Breaking the Silence: Unveiling the Impact of Misogyny in the Workplace

When I entered the professional workforce in 1995 as a perky 21-year-old in a purple polyester suit, I was naïve. I thought our mothers, led by activists like Gloria Steinem and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paved the way for women to be treated as equals. I mistakenly thought that, from there on out, things would always be better than they were before, like when women weren't allowed to have their own credit cards until 1974.

Now, at the ripe age of 51, I’m grieving the fact that our daughters don’t have the luxury of thinking that women earned the right to be seen as equals in the 1970s. They’ve seen a backslide like no other time in history with regard to women’s rights.

But if I’m being honest, quiet misogyny was always there. And, according to recent stats, it’s getting worse.

In 2023, gender discrimination and defamation lawsuits related to misogyny in the workplace continued to be a significant issue across the United States. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) saw an increase in filings related to gender-based discrimination, with sex discrimination accounting for approximately 30.6% of all workplace discrimination cases in the U.S. This represents a considerable portion of the 73,485 new discrimination charges received by the EEOC in FY 2022, marking a 20% rise from the previous year (Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, P.A.).

When I look back at my time in TV network ad sales, furniture design, and now nonprofit work, many instances of misogyny stand out.

As a woman who dared to build a furniture company out of her garage in the early aughts, I heard things like, "You can't do that” and "No, you're joking...you’re a carpenter?!" Then there were the men running multi-million-dollar furniture companies saying things like, "I've got my own Barbie with power tools," when referring to a spokesperson and licensing deal I inked in 2014.

Fast forward to 2018:

"Calm down, calm down," the fifty-year old professor said when I offered to help him promote his project.

The same man started (and continues to spread) defamatory, discriminatory nonsense after I stood up to him a year later. My refusal to allow him to take advantage of our team slapped a target on my back. At that point, in 2019, he simply whispered false accusations in the ears of other privileged executives around town. If you’ve seen Game of Thrones, then you know the “Little Finger” type. That’s him to a T.

Cut to 2021:

"Can you handle her?" was the question one man asked my supervisor when he found out I reported to her. Today, this same man continues to smear my name, discredit my work, and overstep like it's his job to do so.

Mind you, this only happened after I received a promotion in title only. He assumed I received additional compensation along with the title. Due to budget restrictions at the time, a monetary bump wasn’t possible, and I was more than okay with that. My guess is that he threw a fit because he’d hoped to slide over from an advisory position to a paid position and he saw my promotion as a threat to his plan.

Finally, in late 2023, when asking a team member to refrain from changing an important detail on our website, he defiantly ignored me. He didn’t simply make an error; he disregarded two female colleagues’ directives and (wrongly) did whatever he thought was best.

Why do they do this?
• Because they can.
• Because the system is set up this way.
• Because misogyny and discriminatory behavior is commonplace and allowed, even in 2024.

Especially in 2024, come to think of it.

I've learned that when you stand up for yourself, you become enemy number one.

So, what am I going to do?

I’m going to stand even taller and speak louder.

It’s clear, based sheerly on the rising number of cases that have gone to court in 2023, that women are experiencing discrimination at escalating rates. And more women are demanding justice.

Breaking the silence on misogyny is more important than ever. We can continue to ignore the noise and play nice or we can stand up in big ways—for ourselves, our fellow female colleagues, and generations to come.

Do you have a similar story? I’d love to hear it.