Photo: AutoExpress
As Hollywood (and the movie industry in general) is embracing the #MeToo movement and its sibling #TimesUp, in a bid to end harassment at the workplace and promote equal pay, one of the few women in the automotive industry is speaking out against it.
Linda Jackson, the 59-year-old global chief executive for Citroen, has already distanced herself from extremist feminism, saying that glass ceilings won’t be broken down by alienating man. In a recent op-ed for the Daily Mail, she speaks against #MeToo and argues that feminism should be, before anything, about balance.
Having worked her way to the top of the food chain and made plenty of sacrifices (including a decision not to have children of her own), Jackson says that women labor under the false impression that they can really have it all. Extremist feminism has made them think that, just like it’s making them become paranoid with #MeToo.
Clearly, Jackson is the first to stand up against harassment, discrimination or inequality. Still, she believes #MeToo is creating a non-lucrative environment, where even the smallest gesture can be spun into something far greater and more serious.
This shouldn’t be the case.
“Campaigns like the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault have brought equality and empowerment to the forefront of the male-dominated motor industry, for which I work. But I believe that although it set out with laudable aims it is in danger of being overwhelmed by a minority who see slights, injustice and predatory behavior where none exists,” she says.
She’s not the only one to think so. Even in Hollywood, voices have been saying that #MeToo is leading to the creation of a new work environment, one where flirtation or even friendly gestures will no longer be allowed because they might be wrongfully interpreted as “harassment” or even “sexual assault.”
The way Jackson puts it, today’s feminists are telling women it’s ok to be “too precious” about everything. She, for one, wouldn’t mind fetching tea if she were mistaken for an assistant during an important meeting, because she knows it’s not important. What she would mind, though, is being appointed to a position she didn’t deserve only because some quota had to be filled.
“So this, for me, is what feminism is really about: helping to create a work-life balance and a professional environment in which women (and, of course men, too) can prosper,” she writes. “As for #MeToo, I fear if we’re side-tracked by petty or inconsequential campaigns; if we get too strident or self-righteous, it will be counterproductive.”
Having worked her way to the top of the food chain and made plenty of sacrifices (including a decision not to have children of her own), Jackson says that women labor under the false impression that they can really have it all. Extremist feminism has made them think that, just like it’s making them become paranoid with #MeToo.
Clearly, Jackson is the first to stand up against harassment, discrimination or inequality. Still, she believes #MeToo is creating a non-lucrative environment, where even the smallest gesture can be spun into something far greater and more serious.
This shouldn’t be the case.
“Campaigns like the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault have brought equality and empowerment to the forefront of the male-dominated motor industry, for which I work. But I believe that although it set out with laudable aims it is in danger of being overwhelmed by a minority who see slights, injustice and predatory behavior where none exists,” she says.
She’s not the only one to think so. Even in Hollywood, voices have been saying that #MeToo is leading to the creation of a new work environment, one where flirtation or even friendly gestures will no longer be allowed because they might be wrongfully interpreted as “harassment” or even “sexual assault.”
The way Jackson puts it, today’s feminists are telling women it’s ok to be “too precious” about everything. She, for one, wouldn’t mind fetching tea if she were mistaken for an assistant during an important meeting, because she knows it’s not important. What she would mind, though, is being appointed to a position she didn’t deserve only because some quota had to be filled.
“So this, for me, is what feminism is really about: helping to create a work-life balance and a professional environment in which women (and, of course men, too) can prosper,” she writes. “As for #MeToo, I fear if we’re side-tracked by petty or inconsequential campaigns; if we get too strident or self-righteous, it will be counterproductive.”
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