#MeToo in the Corporate World: Power, Privilege, and the Path Forward

A strong entry-level “but what now?” look at the #MeToo movement arrives from economist and consultant Hewlett. Making clear her personal stake in the issue of workplace harassment, Hewlett recounts how her early career was derailed when her boss’s boss groped and forcibly kissed her. She then takes readers through the #MeToo movement’s history, the available statistics on workplace harassment, and the financial impact on companies that harbor abusers. She has good news to report on #MeToo’s effect on industry; with the silence around harassment broken, norms are shifting. But the issue is far from resolved, she notes, as demonstrated by the stories of prominent “boomerang boys” who only endured temporary ostracism for their abusive actions. Setting out a full suite of possible responses, Hewlett tells plaintiffs to seek legal redress in court, rather than through arbitration, and advises corporate boards that zero-tolerance policies, though “not for the fainthearted,” are effective ways to carry out sweeping change. As such, it’s not immediately clear whether the primary intended audience for this otherwise well-explained guide consists of people who have suffered abuse or corporate board members trying to protect their bottom lines, but frustrated employees in need of ideas for actions to take will find some solid suggestions within. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Agency. (Jan.)