The impact of #MeToo was arguably one of the biggest stories of 2018, from the regular drumbeat of resignations of powerful men accused of sexual misconduct to the entry of record numbers of girls into the US Congress. Meanwhile, Americans grappled with what gender equality in the workplace really meant.
1. Women in technology
One sector in particular that has struggled to attain equality is technology, where men receive 96 percent of all enterprise capital funding. Banu Ozkazanc-Mrprofessor of management at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, says that Americans’ strong belief that their country is meritocratic is one of the biggest threats to the indisputable fact that it actually is.
“The myth of meritocracy…means that women are constantly told that all they need to do to get more of that roughly $22 billion in venture capital funding is to present themselves better or be more assertive,” she writes. “The assumption is that women aren’t trying hard enough or not doing the right things to succeed, not that the way venture capitalists offer financing is itself unfair.”
2. Problems on board
Technology is not the only space that is hard for women to interrupt into. The highest levels of corporate America – the boardrooms – are still out of reach for most ladies.
In 2014, just 15 percent of boardroom positions at Standard & Poor’s 1500 firms were held by women, a modest increase from 9.7 percent in 2003, explain business and entrepreneurship professors Yannick Thams, Bari Bendell and Siri Terjesen .
They took a closer look at state-level data to uncover some surprising findings, in addition to potential solutions that might increase meeting room diversity. Entering amounts – e.g one California passed in 2018 – this is one of the ideas. Another is more training.
“Getting into the highest corporate ranks is very difficult and typically requires training opportunities and access to social networks, both of which are at risk when, for example, women experience harassment at work or suffer a ‘motherhood penalty’,” he added. they write.
3. What could a “wave of women” mean?
The 12 months ended on a more encouraging note as a record number of girls – over 100 – were elected to Congress. The query now is whether this can make a difference in terms of policy, including those who address the challenges posed by the #MeToo era.
The past 12 months offers little hope, writes Elizabeth C. Tippett, a law professor at the University of Oregon. After a 12 months of headlines about sexual misconduct across industries, Congress has not passed a single bill or held a hearing — unless you count the Kavanaugh confirmation process, he writes.
He suggests that the latest Democratic House handle the issue the same way Congress handled the 2008 financial collapse.
(*3*) Tippett explains.
By holding hearings and gathering information, the latest Congress could begin to treat the endemic workplace problems highlighted by #MeToo as the serious policy issues they deserve, he argues.