Popular in Law

Law

Diversity and Social Mobility in the UK legal profession

Law Society I. Stephanie Boyce

Internet Law

The Law of AI for Good

University of San Diego Orly Lobel

Human Rights Law

Transforming Restorative Justice for Transitional Settings

University of Nottingham Kerry Clamp

Law

Surrey’s Silence: Subpart F and the Swiss Subsidiary Tax that Never Was

Boston University Steven Dean

Criminal Law

Prosecuting Misdemeanors

American University Jenny Roberts

Human Rights Law

Siege Starvation: A War Crime of Societal Torture

Tufts University Tom Dannenbaum

Corporate Law

Data Valuation and Law

University of Southern California Jordan Barry

Digital feminism: In the aftermath of #MeToo, what’s next for workplace equality for women?

View more insights in Professional - Law - Human Rights Law

View more figures from Columbia University

View the page of Sharon Jayoung Song

Read the Study

Examining the influence of the #MeToo movement on workplace harassment, Sharon Jayoung Song delves into the effectiveness of digital feminism and its impact on women in vulnerable positions.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 15, 2023

Generating Workspace

Export as PDF

This video video discusses the global impact of the Me Too movement, which brought public attention to issues like sexual harassment and gender violence. It recounts the author's experience as a journalist witnessing women's protests worldwide in 2018, which highlighted a shared experience across diverse cultures regarding workplace harassment. The author investigates the effectiveness of the Me Too movement, particularly in terms of legal reforms addressing the needs of the most vulnerable victims: women in positions of authority and low-wage workers.

The research reveals that federal and state courts responded to the movement differently, with notable progress in places like California and New York, while federal laws remained lacking, often hindering protections for victims. The author emphasizes the need for a nationwide strategy to criminalize workplace sexual harassment and ensure consistent protections across all states.

The paper highlights the credibility of digital feminism and the necessity of further research on the relationship between gender violence and women's economic rights. It concludes that genuine change requires addressing the intersection of these issues to create survivor-centric legal solutions.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.105 --> 00:03.005
The Me Too movement, was truly a global phenomenon

00:03.005 --> 00:05.405
that brought the often private conversations

00:05.545 --> 00:07.045
of sexual harassment

00:07.145 --> 00:09.045
and gender violence into the public sphere.

00:09.785 --> 00:13.005
In the spring of 2018, I was a journalist in New York

00:13.225 --> 00:14.845
and I remember sitting in the newsroom

00:15.485 --> 00:17.245
watching the live feeds of women from

00:17.245 --> 00:20.205
what looked like all over the world, marching

00:20.345 --> 00:22.485
and holding up a sign with those two words.

00:23.065 --> 00:26.005
And I mean, I've seen protests and demonstrations before,

00:26.505 --> 00:27.925
but what struck out to me was

00:27.925 --> 00:30.205
that this was a personal experience

00:30.235 --> 00:32.085
that was clearly universal.

00:32.545 --> 00:36.085
It was resonating with women from any culture, geography,

00:36.645 --> 00:37.725
religion, politics.

00:37.905 --> 00:40.245
It had crossed racial and ethnic boundaries.

00:40.705 --> 00:42.405
And these women were all united

00:42.545 --> 00:45.485
to expose a disturbing reality that yes,

00:45.875 --> 00:47.765
workplace sexual harassment was happening,

00:47.825 --> 00:48.845
but more importantly,

00:48.875 --> 00:51.765
that there was a near global cultural acceptance

00:52.065 --> 00:56.125
of this behavior we saw at such a great scale in which it

00:56.205 --> 00:58.125
was being normalized and excused.

00:58.905 --> 01:01.845
And what was fascinating to me was

01:01.845 --> 01:04.005
that this cultural reckoning was happening

01:04.065 --> 01:05.285
all thanks to the internet.

01:05.705 --> 01:08.445
Uh, social media platforms really became a tool

01:08.585 --> 01:11.605
for democratizing feminist activism, a tool

01:11.605 --> 01:14.245
that wasn't available to prior feminist movements.

01:14.905 --> 01:19.085
The focus of my study was centered on a question that at

01:19.085 --> 01:21.085
that time was not widely covered by the news.

01:21.665 --> 01:24.285
Did the Me Too movement even make an impact

01:24.345 --> 01:26.405
for female workers most at risk

01:26.465 --> 01:28.165
of facing harassment in the workplace?

01:28.355 --> 01:32.005
Because I think with any social movement, no matter how big,

01:32.675 --> 01:35.085
it's only truly successful if it's most

01:35.085 --> 01:36.485
vulnerable victims see change.

01:37.065 --> 01:40.845
And years after that watershed moment, I wanted

01:40.845 --> 01:43.285
to track if the US both federal

01:43.425 --> 01:46.125
and state courts responded to this huge call

01:46.145 --> 01:47.165
to reduce sexism

01:47.385 --> 01:50.325
and whether those solutions specifically address the issues

01:50.395 --> 01:51.925
that targeted victims face.

01:52.975 --> 01:55.335
I had to first identify who these victims were,

01:55.635 --> 01:58.455
who are the groups that primarily make up the statistics

01:58.455 --> 02:00.015
of workplace sexual harassment

02:00.475 --> 02:02.855
and what are the factors that put them at greater risk than

02:02.855 --> 02:05.815
others so that we can then put this into legal writing

02:05.995 --> 02:08.015
to make sure that protections are in place.

02:08.595 --> 02:11.655
So my research came up with two main groups

02:11.755 --> 02:13.415
who may be more frequent targets than others,

02:13.755 --> 02:16.255
and that is women in positions of authority

02:16.755 --> 02:17.975
and also low wage workers.

02:18.815 --> 02:19.815
I realized quite quickly

02:19.965 --> 02:23.175
that these two main vulnerable groups offer contrasting

02:23.175 --> 02:24.535
theories of power, right?

02:24.655 --> 02:26.375
I mean, they are at the opposite ends

02:26.375 --> 02:27.455
of the economic spectrum.

02:28.235 --> 02:31.695
So then I wondered, is there a commonality here though,

02:31.835 --> 02:33.495
and is it an economic one?

02:34.075 --> 02:36.255
And there most certainly was a link.

02:36.355 --> 02:40.095
And these are both vulnerable groups who may lack access

02:40.115 --> 02:43.775
to economic rights to break it down for women in positions

02:43.775 --> 02:46.775
of power, not a strikingly obvious group as one

02:46.775 --> 02:50.375
that will lack access to economic rights at a first glance.

02:51.035 --> 02:53.335
But this group may experience higher rates

02:53.555 --> 02:56.655
of sexual harassment solely due to a lack in numbers.

02:57.235 --> 02:58.655
So they have high invisibility.

02:59.075 --> 03:02.045
There's just too few women at the top at executive roles,

03:02.655 --> 03:05.845
which is a result of women's economic oppression.

03:06.545 --> 03:09.005
So there are specific legal obligations

03:09.005 --> 03:10.045
to protect this group.

03:10.505 --> 03:11.805
And then on the other side

03:12.025 --> 03:13.805
of the spectrum are low wage workers.

03:14.295 --> 03:16.485
There are often frequent targets

03:16.485 --> 03:19.605
because they simply do not have power.

03:19.635 --> 03:21.085
They're seen as subordinate.

03:21.625 --> 03:23.605
Uh, there's just a lack of bargaining

03:23.625 --> 03:25.445
and legal protections for this group.

03:25.915 --> 03:29.885
They also may not be aware of the rights that they have due

03:29.885 --> 03:31.405
to their socioeconomic status.

03:31.515 --> 03:34.045
This group may wield more power as a collective,

03:34.065 --> 03:37.045
but they often sign it away through individual arbitration

03:37.105 --> 03:38.245
or NDA agreements.

03:38.625 --> 03:40.765
So because of these economic limitations,

03:40.765 --> 03:43.245
they're more vulnerable to this type of gender violence.

03:43.825 --> 03:45.965
Did federal and state courts measure up to the moment?

03:46.645 --> 03:49.805
I did find that Me Too was successful in compelling state

03:50.045 --> 03:51.725
interest in states like California

03:51.945 --> 03:55.565
and New York regions that were truly at the epicenter

03:55.565 --> 03:57.845
of me too, where they faced all this mounting

03:57.845 --> 03:59.165
public pressure for change.

03:59.785 --> 04:03.325
But I would say that Me Too did fall short in effectively

04:03.325 --> 04:05.445
targeting the two main groups at the federal level.

04:06.035 --> 04:08.525
This can be problematic since federal law

04:08.525 --> 04:09.765
preempts state law.

04:10.115 --> 04:14.085
What I found interesting is even if certain states gain all

04:14.085 --> 04:15.605
these significant legal grounds

04:15.625 --> 04:18.045
to address workplace sexual harassment,

04:18.675 --> 04:21.325
protections can't really be strengthened,

04:21.345 --> 04:24.125
for victims if federal laws remain outdated

04:24.425 --> 04:25.925
or worse, if they clash

04:26.395 --> 04:28.685
with the state's legislative efforts, which I found

04:28.685 --> 04:31.725
to be the case in some of the lawsuits in New York.

04:32.525 --> 04:35.285
I really do believe that there is a space

04:35.545 --> 04:37.845
and a need for a nationwide strategy

04:38.425 --> 04:40.165
and that Congress should do more

04:40.165 --> 04:42.885
to formally criminalize workplace sexual harassment.

04:43.465 --> 04:46.045
And that's not just to avoid the ambiguity

04:46.225 --> 04:49.565
and confusion since every state approaches the offense

04:49.805 --> 04:52.845
differently, but more so that protections are in place

04:52.905 --> 04:55.165
for all victims and not just for those

04:55.765 --> 04:57.605
conveniently living in states that do.

04:58.515 --> 05:01.125
What I've seen is that not all state and

05:01.145 --> 05:04.925
and local governments across the country have shown the same

05:04.975 --> 05:07.925
level of efforts to improve laws related

05:07.945 --> 05:09.205
to sexual harassment.

05:09.705 --> 05:11.245
And this wide disparity

05:11.275 --> 05:14.485
between individual states could leave certain populations

05:14.485 --> 05:16.925
without access to these effective laws.

05:17.465 --> 05:19.285
Uh, for instance, Mississippi

05:19.705 --> 05:22.605
and Alabama does not have any sexual harassment laws.

05:23.105 --> 05:24.885
So in this Post Me Too era,

05:25.275 --> 05:26.845
even though states like California

05:26.845 --> 05:30.325
and New York have really led the way in enforcing state law

05:30.565 --> 05:33.485
specific to me too, if there isn't more done at the federal

05:33.495 --> 05:35.805
level, I don't see how victims outside

05:35.805 --> 05:38.525
of those states can gain the protections that they need.

05:39.215 --> 05:40.835
The significance of my project was

05:40.835 --> 05:43.275
to talk about the credibility of digital feminism.

05:43.525 --> 05:46.555
There isn't a whole lot of scholarly work dedicated

05:46.555 --> 05:49.075
to me too and its impact on workplaces,

05:49.535 --> 05:51.675
but I think analyzing the aftermath

05:51.815 --> 05:53.715
of a movement like this is necessary

05:53.935 --> 05:56.715
to figure out whether this form of activism that is

05:56.715 --> 05:59.165
Born outta social media, can real changes

05:59.265 --> 06:01.365
and commitment come about from employers?

06:01.825 --> 06:03.605
Can it improve gender equality legally?

06:04.385 --> 06:06.925
Can it make a mark in the litigation landscape?

06:07.365 --> 06:10.325
I wanted to show a direct correlation that it can.

06:11.105 --> 06:14.885
In terms of future research, I think it's super important

06:14.905 --> 06:17.565
to examine the relationship between gender violence

06:18.225 --> 06:20.205
and the economic rights of women.

06:20.575 --> 06:22.845
These rights I consider to be human rights,

06:22.905 --> 06:25.285
and quite often they're seen as oppressions

06:25.285 --> 06:26.445
that are not connected.

06:26.955 --> 06:28.765
When without a doubt they are.

06:29.305 --> 06:32.845
And if legal changes are serious about coming up

06:32.915 --> 06:36.845
with a solution that is more survivor centric, catered

06:36.845 --> 06:39.245
to the needs of the victims, the intersection

06:39.345 --> 06:42.165
of these oppressions absolutely needs to be addressed.

00:00 - The Me Too movement, was truly a global phenomenon that brought the often private conversations of sexual harassment and gender violence into the public sphere. In the spring of 2018, I was a journalist in New York and I remember sitting in the newsroom

00:15 - watching the live feeds of women from what looked like all over the world, marching and holding up a sign with those two words. And I mean, I've seen protests and demonstrations before, but what struck out to me was that this was a personal experience that was clearly universal. It was resonating with women from any culture, geography, religion, politics. It had crossed racial and ethnic boundaries.

00:40 - And these women were all united to expose a disturbing reality that yes, workplace sexual harassment was happening, but more importantly, that there was a near global cultural acceptance of this behavior we saw at such a great scale in which it was being normalized and excused. And what was fascinating to me was that this cultural reckoning was happening all thanks to the internet.

01:05 - social media platforms really became a tool for democratizing feminist activism, a tool that wasn't available to prior feminist movements. The focus of my study was centered on a question that at that time was not widely covered by the news. Did the Me Too movement even make an impact for female workers most at risk of facing harassment in the workplace? Because I think with any social movement, no matter how big, it's only truly successful if it's most

01:35 - vulnerable victims see change. And years after that watershed moment, I wanted to track if the US both federal and state courts responded to this huge call to reduce sexism and whether those solutions specifically address the issues that targeted victims face. I had to first identify who these victims were, who are the groups that primarily make up the statistics of workplace sexual harassment

02:00 - and what are the factors that put them at greater risk than others so that we can then put this into legal writing to make sure that protections are in place. So my research came up with two main groups who may be more frequent targets than others, and that is women in positions of authority and also low wage workers. I realized quite quickly that these two main vulnerable groups offer contrasting theories of power, right?

02:24 - I mean, they are at the opposite ends of the economic spectrum. So then I wondered, is there a commonality here though, and is it an economic one? And there most certainly was a link. And these are both vulnerable groups who may lack access to economic rights to break it down for women in positions of power, not a strikingly obvious group as one that will lack access to economic rights at a first glance. But this group may experience higher rates

02:53 - of sexual harassment solely due to a lack in numbers. So they have high invisibility. There's just too few women at the top at executive roles, which is a result of women's economic oppression. So there are specific legal obligations to protect this group. And then on the other side of the spectrum are low wage workers. There are often frequent targets because they simply do not have power.

03:19 - They're seen as subordinate. there's just a lack of bargaining and legal protections for this group. They also may not be aware of the rights that they have due to their socioeconomic status. This group may wield more power as a collective, but they often sign it away through individual arbitration or NDA agreements. So because of these economic limitations, they're more vulnerable to this type of gender violence.

03:43 - Did federal and state courts measure up to the moment? I did find that Me Too was successful in compelling state interest in states like California and New York regions that were truly at the epicenter of me too, where they faced all this mounting public pressure for change. But I would say that Me Too did fall short in effectively targeting the two main groups at the federal level. This can be problematic since federal law preempts state law.

04:10 - What I found interesting is even if certain states gain all these significant legal grounds to address workplace sexual harassment, protections can't really be strengthened, for victims if federal laws remain outdated or worse, if they clash with the state's legislative efforts, which I found to be the case in some of the lawsuits in New York. I really do believe that there is a space and a need for a nationwide strategy

04:38 - and that Congress should do more to formally criminalize workplace sexual harassment. And that's not just to avoid the ambiguity and confusion since every state approaches the offense differently, but more so that protections are in place for all victims and not just for those conveniently living in states that do. What I've seen is that not all state and and local governments across the country have shown the same level of efforts to improve laws related

05:07 - to sexual harassment. And this wide disparity between individual states could leave certain populations without access to these effective laws. for instance, Mississippi and Alabama does not have any sexual harassment laws. So in this Post Me Too era, even though states like California and New York have really led the way in enforcing state law specific to me too, if there isn't more done at the federal

05:33 - level, I don't see how victims outside of those states can gain the protections that they need. The significance of my project was to talk about the credibility of digital feminism. There isn't a whole lot of scholarly work dedicated to me too and its impact on workplaces, but I think analyzing the aftermath of a movement like this is necessary to figure out whether this form of activism that is Born outta social media, can real changes

05:59 - and commitment come about from employers? Can it improve gender equality legally? Can it make a mark in the litigation landscape? I wanted to show a direct correlation that it can. In terms of future research, I think it's super important to examine the relationship between gender violence and the economic rights of women. These rights I consider to be human rights, and quite often they're seen as oppressions that are not connected.

06:26 - When without a doubt they are. And if legal changes are serious about coming up with a solution that is more survivor centric, catered to the needs of the victims, the intersection of these oppressions absolutely needs to be addressed.

Faculti AI can make mistakes