Author Joanne Lipman said the recent behavior reported by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo toward women feeds on institutional sexism and fuels the huge disparities in salary, promotion, and opportunity.
“When we marginalize them [women], we don’t value them as much, “Lipman told CNBC’s” The News with Shepard Smith. ” When we don’t value them so much, we don’t pay them or promote them so much, or give them tutoring, and everything feeds on this continuous institutional sexism that has really prevented us from making the moves we need to make from the #MeToo movement. ” .
Pressure is mounting for Cuomo to resign after a third woman accused him of unwanted advances.
Lipman, who wrote “This is what he said: what men should know (and women should tell them) about working together,” she told host Shepard Smith that while the actions of Cuomo might not have been physically abused, his “casual sexism” prevents equality for everyone.
“When you have guys like Cuomo, people in leadership positions, who talk about a really good game about equality for women and equality for people of color, but you have those actions that do it, it really diminishes the words they say. And it really hurts the cause of equality for all of us, “Lipman said.
The third woman to show up, Anna Ruch, said she met Cuomo at a wedding in 2019 where she put her hand on her lower back, put her hands on her cheeks and asked if he could kiss her, according to the New York Times. . Cuomo has not commented on the indictment.
The White House confirmed Tuesday that Ruch worked on the Biden campaign as an organizer in southwest Florida.
“I can certainly speak on behalf of the President and the Vice President, and let me reiterate that they both believe that all women who present themselves should be heard, should be treated with dignity and treated with respect,” Jen Psaki said. , White Press Secretary of the House.
Ruch did not work for Cuomo, but the other two women, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, are former aides who alleged sexual harassment. Cuomo directly denied Boylan’s claim. He also refuted Bennett’s allegations and said his words were “misinterpreted.”
Lipman explained that society now has a much more intense sense of awareness about what constitutes inappropriate behavior from the #MeToo movement and is therefore more likely to call it quits.
“I mean, in the three years since the #MeToo movement exploded, we know what the rules of the road are and it’s so infuriating for so many women to see this kind of behavior persist,” Lipman said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James opened an investigation into Cuomo on Monday as requests for her resignation have grown from her own party.
U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-Long Island, became the first Democrat to call for Cuomo to resign Monday night through Twitter. Six Democratic state legislators from the Senate and the New York State Assembly issued one statement Tuesday and called for Cuomo’s arrest.