CandiDate’s Amber Wanner goes viral with response to LinkedIn creep

So CandiDate founder Amber Wanner got a sexist email last month.

The four-sentence note, from a Philly-based Android developer Wanner did not wish to identify, said she was “cute but not worth spending time” and that maybe “modeling would be better” for her as a biz.

Let’s take a moment here to regroup before we continue.

Wanner took to LinkedIn (in true recruiter style) to deliver a piping hot response to the sexist message. It went low-key viral with over 1,500 likes and 168,000 views:

Wanner, 26, started the recruiting/dating company in 2014. She spoke to Entrepreneur about the episode for an article published Thursday.

“I got messages and comments from people all over the world,” Wanner told Technical.ly. “It was a crazy experience because everyone has their own opinion of the incident.”

(As you’ll recall hearing from local organizer and technologist Briana Morgan: sexual harassment in Philly tech is pervasive.)

Beyond the viral posts and hot takes, Wanner said the lesson reaped from the exchange was the importance of making anecdotes like these visible.

“It shouldn’t be OK that this happens,” Wanner said. “It’s essentially bullying. And while it’s easier said that done, my advice is: don’t let it get to you. Prove them wrong through your work.”

As a quick reminder: we at Technical.ly are gathering stories of sexual harassment and other sexist incidents in the workplace. Share with us safely (and anonymously, if you wish) here.