Why The #MeToo Movement Isn’t Enough
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the #MeToo has gone viral with millions of women posting their stories of sexual assault and harassment.
No question this is an important rallying cry that has been heard around the world, horror stories that occur every day, in every industry from Hollywood to hi-tech.
My problem with the #MeToo movement is that it is not broad enough. It is a united front against the most egregious behavior but does not necessarily address all of the sinister aspects of gender bias. A movement this large didn’t coalesce around Lilly Ledbetter or Kangela Moore who fought for years for equal pay. How many #MeToo-ers posted stories that their outspokenness was deemed “aggressive” or “bitchy,” compared to men who are “strong minded?” Does your feed include tales of women who leave their jobs on time, or god forbid early, to attend to children, yet are called out by their colleagues for not being “dedicated” to their career, while men are praised for the same behavior? How many have taken up the fight to ensure that their employers validate work from home after children have gone to bed?
Gender bias is an all-encompassing issue that ranges from obnoxious and overt sexual harassment to “off the cuff” dismissive and stereotypical remarks. It ranges from statements and actions that are legally prohibited to cultural perceptions without roots in any statutory provisions.
From corporate boardrooms to company water coolers, there remains a sinister undercurrent of subtle (and maybe not so subtle) gender bias. A thousand paper cuts happen every day from underhanded insults and sly remarks, and that too is a form of gender bias. Until all of it (gender bias and sexual harassment) is completely eradicated — legally, socially, and culturally — the #MeToo movement ought to be broad enough to encompass it.
In the meantime, how do we prepare young women and girls to recognize both subtle and overt gender bias and call it by its name?
Christopher Connors recently wrote about the importance of telling your story. “What have you endured, what has made you tougher? How have your experiences enlightened you and in turn, inspired and informed you to produce positive change for others.” I heard one such story this week from Roni Koren, a medical student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem who decided she had enough and founded a grassroots movement called “Shavot,” the Hebrew word for equal.
Roni served on the student union and was concerned about the medical school’s use of animals for dissection. She researched the issue and found that medical schools all over the world, including others in Israel, ceased using animals in their labs and presented the option to the medical school’s board.
“I was exceedly well prepared for this meeting,” Roni told me. After her extenstive presentation, one of the professors called her ‘a little girl.’
“I completely shut down and I just stopped talking. My student union colleagues took up the cause, but I was left speechless and that never happened to me before.” It was enough to get Roni thinking.
“I can’t change society, but I can change one person at a time,” Roni said and she founded Shavot, an empowerment program that works with 12 year old girls in Jerusalem. The program pairs the girls with university students who meet twice a week as they learn presentation skills, how to break barriers, how to initiate change, how to present your case, and even how you present yourself in social media. The groups are mentored by women in Jerusalem who are role models themselves, offering guidance and real life experience.
I asked Roni about role play and whether it is worthwhile teaching these girls the appropriate responses in cases of sexual harassment or gender bias. “I didn’t want this to be a protest movement. I chose to approach this from a positive angle. If girls have the tools to see themselves as worthy, equal, and able, they have a foundation for the future.”
Roni made the #MeToo tent a little wider by propelling herself to action and finding a way in her busy life to empower young women to see themselves as deserving, competent, and confident. And for that, she is #MyJLMHeroes this week.
I sincerely hope that the #MeToo campaign includes the thousands of paper cuts that wound and demean women everyday, and ultimately propels society to eradicate them at every level. Until then, let’s encourage people like Roni Koren who seek societal change, one girl at a time.
