Elevate #MeToo Voices Into A Sustained Chorus

Simply Speaking Up Is Not Enough. Long-Term And Action-Based Change Is Needed At Agencies. 

- Danielle Wiley

I was 26 years old and living in Toledo, Ohio. I had just landed my first big job, running two of the biggest accounts at an interactive agency. I was on my first business trip to visit one of these clients in North Carolina (a strategic planning session for an overhaul of its website), and I couldn’t have been more excited to share all of my thoughts and ideas.

The room was huge. The chairs were set up in a U-shaped formation. In attendance were about 25 men— and me. I sat across the “U” from our main client, the brand manager. Every time I opened my mouth, he would slowly and deliberately take a magazine out of his briefcase, open it up on his lap and pretend to read. As if this blatant dismissal of my ideas wasn’t enough, he also called my boss upon our return to Toledo to let him know he thought I was “uppity” and requested that I keep my mouth shut in future meetings.

This is just one of many stories like this in my career. And as many of us have known, but perhaps ignored or pushed down, all women have these stories. Both the #MeToo and the #TimesUp movements have done wonders to highlight ugly experiences and treatment.

While there is tremendous import to the sharing and amplification of our stories, if nothing changes, we have missed the mark. And while I encourage us all to keep speaking up, we need to also continue to remind the powers that be that speaking up is no longer enough.