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Beyond #MeToo, Women Still Face The Difficult Job Of Being Included
Monday night, I settled to watch a PBS documentary about Martin Luther King Jr. and James Earl Ray, and noticed something missing: women.
And it wasn’t the first time lately, or in fact, throughout my professional lifetime, that my gender has been excluded — from panels, talk shows and films.
Remember the Academy Awards telecast, when Frances McDormand displayed her solidarity with the women of Hollywood by asking those nominated to rise?
Unfortunately, her loving gesture also pointed out how few female nominees there were in the audience.
Recently, a young male journalist friend proudly posted a list on Facebook of notables who had agreed to provide blurbs for his newest book.
I read the names, and tears came into my eyes. Out of six names, all six were men. Not one woman.
I’ve lined up plenty of blurbs for my books, and I know what publishers want: authors who sell books, and public figures who might mention your book to their friends, seemingly spurring some sales.
But, my heart sank to see that women were not on the list. Women were not included.
And that’s one of my fears as #MeToo and #TimesUp do their very necessary job of rooting out sexual…
