zlacker

> The men are assuming based on the female founder’s gender _alone_ that she might accuse him of sexism.

Well, I think that unlike women or bin-binary people, a man wouldn't be able of accusing another man of sexism in his direction.

>>golerg+(OP)
You can accuse people of anything. I think maybe what you’re saying is that a man accusing another man of being sexist against men would be far less believable.

Regardless, we’re talking about social judgements. In a legal setting the burden of proof would be on the accuser.

>>awb+C
Presumably, since a man complaining about a woman getting special treatment "because she is a woman" would hardly be unprecedented.

>>awb+C
The legal setting doesn't matter. In these cases the damage is done reputationally, in the court of public opinion, well before any legal matters come into play.

And like many legal outcomes, just being accused is its own stigma. Someone accused of murder but then later (let's say objectively, truthfully, correctly) found not guilty will expect to face social discrimination and alienation. It's not right, but it's unfortunately how people operate.