You Got It: Women Don't Always Support Women
Despite a few victories for women, the midterm elections primarily showed that they are not united and that the #MeToo anger that was supposed to knock out President Donald Trump's supporters and the sexism and racism he represents didn't happen.
November 07, 2018 at 05:47 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
At a girls' night out a couple of weeks ago, a prominent female lawyer said to our little group, “Women are tired of getting screwed, and the only way we'll get an even break is when we're in charge!”
I instinctively cringe whenever I hear someone (usually a woman) say that women in power will help other women and make the world rosier.
I hear that message everywhere these days—about how women will watch out for each other and push progressive agendas. I also hear that women are more sensitive, more honest and just all around better people, which is why they'll make superior leaders. I hear they're on a mission to overturn the good ol' boy system in the entertainment industry, the legal profession, corporate America, our political system—you name it.
But that's not what I saw this Tuesday. If anything, the midterm elections showed that women are not united, and that the #MeToo anger that was supposed to knock out President Donald Trump's supporters and the sexism and racism he represents didn't happen—certainly not on the scale that some women had hoped.
Of course, Tuesday had some notable successes—not the least being the big blue wave that washed over the House of Representatives and the record number of women who are heading there. More women ran for office than ever before, including some major “firsts”—like the first Native American and Muslim women elected to Congress. (Fun fact: Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, lost her bid for a second term to be county clerk.)
Commentators are giving women credit for this blue wave—which is deserved. But here's the flip side: Women, white women in particular, also deserve credit for enabling Trump to continue being Trump. If you took the midterm election as a referendum on Trump, a substantial percentage of women basically put their stamp of approval on the way he treats women and people of color.
Women and men who made a stand for women or minorities, on the other hand, got smashed. I'm thinking of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, who took a highly politically risky stance by voting against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh and got killed by her Republican opponent. I'm also thinking of the two black Democrats who ran for governor: Stacey Abrams of Georgia and Andrew Gillum of Florida, who got hit with heavy-handed racial attacks during the campaign. Consistent with that theme, I assume, Trump called Abrams “not qualified” and Gillum “not equipped.” (As of this writing, Gillum has conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis, but Abrams is refusing to concede to Republican Brian Kemp.)
White women backed conservative candidates tied to Trump and pushed them to victory in a number of key contests: They voted 76 percent for Kemp (97 percent of black women voted for Abrams), 59 percent for Cruz (95 percent of black women voted for O'Rourke) and 51 percent for DeSantis (82 percent of black women voted for Gillum).
I bring all this up because I feel we often oversell (particularly these days) how women stand arm-in-arm against the male status quo. We assume—at our peril—that we can count on women to be on our sides.
Fact is, women aren't always each other's best friend or supporters, nor are they always pro-women. (In case you forgot, the ultimate anti-feminist who banged the nail into the coffin of the Equal Rights Amendment was Phyllis Schlafly.) Indeed, I barely know a female lawyer who hasn't complained about being slighted or disappointed by a female partner at some point.
Look, I don't want to take away from the notable successes that women made during the midterms. But let's not overhype the sisterhood or how we're all marching in line to change the world.
It's just too much pressure.
Contact Vivia Chen at [email protected]. On Twitter: @lawcareerist.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTrending Stories
- 1Record Live Event Attendance Prompts Need To Revisit Insurance Policies
- 2Groen Strokoff O'Neill, LLC adds accomplished Trial Lawyer, William "Bill" Coppol.
- 3Bar Report - Dec. 9
- 4Attempting to Curb Artificial Intelligence: The EU Makes the First Move
- 5When A Criminal Lawyer Withholds Critical Information From His Client
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250