Electronic Technician
by JEN FISCHER
Electronic Technician was the next job title in the sequence of promotions that I needed to work my way up the ladder at a local television station. I wanted the job, I was next in line for it, and I was qualified. I was also competing. One of seven applicants. I was the only female. When I was informed that I had the position, I assumed it was because I was the best person for the position. I may never know.
Bill O'Reilly, Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin; all men in positions of power; all men accused of sexual misconduct; #metoo, ad nauseam.
We post #metoo for a couple of days on Facebook and Instagram. We feel compelled to listen while one more and then one more apologizes or admits or accuses or blames. And then what? And then nothing. That's all. It continues. More people are reporting it, but it is not stopping. In Utah, our pretty great state, abuse of power in this form in the workplace, shows up in spades.
It is time to shift the conversation. As the carnage continues to pile up, we have to ask the hard questions; what is next? More and more women in Utah are engaged in full-time employment than ever before. Perhaps if we can see a more evenly stacked deck regarding powerful positions in the workplace, we can begin to really affect change. The cost of moving up the corporate ladder should be the same across the board.
Following my first day in my new position, I found myself at home, in the bathroom, in a fetal position, crying. This first day, I had been sent a dozen roses, propositioned, talked dirty to, asked out, and groped...all by my boss. The next day, I walked in and reported him. He was barred from any further communication with me, but that's all. We worked in the same studio. We saw each other every day. Eventually, it just became too uncomfortable, and I quit. This was many years ago. He should have been fired. If that had happened today, he would have been. I would have made sure of it. And then I would have done the real work to replace him. Not the kind of work “he” required. This is how we stop it.
