ElderChicks

I am 73 years old and worked for 62 years. I saw abuse and harassment and experienced it. Some of it was from sexual predators who took advantage of their power and some of it was just from assholes. Everything from putdowns to attempted sexual attack. I think this was covered up a lot and accepted either because “boys will be boys” or because women were afraid of being fired. I also saw women use their “feminine wiles” to manipulate men and get ahead. I think all of this behavior in the work place needs to stop. In terms of the current situations, I think where men have abused their power in the work place to abuse women, they should be fired and women should be able to speak out with no consequences. But I am bothered by the claims of “abuse” where there is no power relationship. It’s the difference between Conyers taking advantage of interns and employees and Franken being accused of putting his hand on the butt of someone getting their picture taken or interacting with someone who is his peer. So I think each situation has to be judged on its own merits. The unfortunate thing is that people go from one extreme to another, and can’t deal with nuance. I think it will backfire against women who won’t get promoted or have opportunities to advance on their own merit.