My Turn: #MeToo ... Why baby boomer women ignored sexual harassment
My Turn: Powerful women editors of major newspapers took on institutions and exposed wrongdoing. But we didn't stand up strongly enough for other women.
For too long, the Baby Boomer generation has been silent about the issue of sexual harassment. And we have let our daughters down.
Back in 2002, I had just been named the first woman editor of the Atlanta Journal- Constitution and was visiting the city’s key leaders. I met with one of the top developers and community leaders in town. We had a cordial talk about Atlanta’s strengths and opportunities.
As I prepared to leave, he grabbed me and kissed me on the mouth. I must have had a look of shock and/or horror. He stepped back and said “that’s how we say goodbye in the South.” I just smiled and left. I chalked it off to the good ol’ boy nature of my new city. Now, I regret that I didn’t speak up in that moment and many others.
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Many of us in our 50s and 60s broke many barriers and became “the first woman” to hold a variety of jobs. We were celebrated for breaking the glass ceiling.
But there was a dirty little secret under all that glass breaking. By our silence and smiles, we were complicit.
The newspaper business, Hollywood, the health-care business, retail. The story is all the same; as women we were demeaned, objectified, ignored, belittled and more.
Many of us endured in silence
If you go back to the 1970s, the newspaper business was like so many, filled with white men leaders and a few women in lower-level jobs. Enter civil rights laws and changing views. The women before me took action, filing lawsuits against their employers, including The New York Times, Newsweek and more. The Newsweek fight was recently turned into a series on Amazon called “Good Girls Revolt.” Those women won the battles and opened the doors for us Baby Boomers.
As young, ambitious women, we watched gratefully, but guardedly. We appreciated what they did, but we saw that the lawsuit filers and complainers were going nowhere in their careers.
So, we took a different course. We worked hard. We ignored the slights. Often, we ignored the offensive behavior we definitely should not have ignored. We talked among ourselves but seldom took action.
I was part of a group of women who were editors of major newspapers. Over dinner and wine, we shared our stories and grievances. Among that group were some of the bravest, most powerful women I’ve been privileged to know. They took on major institutions in their communities to expose wrongdoing.
Why the stay-quiet strategy always fails
But we didn’t stand up strongly and loudly enough against the barriers we and other women in the workplace faced. We mistakenly believed that when enough of us were in positions of authority, things would change.
As the Fox News and Harvey Weinstein scandals have shown us, this strategy hasn’t worked. I wonder if we had been louder and yes, bitchier, would we have accomplished more? I don’t know, but I do know that putting your head down and focusing on the work for the past 30 years hasn’t worked.
I now teach at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, where almost two-thirds of the students are female. These students are brave, fearless and ambitious. Gretchen Carlson, who sued Fox news, tells young women to “be fierce.” Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, tells them to “lean in.” I agree with both of them and would add, “change culture.”
That’s something women alone can’t do. I would say to the men #YouToo.
Julia Wallace served as a top media executive and high-ranking editor at four major newspapers, including The Arizona Republic and as the first woman editor-in-chief at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is the Frank Russell Chair and professor of practice at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU. Email her at julia.wallace@asu.edu.