Originally Posted by
Pruna
Oh sod off. That "joke" was out of place. It's like going to a fund-raising to help autistic people and say "there are three things... you smile, they smile and when you talk to them they just drool all over themselves and stare at you blankly". There is a thing called TACT in our world, and however much we hate it we don't use the same tone to speak to our close friends and to our boss. You know what could have saved him in all this? to just add "I jest, if anything they make us cry" or "and we cry a little inside too when women criticize us". I dunno, anything! Basically, there is a way to get a joke across without coming off as a jerk, ESPECIALLY when your audience isn't on the same page with you: it was a conference about science, not his 5 mins of glory in stand-up comedy.
Granted, it was not worth him being sacked since his scientific contribution is far too important, but I can't help but feel many people who "contributed" like him get on a very high horse and think that they can say anything without any repercussions. In any case, his punishment is way too sever, but those women have the right to be offended. Despite not meaning to do it, he reduced their professionalism in the scientific field to a simple emotional mess, saying that a woman cannot take criticism at work like a pro. It would be the same as reducing a man's professionalism to simple bodily reactions: You fall in love, he falls in love and when you criticize him he just gets erect and salivates. Uncool man, uncool.