Our Programme Director, Becky Holloway, joined the Battle of Ideas for a panel discussion on whether #MeToo killed the office romance.
The #MeToo movement was sparked following revelations about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s abusive behaviour. In response to the millions of tweets and messages shared by women (and men) experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, bosses in all areas of work have been pressured to do something to make the workplace safer. But how do we get to the core of the issues surrounding sexual harassment at work without making knee-jerk decisions that could widen the gender gap further? With one in five people meeting their romantic partner at work, what kind of effect could and/ or should these new protective policies have on relationships between men and women?
Calling for emotional intelligence, attention to nuance and peer-to-peer conversations among the genders, Becky reminds us all to re-read our copy of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.
Hosted by the Academy of Ideas (in association with The Barbican) the conversation was chaired by Ella Whelan, Journalist and author of What Women Want.
You can find the full debate below:
