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Chapter 46
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Careless People, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Carelessness, Wealth, and Greed
Idealism and the Failed Promises of Technology
Sexism in the Workplace
Bureaucracy and Obstacles to Change
Summary
Analysis
Wynn-Williams has enjoyed being in an office across the country from Joel, but she fears what will happen when Elliot hosts an offsite of everyone who works for him, including Joel. Joel interviewed for a position in the Trump cabinet and has become increasingly powerful within Facebook as a result of his influence with Trump. As she fears, Joel is creepy again when they meet in person, calling Wynn-Williams “sultry.” She is relieved at least that others hear and also find Joel’s behavior strange. Later, when he’s drunk on the dancefloor, he starts grinding against Wynn-Williams.
While the genocide in Myanmar is perhaps the low point of what Facebook does to the world, Wynn-Williams’s deteriorating relationship with Joel shows how Facebook also continued to be toxic on a more personal level. Joel’s unwanted, sexually charged contact with Wynn-Williams represents him crossing a new line, and although others seem aware of his bad behavior, it isn’t clear if he will actually face any consequences.
Active
Themes
Wynn-Williams gets away from Joel and heads to Stacey from HR, who provides temporary protection but whom Wynn-Williams still doesn’t trust. Later, she both increases her job search efforts and also asks Javi to move to his department to focus on growth. Javi thinks it’s a great idea, but then the transition is slow to happen. It turns out Elliot is blocking it, using a tactic similar to the widespread sexual harassment that is just becoming public at Uber. Elliot stays firm and seems prepared to fire Wynn-Williams.
Way back at the beginning of the story, Zuckerberg showed some reluctance to run his company as ruthlessly as Uber, but now, even Elliot, who has been more moderate at times, has taken a hard stance against Wynn-Williams. The story of sexual harassment at Facebook is not just about offenders like Joel but also about the role that employees like Elliot and Stacey play in covering it up and making it a normal and expected part of office culture.
Active
Themes
Some of Wynn-Williams’s friends who have read Lean In think she should take her sexual harassment claims directly to Sandberg, who has been quoted in Bloomberg recommending a zero-tolerance policy on harassment. Heidi Swartz, the company’s chief employment lawyer, opens an investigation into Wynn-Williams’s experience with Joel. It becomes clear immediately that Elliot and Stacey have already decided that they will find a performance pretext to fire Wynn-Williams. The investigation is a sham that clears Joel of any possible wrongdoing before Wynn-Williams can even hand over the “dirty sanchez” email. Shortly after the investigation concludes, Elliot and Heidi call her in for a performance review but actually fire her.
Active
Themes
