So, let’s see. We have a movement especially led by women from Hollywood who protected sexual predators and misogynists for decades, who ramped the #MeToo movement up to 11. They blame every single man, do not care who they harm and even if a man is blameless, and want them all punished. They make accusations against minor things and even things that don’t exist, so, men who are not Hollywood style predators look to protect themselves and are increasingly more careful in their dealings with women, as they do not want to be accused of something that didn’t happen or was utterly meaningless. Ergo, that’s also bad. You cannot win with these people
Men now avoid women at work – another sign we’re being punished for #MeToo
It looks like Mike Pence is quite the trendsetter. The US vice-president famously refuses to have dinner alone with any woman who isn’t his wife – and now working men across corporate America appear to be following his lead.
A new study, due to be published in the journal Organizational Dynamics, has found that, following the #MeToo movement, men are significantly more reluctant to interact with their female colleagues. A few highlights from the research include:
- 27% of men avoid one-on-one meetings with female co-workers. Yep, that’s right, almost a third of men are terrified to be alone in a room with a woman.
- 21% of men said they would be reluctant to hire women for a job that would require close interaction (such as business travel).
- 19% of men would be reluctant to hire an attractive woman.
The data above was collected in early 2019 from workers across a wide range of industries. Researchers had asked the same questions (albeit to different people and with more of a focus on future expectations) in early 2018, just as #MeToo was in full swing, and depressingly, things appear to have got worse. In 2018, for example, 15% of men said they would be more reluctant to hire women for jobs that require close interpersonal interactions with women, compared to 21% in 2019.
It’s actually very sad. But, it’s just like driving on heavy cold medicine: do you want to put yourself in a bad situation? No. So you don’t drive. There are situations you avoid. There have been too many cases where men have been accused of impropriety, all the way up to rape despite the sex being consensual (or never happened), especially on college campuses. That has moved into mainstream corporate America.
It’s not just men who are afraid of women, by the way. Women also appear to be increasingly wary of hiring women. The 2018 survey results found that more than 10% of men and women said they expected to be less willing than before to hire attractive women. (Note: the 2019 results for women are not yet public.) Internalized misogyny really is a bitch.
So, even women are concerned about other women? Huh. Oh, right, that’s misogyny, rather than practical protection.
There’s been a lot of talk about “grey areas†in #MeToo. All this harassment business is very difficult for men, we’re told, because nobody even knows what sexual harassment is any more! Men are afraid to even shake a woman’s hand in case she thinks it’s harassment! Easier to just avoid contact altogether! What’s really interesting about this study, however, is that it thoroughly debunks the argument that men are confused about what constitutes unacceptable behavior. The very first thing researchers did was look at 19 behaviours (emailing sexual jokes to a subordinate, for example) and get people to classify it as harassment or not. Surprise, surprise, both genders basically agreed on what harassment entails.
Oh, we know what constitutes sexual harassment these days. That doesn’t mean we agree with it. Certainly, people can be offensive at work. Have you ever heard a coworker tell a sexual joke at work? Sure you have. Do you freak out and attempt to ruin their lives? If it’s directed at a particular person, maybe you speak to them. Or report them. But, if not, it’s an annoyance. I tune them out or walk away, just like I do when people are griping about the pay plan (yet again). Essentially, men, and some women, are taking the “better safe than sorry” route.
So there you go: most men are perfectly aware of the difference between a friendly hug and a creepy hug. They are perfectly aware of what constitutes harassment and what doesn’t. Which makes you wonder why so many men are afraid to interact with women at work?
Men are not afraid or terrified to be alone with a woman at work, as the article states. Men just don’t want any problems that might come from a misunderstanding. It’s as simple as that. A simple, innocent gesture or expression can be misinterpreted, and a problem starts, escalates and never really ends. Who needs it. Better just to avoid being alone with someone in the first place. Especially when these days it seems all you have to do is make the accusation and automatically the man is guilty. That friendly hug can be misconstrued and suddenly you’re sitting in HR with a nasty accusation, seeing all those years of hard work going down the tubes. So, men avoid situations.
Read: In The #MeToo Era, Men Are Avoiding Women At Work, Which Is Punishing Women And Misogynistic »
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