Women Say Together – “Me Too”

REPOST: This is not my typical blog post but I think the topic is important for any women going to the Women’s March on Washington to read or contemplate if they aren’t signed up yet. I know I have a diverse reader base and I try to keep this blog very much focused on non-political related issues but sometimes there is a larger movement and need to use a marketing platform to share information to inspire and educate others. This blog post is aimed at that today because of the three phone calls I received in the last 48 hours from women interested in our bus trip.

This post is also aimed at shining a light on this fact – if you think every woman is going to protest the President-Elect, you are wrong. Some are going for that reason but the majority are going to stand up for women’s rights which are also human rights. Read the 3 diverse reasons 3 women told me they want to join the march (most of these women are in their 60’s) and my never disclosed reason too:

* One woman wished she marched in the 1980’s during the AIDS crisis because her son’s partner died from AIDS. Walking at this march will make her feel like she did something finally to support that cause she was afraid to support years ago.

* One woman has fought sexual harassment in her corporate workplace in a major city. She is in the STEM field. She has fought to protect herself and other women in her company. She is marching because she wants sexual harassment to stop and more attention to be brought to this topic.

* One woman is coming to try to film a marriage between two women at the march because they want to show that anyone should have a choice to marry who they want. This woman is gay herself and works for a film company who supports gay rights. If you have an answer for her, please reach out to me.

If you think the world is equal for all, you might not be a female or you might somehow have missed inequality in your life. Here’s another story I haven’t shared publicly until today in this post.

In 1986 when I was working at my first job out of college at a Philadelphia Investment Banking firm as a Sales Assistant to the Corporate Vice President (a male), my boss’s largest client – another male in his 60’s – relentlessly invited me to Spain (even though he was married), called me “Sweet Hips” every time he saw me, put his arm around me and brought me gifts. I was a 21 year old spunky, independent, young woman so I thwarted his advances. One day my boss noticed and called me into his office and said, “Tracy, you WILL BE NICE to that man who is my highest paying client.” I said I would but I would not accept any further advances or inappropriate behavior ever. I resigned from that company a month later even though they wanted to put me in their investment banking training program because I was smart. But today as I write this post in real time, I realize I left because I didn’t want to face the constant sexual harassment issue. Maybe all along this first sexist job experience was the true catalyst for my feminist spirit rising up and getting stronger all these years later. #MeToo