Why More Women Are Speaking Out About Sexual Harassment
September 21, 2017 Leave a comment

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These past few months have been rife with sexual harassment cases. In June, Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick was forced to resign after a former engineer shed light on the company’s sexist work culture. In July, founder and CEO of 500 Startups Dave McClure was also forced to step down following revelations of his sexual misconduct. As if that’s not bad enough, earlier this month, SoFi’s founder and CEO Mike Cagney also had to take a permanent leave of absence after several employees complained about his inappropriate workplace behavior.
All these recent cases of sexual harassment have Americans wondering: Why now? What’s changed?
What’s changed is that women have finally mustered the courage to speak out about these issues. As for why now, it turns out that coming forward about sexual harassment is a domino effect. Take Cecilia Pagkalinawan, for example.
For more than a decade, Cecilia Pagkalinawan stayed silent about her experience with sexual harassment. During the dotcom crash of 2001, Pagkalinawan was faced with a tough decision: Raise money for her startup or lay off 26 employees.
Scared of losing her business, she was undoubtedly excited when she finally managed to set up a meeting with a venture capitalist in New York City. However, things took a dark turn when she met with the investor at an upscale restaurant.
Upon arrival, Pagkalinawan discovered that the investor had already ordered a $5,000 bottle of wine. The man insisted that she drink with him, despite her own objections. Not wanting to be rude, she finally gave in. That’s when he started caressing her leg, attempting to kiss her, and telling her that he wanted to take care of her. She then excused herself, vomited in the bathroom, and then called a friend to pick her up.
Pagkalinawan told CNN Tech that she decided to come forward now because she was inspired by the recent string of brave women who have spoken up about their experience with sexual harassment. In other words, it’s not that women are overly sensitive or making these stories up; it’s that women finally feel like they can speak out about sexual misconduct without fear of losing their jobs.