According to a Wall Street Journal report, female candidates who applied for jobs at the private office of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates made shocking claims and told that they were questioned about their sexual history, drug use and other portions of their private lives during the interview process.
They disclosed that they were asked inappropriately about their sexual preferences, extramarital affairs, whether they had nude photos on their phones and other similarly uncomfortable queries. Some recalled being asked if she had ever “danced for dollars,” and one remembered being quizzed about her history of sexually transmitted disease.
There is no information that male applicants for employment were asked similarly awkward inquiries when they tried out for positions and the media house alleged that only females were made to go through this.
Concentric Advisors, a security consulting company charged with interviewing job candidates for Gates Ventures, is accused of asking these questions to several women while performing background checks.
A Gates Ventures representative stated to the newspaper that she was unaware of any such inquiries being made by Concentric Advisors during background checks, but added that the “line of questioning would be unacceptable and a violation of Gates Ventures’ agreement with the contractor.”
“We have never received information from any vendor or interviewee in our 15+ year history that inappropriate questions were asked during the screening process. We can confirm, that after a comprehensive review of our records, no employment offer has ever been rescinded based on information of this nature,” her statement read.
She emphasised that pre-employment screening legislation and other state and federal laws and regulations must be followed by contractors. A Concentric Advisors spokesperson also refuted the charges that the business asked interviewees these kinds of questions during screenings. However, the spokesperson proclaimed that the company’s security checks determine “a candidate’s truthfulness and vulnerability to blackmail, which often starts with voluntary statements by the candidate and follow-up questions by company interviewers.”
Candidates who reported that these questions were posed by interviewers thought that the latter was looking for information that could be used to blackmail those who would be closely collaborating with Bill Gates. They claimed that they were required to pass the employer’s exam in order to be hired and did not volunteer the sensitive information they were asked about.
According to a consent form seen by the outlet, the behavioural evaluation, which is meant to “assess suitability for employment,” inquires about past use of drugs, alcohol, prescription medications, and mental health issues.
Candidates who signed the agreement authorised the release of the findings, including “highly sensitive information,” to Bill Gates’ private office, per the article. The “re-disclosure of sexually transmitted diseases,” however, is not allowed.
Bill Gates’ Tryst with Controversy
The newspaper revealed last month that notorious billionaire Jeffrey Epstein had threatened to reveal Bill Gates’ alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017. The email seemed to suggest that if a connection between the two men was not kept up, the former, who committed suicide while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, may reveal the purported link.
Another Wall Street Journal report alleged that Bill Gates was also under investigation by Microsoft for an ongoing relationship with a staff member that was brought to light in 2019 by the latter whom he started dating in 2000.
Bill Gates resigned from the Microsoft board, but he insisted that this was not because of the probe. His representative responded, “In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier,” in a statement in May 2021.
In a statement released on Thursday, the spokesperson for Bill Gates asserted that “any implication of a connection between Bill Gates’ personal history” and the background investigation procedure in question “is outrageous.”