritocracy rules supreme -- under scrutiny. Is Uber’s culture an exception-- or is it the rule in the tech startup scene? Call AirTalk and share your experiences if you have ever worked at a tech startup.

Guests:

Christina Warren, senior writer at Gizmodo; she tweets from

Cale Guthrie Weissman, staff writer at Fast Company who covers the tech scene, including a piece titled, “The Future of HR and Why Startups Shouldn’t Reject It;” he tweets