NOW WHAT?
judge Alex Kozinski sexually harassed clerks, many women did not
apply for a clerkship at that court, which positions young lawyers
to get clerkships at the U.S. Supreme Court— the biggest plum in
the legal basket. When the ambitious congressional staff er Lauren
Greene complained of sexual harassment by her boss, Representa-
tive Blake Farenthold, her career in politics evaporated. Today she
works as a part- time assistant to a home builder.
A point often overlooked is that some sexual harassment victims
are men. Men fi led nearly 17% of sexual harassment complaints with
the EEOC in 2016. Some men are harassed by women, but many are
harassed by other men, some straight, some gay. A roustabout on
an oil platform was harassed by coworkers on his eight- man crew,
the U.S. Supreme Court found in 1998; the coworkers were off ended
by what they perceived as his insuffi cient machismo. Recently the
Metropolitan Opera suspended longtime conductor James Levine
after several men accused him of masturbation- heavy abuse that
took place from the late 1960s to the 1980s, when his victims were
16 to 20 years old.
Such behavior is no longer seen as a “tsking” matter. Historically,
it has been hard to win a sexual harassment suit, but rapidly shift-
ing public perceptions may change that. Seventy- eight percent of
women say they are more likely to speak out now if they are treated
unfairly because of their gender. About the same percentage of men
(77%) say they are now more likely to speak out if they see a woman
being treated unfairly. It’s a new day for a simple reason: Women are
being believed.
Everything Is Changing
The strongest indicator that we’re experiencing a norms cascade
came when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood up for
the women— four of them at the time— who had come forward with
revelations about senatorial candidate Roy Moore.
“I believe the women,” McConnell said.
The statement stands in stark contrast to Anita Hill’s treatment
in 1991, when she testifi ed before the Senate Judiciary Committee