#MeToo in Finance?

We’ve been wondering why there hasn’t been a MeToo reckoning for finance or biglaw. We've been assuming, frankly, that it was only a matter of time given the head-rolling that's occurred in tech and media. Admittedly, our first thought was, “Well...there have to women to harass." We shouldn’t be so flippant. The numbers are one issue; harassment is entirely another.

Thankfully, this week Bloomberg asked the same question, as did the New Yorker. The answer, in a nutshell, is (reported as) a combination of factors: (i) a prior industry cleanup (laughable); (ii) early sexual harassment training (hahaha, c’mon!), (iii) arbitration requirements that hush things up (sounds like part of it), (iv) the cost-benefit analysis, particularly as it relates to complaining about the very person who sets your comp (ding ding). This behavior happens, no doubt. And the bottom line is that women shouldn’t be put in a position where they even have to make the cost-benefit analysis of coming forward. Period. So, don’t do that.

P.S. Combining client meetings and the gym probably won't help promote inclusiveness.
P.S.S. Law firms like Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and Dechert LLP are showing efforts (here and here, respectively) to take workplace sexual misconduct more seriously.