Study: #MeToo Movement Has Had Unintended Consequences
A new study shows that the “#MeToo” movement has had unintended consequences and caused more men to do what Vice President Mike Pence was once heavily criticized for doing.
The #MeToo movement, which started the trend of outing colleagues, friends, and family for perceived sexual harassment, has shaken the country over the past year.
Without even looking at a study, it’s observable that the left has been using the movement as a political weapon and people may be giving more credence to false allegations than they have before.
However, the affect of the “#MeToo” movement goes even deeper.
A study published by The Society for Human Resource Management suggests that there have been unintended changes in work behavior and hiring practices since last year.
Nearly one third of executives have changed their behavior “to a moderate, great or very great extent to avoid behavior that could be perceived as sexual harassment.”
The cost of this change might not be what the “#MeToo” movement wanted.
The CEO of SHRM, Johnny C. Taylor Jr., expressed concerns about executives excluding women out of fear to avoid facing potential sexual harassment allegations.
“One troubling trend is executives going as far as to not invite female colleagues on trips, to evening networking events or into their inner circles to avoid any situation that could be perceived incorrectly, thus reducing the opportunity for women,” Taylor said.
In a video published by USA Today, Taylor elaborated on his concerns.
“There were men who specifically said, ‘I will not hire a woman going forward,'” Taylor explained. “Those who said they would hire a woman said they would not travel with one, and they, more importantly they would not engage in activities after business hours.”
This trend seems to match a rule of the vice president, who made headlines last year when he said that he would not have dinner alone with any woman other than his wife.
At the time, Pence was heavily criticized for his comment, which was a reflection of his Christian faith more than a defense against sexual harassment allegations.
“If Pence won’t eat dinner alone with any woman but his wife, that means he won’t hire women in key spots,” Mother Jones lead editor Clara Jeffery said at the beginning of a long, unhinged Twitter rant.
1/ If Pence won't eat dinner alone with any woman but his wife, that means he won't hire women in key spots.
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) March 29, 2017
Amid her rant, Jeffery pondered if Pence would bring a witness with him to interviews.
“For that matter, how would he ever even interview a woman. With a chaperone?” she pondered.
Her question was in jest, but bringing a witness to closed-door meetings doesn’t seem like a bad idea these days.
Some on the left were offended by Pence’s philosophy, but there appears to more than just a religious reason for doing what he does. A lot of men are afraid of facing sexual harassment allegations that may not be true thanks to the “#MeToo” movement.
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