Guess, Women of Crypto, Medicine's #MeToo: Broadsheet Feb. 21

• Medicine says Me Too. As the #MeToo movement continues to make it’s way through society, it’s interesting to see which industries are in the line of fire, and which, despite their own serious sexual harassment problems, seem immune—at least for now.

Entertainment, journalism, and politics (with some extremely notable exceptions—see the Washington Post story below) have felt the impact of the women who have come forward to tell their stories, felling many powerful men in the process. But where are the whistleblowers of corporate America, big law, or medicine?

This NBC News investigations digs into the latter, talking to nearly a dozen women in medicine who describe “widespread misconduct in hospitals and other health care settings, deeply woven into the fabric of their workplaces even as they made life-or-death decisions for their patients.” The story also a cites a 2014 survey that found that about 30% of women in the field have experienced sexual harassment.

So, what accounts for the prevalence of misconduct in medicine—and for the delay in those stories coming out? For one, female physicians, and especially surgeons, remain significantly outnumbered by their male counterparts (though they may soon turn the tables: women now account for the majority of first-year medical school students). Medicine is also notoriously hierarchical, putting residents and nurses in a particularly vulnerable position. That power differential can also make it incredibly challenging for women to report their experiences.

These issues are deep-seated, and improving the situation will require significant structural change. Yet the first step is coming forward, as the brave women in this story have done. Let’s hope we hear more from the world of medicine—and that it gets the #MeToo moment it clearly needs.
NBC News

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