Here is a powerful excerpt from an article today by Michelle Rempel (member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill) in an Op Ed in the Financial post. Finally someone has the courage to ask men to step up!.
“If you read my anecdotes and thought, “She probably was emotional,” or, “she’s too sensitive,” you need to change your thinking. If you’ve ever interviewed someone for a job and thought, “I’m pretty sure her uterus still functions, she might have a baby and take maternity leave, so I’m going pick the guy instead,” that’s your sexism to deal with, not hers.If you’ve ever held a woman back because you thought they were bossy, or aggressive, why is it her responsibility to tell you why that’s wrong?
If you’ve ever sung along to violent misogynistic lyrics, bought a girl a Barbie when they wanted the Meccano set, attributed a woman’s success to her sexual skills, cat-called a woman, assumed a pregnant woman wants her belly to be touched by you, stayed silent during a disgusting sexist joke, assumed your female partner was going to clean your house and make dinner because of traditional gender segregation of housework, stayed quiet while a friend is abusing a woman, or if you’ve abused a woman yourself, you’re the problem, not her.
Bottom line, I shouldn’t have to mentor the young women on my staff with tips and tricks to combat sexism.
If it’s truly 2016, sexism should be your problem to deal with, not simply ours.” Rempel asks men to stop being sexist