--- title: "Women Reportedly Asked Inappropriate Questions Before Getting Hired by Bill Gates" description: "Women interviewing for jobs at Bill Gates' private office were reportedly asked about sensitive topics including affairs, porn, and STIs." date: "2023-07-01" modified: "2023-07-01" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/women-inappropriate-questions-hired-bill-gates" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "Bill Gates" - "billionaires" - "the digest" --- # Women Reportedly Asked Inappropriate Questions Before Getting Hired by Bill Gates ![Women interviewing for jobs at Bill Gates' private office were reportedly asked about sensitive topics including affairs, porn, and STIs.]() *\Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno via Getty / Futurism\* ## Serious Allegations Women seeking jobs at billionaire Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates' private office, Gates Ventures, were asked incredibly inappropriate and invasive questions about sensitive topics including sexual behavior and drug histories, [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](). Per the report, some women who interviewed for the roles at Gates Ventures were grilled about pornography preferences, whether they'd ever had extramarital affairs, or if they had "nude photographs of themselves on their phones." One woman reportedly told the *WSJ* that she'd been asked if she'd ever "danced for money," while another woman said she was asked if she'd ever had an STI. Meanwhile, according to the *WSJ*, none of the men who interviewed for similar Gates Ventures positions recounted being asked such invasive questions. According to the report, it's believed that the security firm tasked with interviewing candidates, called Concentric, was attempting to seek information about candidates' backgrounds that might make them vulnerable to external blackmail while working for one of the world's richest and most powerful men. But it's also the latest in what's now a years-long string of concerning reports about the treatment of women within Gates-led companies and even [by Gates himself]() — and as a result, [yet]() [another]() [blow]() to Gates' formerly squeaky-clean reputation. ## Ctrl Alt Denial For its part, Gates Ventures is holding the denial line. "We have never received information from any vendor or interviewee in our 15+ year history that inappropriate questions were asked during the screening process," a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement to the *WSJ*. "We can confirm, that after a comprehensive review of our records, no employment offer has ever been rescinded based on information of this nature." A Concentric spokesperson, on the other hand, did concede to the *WSJ* that part of their screening process involves "assessing a candidate's truthfulness and vulnerability to blackmail, which often starts with voluntary statements by the candidate with follow-up questions by company interviewers." They maintained, however, that the contents of those interviews had no bearing on future employment. The former Gates Ventures interviewees who spoke to the *WSJ*, though, refuted Concentrics' defense, saying that they were asked about deeply intimate topics without volunteering such information, and told that their answers had a direct bearing on their potential hiring. A Concentric consent form reviewed by the *WSJ* also overtly noted that the security firm had permission to share "highly sensitive information" with their client. The allegations are serious — and frankly, the blackmail defense falls flat at the apparent disparity of treatment between male and female candidates. We would expect better. **More on Gates:** [*Jeffrey Epstein Reportedly Had Dirt on Bill Gates*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()