This kind of behavior is not the sole province of white men. I have worked for women who told their female employees that they should just get better babysitters never once considering that a new mother might want to be home at night to see her child.
8
Get 'im, Liz.
5
I'm no fan of Bloomberg, but this piece has little to support it's premise of his antipathy toward pregnant women. Just a lot of historical context having nothing to do with Bloomberg. The NYT should know better than to print something of such little substance.
38
The word "misogyny" is ridiculously overused. It should mean serial rapists or killers with real hatred of women. Bloomberg, who has two daughters and a long-term companion, does not hate women.
25
I think Bloomberg supporters need to drop the pretense and just vote for Trump. They love racist, misogynist, authoritarian billionaires. They already have one. Just leave us Democrats alone and vote for him.
5
Allowing a comment section for this article is like inviting Bloomberg’s army of paid supporters into your living room.
5
oh great - finally put up a billionaire with a chance of taking down the impostor in chief who seems set to destroy the world as we know it
so we can take him down for not liking his mother ?
hmmm ...
8
Gosh, maybe him and Bernie can have a contest. Sanders can submit his theories on how “women want to be gang raped.” I’ll take Bloomberg’s version any day.
7
The #Metoo movement is determined to get Trump re-elected. Its so sickening. What have they accomplished? Taking down Al Franken? Maybe Harvey Weinstein is a creep, but so are the women that had relationships with him to further their own careers. Birds of a feather. Michael Bloomberg is a good and decent man. He came by his success the old fashioned way, by earning it. He was a fantastic mayor of New York. Elizabeth Warren was way out of line in that debate. Obviously, she is a nut! Political Correctness is an intellectual fraud. #Metoo please shut up!
16
As a professional woman from the seventies through nineties, I saw men including my own relatives change their misogynistic thinking and joking commentary as their awareness of women's workplace issues and laws evolved. I experienced my own battles with shameful workplace behavior, but during those same years good, decent men mentored my career and helped me over big hurdles. Male-female power struggles will never cease but they will keep evolving along with the societies from which they spring. Meanwhile, the media fan the flames of every little bit of any controversy they can make into a twit --- while the far more critical issues of saving our planet and democracy are smothered.To reset this nation on a new democratic course requires a trustworthy leader who already has political power with deep enough pockets to fend off powerful vested interests and no fear of Trump., McConnell or Barr. Who do you choose?
19
The average age of an adult US male is 76.4. Bernie Sanders is is 78 and he had a heart attack 6 months ago. Good luck with that.
3
Oh, please. Hatred of mothers in a society that is mother-worshipping from top to bottom, one where the very definition of what's sacred is "Mom and apple pie"? The rancorous columnist cites only fictional and anecdotal evidence, and her "examples" are weak even for fiction and anecdote. Trying to equate Bloomberg with the Marquis de Sade is just as crazy, in a different vein, as was Sade himself. And when you get right down to it, what evidence does she have that we basically hate mothers? Oh, yes, a letter to the editor in the British tabloid the Daily Mail. Then she trots out Freudian psychology but in the same breath has to admit that the whole Freudian thing is "a bit passé now." It's more than "a bit" passé”; it's pretty much thoroughly discredited. The rest of her "argument" consists of evidence-free assertion and generalization.
Get serious, please. Americans hate motherhood about as much as they hate football.
18
Mike was good to his Mom!
2
Misogyny is such an overused word today. Particularly by misandrists.
4
It is getting monotonous listening and reading articles written by people who are no more legally informed than we, what we have in this article can be construed as "hearsay, he said, she said." therefore the word "alleged" need be applied. I had two simultaneous careers, one with Health and the other with the Justice Department, both having a large population of powerful men, and I have lived what today's woman would see as "sexual harassment, assault" but as a woman, I also learned how to deal with these situations, knew the times I lived in, grew up in a blue-collar family, and realized I the woman had power also, I was single I had to support myself and still do, and I still have the Power, so no #Metoo movement could give me the independence and strength that I have today, I have never had anything come easy to me, but I also see Mr. Bloomberg as a man who has changed. Elizabeth you come back in 20years and tell me your views are stillborn and I will say you have not lived a full life, everyone including Mr. Bloomberg evolves, I have! life experience, loss, the struggle is what defines us all, Every person who supports another candidate will certainly want to tear down any of the others, is it righteous? is it powerful, without the facts what do you have, destructive gossip, let me tell you about destructive gossip when I first started in the Emerg, 50yrs ago, a lady came in who had shot half her face off, therefore, she could not speak or see, later asked why? GOSSIP!
9
John Stuart Mill wrote in praise of feminism back in the 19th century. I’m getting tired of the excuse that it was a different time and place and men used to behave differently. Only the male chauvinist pigs behaved like that. Remember that term? It was coined before I was born.
2
Compared to Trump? Seriously?
8
The author of this column is married a person who is very strident in his support for Bernie Sanders. I recognize that this is an opinion column and the author is certainly entitled to hers, but under the circumstances, I do think this is useful information for readers.
11
Just as soon as every poster employed by Bloomberg reveals their connection to his campaign.
5
Bloomberg's maneuvering to subdue democratic principles and push the New York City Council to drop the two term mayoral limit for New York Mayor so that he could run for a third term, than at the end of his third term agree that there should be a two term limit, is what disqualifies him in my eyes.
3
I took your advice and read most of the complaint. Before reading it I was prepared to look past a few off color remarks considering how attitudes have changed so much in the last thirty years. However, the complaints reveal a deep seated flaw that cannot be overlooked or tolerated in a presidential candidate.
3
As a senior who hasn't worked in ten years, I think times have changed. Whatever Bloomberg is guilty of, I am sure many others were just as guilty of at that time. Doesn't make it right or nice, but it did happen. I am willing to move on to vote for someone who has apologized and has changed how his company is run (no NDAs) and who I think is capable of running the country. Not entirely sure he will get my vote on Super Tuesday, but he is at the top of my choices. Time to move on folks. Otherwise we will be like Bernie whose beliefs seem to be stuck in a time warp.
9
I'd vote for Mr. Bloomberg if nominated. I'm a native Manhattanite and never voted for him but did view him as competent. That said, the pro-Bloomberg posts seem to be assuming 1) there's any chance he's anything but a Biden spoiler and/or 2) he's s good bet against Trump. I don't see any evidence of either. It's possible that will change, but as things stand now, if I had to pick a moderate, it would be Biden.
That said, I'm pro-Bernie and am enjoying the delicious irony that two billionaires may give us a Democratic Socialist president.
4
This is a hit piece plain and simple. Bloomberg has made many comments that he should not have made at the time and that sound horrible now - but he has also appointed many women to positions of control in his organizations (all the leaders of his charities are women) and his business offers PAID FAMILY LEAVE of 3-6 MONTHS (for mothers or fathers). How many companies provide this? (The legal requirement is 12 weeks of UNPAID LEAVE.) This is an existential election; if Trump is re-elected and the Republicans stay in power, then there is a good chance we will not have ANY (fair) elections in the future. Stop this kind of MeToo character assassination.
19
It's been very revealing how many people who probably think of themselves as "good liberals" would dismiss racism and misogyny from their preferred candidate (who also happens to be an authoritarian oligarch, but that's another conversation).
How easily the mask slips off.
Newsflash: Women and (especially) nonwhite voters are the key to Democratic electoral success.
No matter, though. Bloomberg's polls are sinking like a stone, he will win zero states on Super Tuesday, and will slink off soon thereafter.
4
Voting for the Democratic nominee no matter who. And then will continue to fight for my progressive issues.
3
What a perfectly fitting epitaph for the Democratic Party if the one candidate who could stop Trump and achieve some Democratic goals as president went down because that candidate was rejected as un-woke.
12
Being a racist, misogynist, authoritarian corrupt billionaire is not equivalent to being merely “un-woke.” If that’s what you’re looking for in a president save us all the arguing and just vote for Trump.
1
This article reads like a pre-existing piece that the author grafted Bloomberg's name to. The comments he's made that I'm aware of any dates for were made at least 30 years ago. He's done tons to support women in public life, which should also count as evidence of whether he helps or hinders women. The worst thing he's done to women as far as I know was capitulating to the women-led extreme 'breast is best' campaigns that convinced him to keep baby formula locked up in hospitals in NYC.
5
Maybe a 78 year old man shouldn't have grown up indoctrinated with the "norms" of the era(s) during which he grew up. Some guys - maybe many, many guys - managed to somehow escape those expectations. Then again, maybe he had "no choice" - whatever that means - for whatever reasons. So maybe he truly didn't know better. But honestly, (I'm 70 years old now) relatively few of the at least hundreds of males I've known relatively well in my lifetime actually DID know better. Maybe he knows better now. Maybe people learn. Maybe there is actually not ONE single lifetime
of perfection lived candidate for ANY elective office. So let's find as many ways as possible to tar them all, so that the least competent, least learned, least worthy person on the planet can continue to besmirch the Oval Office. I get the concerns, totally. But I also get the big picture.
11
Maybe Mama Bloomberg was a terrible teacher. My mother taught me not to make terrible vulgar jokes while at work. She also taught me not to insult women.
1
You really have to take the time and the setting into consideration. Times have changed — Bloomberg has no doubt changed. I spent my professional career on the trading floor of an investment bank. Some of our jokes were really, really bad. The same jokes wouldn’t be told today (maybe) but back then it was okay — they signaled you were a man’s man, one of the club, a bro. My wife works at a law firm, and here in CA that means maternity leave plus sick leave can mean a worker is out for the better part of the year. At first, I was appalled (and I’m a liberal Democrat!) — but after getting used to it, it seems right. Bottom line, if I can make these leaps, Mike can too. He’s been attacked for everything under the sun, but let’s recall Obama and how he was against gay marriage — until he wasn’t. And let’s also recall that Bloomberg was elected THREE times. To me, that says he did a lot right.
14
I am a retired 70 year old woman. I spent my entire career surrounded by some men who said stupid and/or offensive things. Some of these men were jerks. But some were actually very capable managers and were good at what they did. Their dumb jokes never impeded their careers. Hearing these dumb jokes never impeded my career. I always felt I was treated fairly. So I don’t care what Bloomberg said. He made dumb jokes. Big woo. No one ever accused him of inappropriate touching which is where I draw the line. If he can beat Trump I’ll vote for him.
166
@Queenie "I was not insulted by misogyny in the workplace therefore no woman should be."
24
@Queenie Congratulations on having a thick hide. Ignoring their behavior didn't benefit you or any other woman - it made them think that behavior was fine.
44
Bloomberg is a Trump with better manners..... If he buys his way to the Dem nomination, young folks will abstain from voting and Trump will get reelected.....
This article main subject is the specific misogyny against mothers. Its excellent and so perceptive....
4
Bloomberg is everything Trump isn’t: a self-made billionaire, a leader, educated, thoughtful, cultured, a beloved New Yorker, a politician, a liberal. Yeah, he’s rich — why hold it against him!? He’s smart enough to see the damage done to our country by Trump and the spineless Republicans, and he’s all in to try to fix it. That means he’s also a patriot — something Trump will never be.
5
This piece tries much too hard to disqualify Michael Bloomberg from running for president, straining to use false equivalency to liken Bloomberg to Donald Trump. Let us keep in mind that Bloomberg was from a generation which, particularly on Wall Street, was used to the bad old days for women, and that environment changed to the good of everyone.
If Michael Bloomberg said the things now attributed to him, he was wrong and has apologized. Given how he has conducted himself in more recent years and his extraordinary charitable donations and work for needy people of all colors and both genders, that is the man who should be under consideration.
Contrast Bloomberg, who is not charged with ever laying a hand on a woman inappropriately, with Donald Trump, who has demonstrated during his entire life up to the present, that – on the one hand -- he hates women and demeans them, but – on the other – he aggressively acts out his lust for younger women. Moreover, Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly stripped women of any dominion over their bodies regarding reproductive healthcare.
Elizabeth Breunig is flying a false flag. She, much like Elizabeth Warren, attacks Mike Bloomberg to replace him with another candidate with no hope of beating Donald Trump.
12
Is this a criticism of Bloomberg or a literature review?
4
Unbelievable that Democrats would consider replacing Donald Trump with someone just like him, only richer.
5
I was infuriated and disgusted to hear Elizabeth Warren self-righteously screeching about the "kill it" thing.
I had heard the story before. But it was an unproven he-said-she-said then, and it's an unproven he-said-she-said now.
And sometimes, you Just Don't Go There.
Her attack struck me as nothing more than desperate, craven pandering. Totally obvious.
I never liked her anyways for this very reason - she's a shrill, strident scold.
But after this stunt, no EW for me. NO.
If she becomes the nominee, which I seriously doubt, I will need a titanium nose clip to vote for her.
18
I voted for Clinton...twice. I was not so naive as to believe he "did not have sex with that woman"...or any woman before her. But I had faith he would be a very good President and that was the only thing that mattered to me. This new mystical belief that I'm only going to do business with you, or vote for you, if you share all my values is ridiculous and the road to..at best...mediocrity. Is that what we want? To be a mediocre country to satisfy our never-satisfied self-righteousness? We now have Trump and I am sick of people, especially the Dems, criticizing him. Did they get jobs during his Presidency after being unemployed? Do they have more money today than 3 years ago? Or are they the only people in the entire country who are still unemployed? If I decide not to vote for Trump...I will vote for Bloomberg if he's nominated. I only care that he'll be a good President...and I believe he will.
9
Obama created more jobs than Trump. It’s just that Trump and Fox news want you to believe otherwise.
Wages have not risen appreciably, either.
No, I am not better off under Trump. Where’s the better/cheaper healthcare? Where’s our new infrastructure?
All we’ve gotten with Trump are lies and corruption.
4
Talk about over-analysis! Bloomberg sounds like he was just annoyed that one of his resources was going to be less available-- selfish but not illogical.
At least we know he's committed to pro-choice.
5
I read the complaint you provided a link to that was filed in the Southern District of New York by a Bloomberg employee, Sekiko Sakai Garrison -- a women of Japanese descent. You win Elizabeth. As much as I thought Mike Bloomberg was a potential savior to the Democrats and the person to beat Trump -- I now think otherwise. I read a good part of the complaint you provided the link to. I finally got to a point where I had read enough. I encourage every person commenting here to read it and make your own decision. There is a link to the PDF of the complaint in Bruenig's article..
But also, here is the link:
https://context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/147d68ac-ec77-493d-9de9-92b47e214f05/note/fd46d6a6-8734-4671-8dbc-edd5f5b93a35.pdf
I think after you read it, you may change your mind about Mr. Bloomberg. This is really bad stuff. Not sure who to vote for now. I guess I am back to Biden because I do not trust Sanders either. I am going to send the PDF to as many people as I know. This poor woman who made the complaint was treated like dog feces. And there are others, included in the complaint, notably, one who managed Bloomberg's biggest account who went on maternity leave. When she got back the account had been taken away from her and she was taken off the sales force and put in an employee training program. But there is a lot of really offensive stuff that is much worse. Not the Bloomberg we think we know. Lots of very bad language also.
71
@DickN Why isn't Elizabeth Warren on your list?
14
@DickN Wow, thanks for posting that.
6
@DickN
Not sure who to vote for because none of the men please you now ? Uh, how about the radical thought of voting for a woman ?
20
Setting aside thr story, will some Times editors please send a link to all their writers to the definition of the word "misogyny"? Misogyny is a hatred -- hatred-- of women. It has bee n warped, as with so many words -- like "racism" -- into meaning a man who says something that a woman perceives a derogatory.
Its ok that Times writers aren't educated on language, but its not ok when the editors are as ill-informed.
PS -- by current standards, half of the Times op-ed writers are racists, and more than half of the females are misandrists (look it up, editors)
10
Read up on Bloomberg’s actual history with women and you won’t have any problem using the word “misogynist.” It was invented for people like him.
2
It is quite incriminating that many of the comments in praise of Bloomberg sound exactly like the comments in praise of Brett Kavanaugh!
Remember how Kavanaugh was so great to his female clerks! Remember how Kavanaugh's female clerks all got up to praise his wonderful treatment of women? I do. And I remember the same kind of comments defending Kavanaugh right here.
Let's all agree that everyone who believes Kavanaugh did nothing wrong should vote for Bloomberg. The rest of us should vote for someone who doesn't have a history of repulsive treatment of the OTHER women who did not matter to them.
5
Shock is the only word to describe reading the casual banter of the clueless, bigoted, demeaning, lascivious men in Ms. Garrison's ironclad lawsuit.
Bloomberg comes across as one gigantic rotten to the core "Big Apple." No amount of money can buy one class or morals. And, it's a real shame, since he brings a much needed voice of common sense to the proceedings.
Deer in the headlights moment for sure … still …. I'm voting democratic in 2020. No. Matter. What.
5
This note may provide the author some idea of the general reaction toward such a nasty view of Mayor Bloomberg.
During the prior two debates, Senator Warren viciously attacked the Mayor with choice bits of description designed to undermine his candidacy. She was praised by many. Unfortunately for her, in the most recent polling of the South Carolina primary, she dropped EIGHT POINTS. All the other candidates went up in their percentages, no doubt based upon Senator Warren's deserving flop.
I will hazard to guess that most people realize that a billionaire who runs a 40,000 person company for decades and then is Mayor of the largest city in the country for 12 years will no doubt attract lawsuit attention, perhaps based upon a NYC wisecrack or two, perhaps also based upon his wealth that could, just could, encourage an attorney to take an employment law case on contingency.
Also, those of us who have worked in sizable companies know how such claims fly around, now and then (I had two lesbians going at each other in my group), and so picking out three against Mayor Bloomberg, as his assailants seem to have done without mentioning ONE GOOD THING that he's done in revolutionizing access to financial information or governing a challenging entity over so many years gives one the idea that the intention of his assailants was jaundiced from the get-go.
Why even listen to such tripe except to draw a negative conclusion about the accuser, first Senator Warren and now Ms. Bruenig?
5
I don't care, Ms. Bruenig.
I don't care enough about Bloomberg's alleged misogyny to eliminate him - THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT TRUMP - from the field on that basis.
I don't care enough about Bloomberg's alleged racism vis a vis stop and frisk to eliminate him - THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT TRUMP - from the field on that basis.
Bloomberg is almost 80 years old. We can be certain, therefore, that he has held views and made statements over his lifetime that don't hold up today's standards on gender, race, and any number of hot social issues. Surely, if we dug deep enough, this would hold true for every single other Dem candidate, including Buttigieg.
Super Tuesday is going to decide if Trump gets another four years. All that matters is who can beat Trump. The ONLY thing that matters about these candidates is that. I am certain only Bloomberg can do so.
The time to preen our moral feathers by being Properly Publicly Outraged is over. Our Republic is at stake.
13
As a woman, it makes me cringe reading some of the comments Mr. Bloomberg has made in the past but now that I am a mother, I am ready to forgive him because the safety of my child in school is more important than someone passing lewd comment to a woman 30 years ago. Guns kills, misogynistic comments made three decades ago do not. Bloomberg's advocacy on gun safety is why I will vote for him. The safety of our children is of utmost important to me in this gun obsessed country we live in.
10
During my entire working life I have had to deal with misogynistic attitudes from males who were less qualified then me. We are going to have to accept the fact that working women got a raw deal (as with stay-at-home women). GET OVER IT. Focus on changing the future. Let’s start with trump.
7
Thanks for writing this. How hideous! I'm voting for Elizabeth Warren. I lost my job as a corporate advertising and public relations director in 1988 because I was a single mom who had to leave on time every day to pick up my baby from daycare.
3
Yes, all politics is identity politics, left and right, but liberals practice it in a way that hurts liberals. This un-serious essay couldn't be a better example of this self-defeating impulse.
Here we are staring into the abyss of another four years of Trump. Some how Bloomberg, by far the best situated candidate to help us avoid that calamity, is disqualified on the basis of some un-woke remarks he made about women in business getting pregnant.
God help us all.
Again, Democrats: politics is not about feeling good about yourself. It is about winning elections to wield legislative power to do good.
7
I chose not to have children. We couldn't afford to have one parent stay home with the children which was the way I was raised. I didn't have what it took to work and raise children. I wouldn't have been a good mother, and I feel like you don't have kids if you can't do right by them.
I resent when women or men want to have children and work, but expect the rest of us to give them concessions to do so. If you can't raise your children and do your job, then don't have children or manage your job choices better. Your choices are not my problem.
I think it's a blight on our society that families can't survive with only one person working. A lot of companies have draconian workplace practices like not providing workers with a consistent schedule. This should be fixed. However, parents shouldn't be allowed to play by different rules from the rest of the employees.
6
@Jane Smith that's a very Republican mindset: if it doesn't benefit me personally, I don't care about it or support it. I hear people complain about having to pay taxes for education because they don't have kids.
Having decent policies in place for parents and families benefits our society as a whole. As a member of this society, I want to see government and corporate policies in place that are good and humane for everyone, not just for me.
6
Ever since Bloomberg entered the race, I have constantly been amazed at the similarities between his supporters and voters who four years ago were the objects of meme mockery for their obstinate ignorance in giving a pass to like behaviors from Donald Trump. I refuse to believe that the only options we have as Americans are oligarchs with ruthless scorched earth "get it done" mentalities who treat women and minorities with contempt. How can we pretend to hold ourselves to higher standards when we have such a low moral threshold for our leaders? While Mayor Bloomberg is clearly more intelligent than Donald Trump, that doesn't mean that he would be any less dangerous.
4
Until we have have full parental leave for all sexes/genders, rather than "maternity leave," we won't remove the disadvantage and stigma from women who invest in their children.
2
Other media sources have reported on the Bloomberg campaign hiring lots of people to post positive things about Bloomberg.
This comments section is overwhelmed with over the top raves of Bloomberg that simply don't ring true. White people insisting that stop and frisk was already put to rest because "Bloomberg realized his mistake". Claims that all companies are led by men who force their female employees to hear inappropriate comments and nasty jokes that only the CEO thinks are funny so what's the big deal if Bloomberg had to silence so many of his female employees with NDAs?
Money can buy a lot but it is disgusting to see people selling their integrity to praise a billionaire who has done some good things but also some bad ones and the over the top anointing of Bloomberg as the most "generous" man for giving a tiny fraction of his billions away is getting a bit tiresome. There are middle class Americans and very poor Americans who give a far larger percentage of their income to good causes and they have a lot less left than Bloomberg does after he donates.
5
Thank you! My sentiments exactly! I’m sick of the Bloomberg gaslighting. We get enough of that from Trump.
1
There are so many reasons I won't vote for Bloomberg I didn't really need this one. But otherwise the essay is a good case for voting for a woman president and a successful working mother who also "got things done." How about it, sisters? Can we stand together just this once?
2
It is surprising that Elizabeth Warren is so concerned and bothered with Michael Bloomberg’s comment about the “kill it” episode to his female employee. She has never before been upset by abortion and is one of the most pro choice presidential candidates running today. Has she had a change of heart. I highly doubt it.
3
@KMW
Look up the meaning of "choice".
The OPPOSITE of being pro-choice is demanding that billionaire white men tell women what they are allowed to do and think.
Only a white Bloomberg/Trump supporter would think that what women who are pro-choice really want is powerful white men telling them when they can have a baby and when they must "kill it".
For shame. What an ugly statement about what Bloomberg supporters really want for this country.
This post is exactly what Bloomberg's values are.
1
@KMW is an enthusiastic Trump supporter and Catholic anti-abortionist.
Choice is choice. Nobody should be allowed to force a woman to terminate her pregnancy and nobody should be allowed to force a woman to carry her pregnancy to term. It’s that simple, KMW. Personal freedom. Neither Bloomberg nor the Pope has a right to tell women what to do with their bodies.
1
A Daily Mail quote???
I thought the NYT was better than publishing pieces such as this with poor context and no research on the actual MB tie in......
4
Nice try at a hatchet job. At least you used the term "alleged." Pure hit piece.
11
When I told my graduate school dean and colleagues that we were expecting a child he mocked me and the notion in front of everyone, saying "Why on Earth would you two decide to have a baby NOW?" Then shock his head in disgust. I just passed it off as the babbling of a guy I never respected, a dweeb who knew a little about books and very little about life and joy and happiness. In hindsight, I realize his intent, while ill-timed amid an irreversible situation, was to remind me of my youthful freedom. He later apologized and told me "Having kids stopped everything--travel, freedom, even romance. Sorry I came across so harsh." Bloomberg is wise to apologize and learn from his mistakes. But don't see him as declaring war on mothers--his mother, a widow, spawned his success by example.
9
The biggest problem socialists have with Bloomberg is that he’s not a socialist. The level of fury in the denial of what I’m about to say will be enormous, but if Bloomberg shared Sanders’s politics, his loathsome remarks would be far less discussed.
If you had a camera on you all your life, I promise that we could find things you’d said that would shock even you. And you’d think, “Did I really say that? That’s not who I am.” But neither who we think we are, nor who we portray ourselves to be in front of the world, is who we “really” are. Human life remains extremely complex; it ever will be. And it is inevitable that good people—over the course of a lifetime—will speak and act in horrifying ways. We all know it’s true.
If I could find cases of Sanders saying the exact things Bloomberg said, does anyone imagine his support would greatly decline? Warren says he told her that a woman can’t—or couldn’t—win the presidency. Now, if Bloomberg had supposedly said that, such remarks would be listed in this column among his other supposed verbal sins.
What about Emma and Georgina, do they believe their father is a misogynist? But, then, does Ivanka? Perhaps he is, or was. Perhaps the culture has changed, which it certainly has, though even the “Mad Men” years were a paradise for women compared to their role in most Arab societies TODAY—saying this, however, is seen as irrelevant. It isn’t. Perspective matters.
But if immolating Bloomberg makes you feel better, the horde will help.
3
@David L, Jr.
OMG, if Ivanka Trump, the great pal of the Bloomberg daughter, says her dad is wonderful for women, we are supposed to believe it?
I guess what Bloomberg supporters claim is that billionaire white men and their favorite daughters should be telling the rest of us what to think.
I will be happy when the woke generation grows up. Calling Michael Bloomberg a misogynist is way, way over the top considering his record on women's issues and all of the female executives - inside and outside of government - that he has promoted and mentored. And if someone says, in response to your impending wedding, "are you pregnant?" - it's a joke, even if its not funny - and there's a big difference between "not funny" and misogyny.
161
@SR
That is EXACTLY what people said about Brett Kavanaugh!! He had so many female clerks!
23
@RJ Yes maybe he's a very nasty person who is an equal opportunity creep. If he victimized some women and not others I don't think that let's him off the hook for bad behavior.
9
@SR Amen! The mere suggestion that any of us who are not millennial’s have no compassion or not aware of the challenges of all those who are not white, privilege males is the most obnoxious form of elitism. It also seems completely fine to say horrific things about white men’s looks all the time online… Note how they pick on Trump. I’m far from a fan of his, but if it’s OK to call him all the horrific things he’s called… Does it make it worse if you say that about a lesbian?
I am sure that Bloomberg can buy enough voices to get a good message out. It won't help him though, because he has far more issue than just being a misogynist. People don't really change much when they are convinced of their own infallibility.
People are likely not to want a New York billionaire as president, unless they are republicans. He ran in the wrong party. If he really wanted to beat Trump he would have primaried him. His real mission is to stop Bernie. That is why he is running as a democrat. First he gains some democratic support then when Bernie gets the nomination he runs as an independent for President. Guaranteeing Trumps re-election.
1
People can and do change. Where, how and when depends on the person, the times and their unique motivations to do so. I think Bloomberg's comments and racist policies demonstrate an utter failure to humanize those who look differently than him.
That being said, I am open to a Bloomberg presidency, conditionally. If Bloomberg were to hold a public mea culpa with the likes of Oprah, Cornell West and the victims of his stop and frisk policy, I may consider his change a legitimate about face. If Bloomberg were to say publicly his short list for the Supreme Court, and included luminaries of color from the bench, I may consider his change legitimate. If Bloomberg were to announce that he would pick Stacy Abrams for VP, I would enthusiastically support him.
What we cannot do is continue to vilify every candidate.
No one is coming to save us; we must save ourselves.
We MUST win in 2020.
4
It's not going to make me popular to say this, but this overemphasis on political correctness and idealism are probably going to be the undoing of the Democratic party in 2020. I'm definitely not excited about Bloomberg, and yes, he's probably said a lot of things he shouldn't have said, but it's a lot easier for me to imagine him getting elected, and actually accomplishing things after getting elected than our current front runner. Political correctness and idealism need to be tempered with practicality. That seems to be something Republicans understand very well, but we Democrats fail to grasp.
8
Give it a rest, Liz. Most successful people of Bloomberg’s age have said or done things they regret. The only issue here is whether he will be a vast improvement over Trump. You’ll appreciate this wisdom more as you mature.
96
Successful or not, most people of ANY age have said things they regret.
We have all had a bout with hoof in mouth disease.
8
Give it a rest TBD. Most people recognize an opinion piece when they read it. The only issue here is whether or not you can handle a thoughtful and nuanced analysis that may not square with your personal experience. I imagine you won't ever appreciate this sort of intellectual unpacking, as you may have the cultural privilege of not having to think about this stuff.
4
Sure, everybody makes a mistake now and again. But systematic misbehavior isn’t a “mistake.” It’s who you are as a person. And when someone shows you who they are, believe them!
1
No doubt this is vile, but he apologized and it's probably time to move on. Which other candidate doesn't seemingly have such an issue? Sexual harassment occurred in Bernie's campaign. (He later apologized for). Biden reportedly didn't pay their campaign workers equally. No one candidate is perfect, but only one candidate that wants to make the country equally poor provided the rich is less rich, when that happens I'll assure you these incident will not be on top of the voters minds.
6
Hey Americans! Are we really gonna pin this on Mike? This sniffing over who was insulted personally and when and how... As Americans, we have a ton of work to do in sooo many areas, actually,in every area. As Americans, we have never addressed what to do with the kids. Today, it is a bit better, not good by any stretch, for American women in the workforce than it was in my day. (I graduated college in 1985.) Now, happy to say, we have the me too movement and finally a collective reckoning regarding women in our society is emerging. The thing about Bloomberg is that he is smart and open to change including changing attitudes. How many mea culpas will make you happy? His work illustrates his devotion to the betterment of our country and the world. He has said very plainly he regrets and apologizes for his past mistakes and has endeavored to make amends. I have made mistakes. I am not the same person I was five years ago, or ten years ago etc... are you? I have a ton of regrets but none will be as big as not fighting right now to get trump out and Mike in for the sake of our country. Thinking that this democracy could withstand “4 more years” is pure hubris a la trump. We got a big problem in the White House now. I want the guy who knows how to get him out and get stuff done for all of us Americans. That guy is Mike.
8
It doesn’t surprise me that Bloomberg previously had a problem dealing with women employees, especially when it involved pregnant women. His attitude was prevalent at the time.
When I first entered the NYC workplace in the 1970s, it was totally different. The workplace and its employees were frequently hostile to women. You toughened up.
My first job was as a reporter at a trade magazine. One of the businesses I covered was the steel industry. I wanted to see how steel was made, but the steel public relations man refused to admit me. He said it was far too dangerous, and “the guys” had a stash of nudie magazines.
In the late 1970s, I was working as a reporter for a well-known wire service. One of my co-workers was in the last stage of her pregnancy and her feet were swollen. She put her feet on stool, and our boss yelled at her.
In 1983, I interviewed for a reporter’s job at Dow Jones. My potential boss offered the job to me, but added that his last three reporters
got pregnant and had to quit. Then, he said, half joking, “Don’t tell me you’re going to get pregnant.” Since I was trying to get pregnant, I declined his offer.
So, yes, it doesn’t surprise me that Bloomberg had an un-enlightened attitude when it came to working with pregnant women. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did.
4
In 1968 when I attempted to resume my college education after having three children, a professor told me to “go home and have more children.”
My own mother and my husband were sabotaging me as well. I caved under all the pressure, finally went back 10 years later and earned 2 degrees.
5
Michael Bloomberg is worth over $60 billion and he keeps getting richer. If anyone can afford to give his employees maternity and parental leave, it is Michael Bloomberg. Obviously money is more important to him than women and men. With this attitude, he does not deserve to ever be president. There is a slim chance that he will be.
What a drive -by hit job. As a lawyer who has practiced for 40 years, and bore and raised three children, all while working full time, I am a witness to how attitudes, personally and corporately, have changed. It was unthinkable in the 1980s that I would miss a business trip or court appearance to care for my children? Pumping at work? Ha ha, probably would have been fired. Times have changed and the workplace is a much better place for working mothers.
To publish this piece, without historical context, or interviews with women who have worked with Bloomberg over the years is shameful. I am one woman who will proudly cast my vote on Tuesday for Michael Bloomberg.
609
@Mary Yes, times have changed in terms of the workplace being more accommodating of parental responsibilities for both women and men than it was in the 1980s. But that does not excuse the misogynistic behavior being attributed to Mr. Bloomberg that goes far beyond not making workplace accommodations, and also ignores that many of the worst accusations against him extend well into the 1990s. Moreover, this piece does not even address Mr. Bloomberg's belated, insincere disavowal of the "stop and frisk" policy he continued to defend up until he announced his candidacy, and well after it was ruled unconstitutional. And with all the hand wringing over whether Trump will leave office if defeated, I am surprised more has not been made of Bloomberg's machinations that enabled him to run for a third term by having a City Charter two term limit eliminated for him, and him alone. Finally, there is the small matter of his disastrous debate performances. The Democrats can do better.
62
@Mary Well said! Women think that they can make accusations and automatically, as if they were born with a "truth gene" that men somehow lack, are to be believed. This is what Warren continues to say, and I refute the idea entirely. Men reappear on the national stage and suddenly accusations fly out of the woodwork as if by magic. This diminishes the support that women would otherwise receive from men who believe in equality in all it's forms, but it's a two-way street that people like Miss Bruenig seem to forget.
28
@Mary It is also worth pointing out that Bloomberg adamantly claims he didn't say those things. To simply accept that he did is deeply unfair.
47
If you want to criticize someone’s attitude towards women, then please let us stick with specifics. I get it, as man in power he was unfeeling and disrespectful towards women and supremely focused on his organization making billions. And if the woman was qualified and so hurt, she need not have taken a huge check for that insult, there is a thing called honor and pride. Right now I don’t think we have the luxury to care for finer details. I want Trump and his cronies out. If I have to vote in a misogynist who was previously rude to women, so be it. Unless the author is a republican, I suggest we Democratic voters stop wincing about the infractions of our candidates. They are flawed, but each is immensely more capable and respectful than Trump, the rest of the republicans and the Supreme Court originalists who would do more than hurt women’s sensibilities, they will steal our ability to be.
5
YOU are not going to like this, but with the thought of Trump winning and the damage that four more years of his lunacy will do, I have reached the point that I really don't care.
There is a saying that Democrats want to fall in love with a candidate, Republicans care about winning.
Donald Trump could be videoed assaulting a woman in the Rose Garden of the White House, the Republicans would find a way to look pass that. I am not saying that such behavior is not a felonious offense, it is deplorable and it sickens me to think it could happen, but anyone reading this and knows Republicans, know that the Donald would escape blame from them.
I am not a fan of Bloomberg, he is arrogant and possibly racist, but as a Black man and a realist I know, he is the one candidate that can slay the dragon.
Bloomberg's behavior in the past, call his morals at the time in question, but this election is not a battle of morals, it is a battle to save the thing that I love, AMERICA. In the past three years I have watched my country die, Trump is tearing America apart.
It will take a moderate with unlimited resources to drown Trump's mob. An admitted Socialist, with an expensive plan can't win. Bernie never says, healthcare for Americans, he says, healthcare for people, is a human right. Americans will be the ones paying for it, not people, this will never sway the swing state voters, their children fight and die for America.
We can win the moral battle and lose the country.
187
@arubaG "We can win the moral battle and lose the country." I don't understand the distinction. Moral leadership matters. Election of leaders like Trump or Bloomberg are a reflection of a country already lost.
8
@arubaG There is another candidate that can ACTUALLY beat Trump and someone that most Americans will feel proud to vote: Elizabeth Warren. Just because the media is writing her off, doesn't mean us voters have to.
17
@arubaG I think you're looking at the forest instead of the trees with Trump.
Look, if you're seeking to keep the Establishment large and in charge while our jobs go overseas, we're involved in never ending wars, we allow anyone to come here who wants to without having to follow our laws...I get why you hate Trump.
But this Populist movement transcends Trump.
it's not about him anymore than Obama beating Hillary and McCain in 2008 was about Leftist Populism being about Obama.
People are sick and tired of the Elite in the Academy, Wall Street, Media and Government managing our decline as a nation while they stay fat and happy.
If you don't see this, you're more blind that Stevie Wonder.
Right now the world is demanding and commanding change from the lower portions of the hierarchy. T
Today you have 3 choices:
1) You can yell Go Go Status Quo..and keep the old guard large and in charge.
2) You can buy into the Revolution and Bern it All Down.
3) You can buy into Patriotic Populism that seeks a power sharing arrangement between the Old Guard and the Upstarts that creates a more equitable democracy where everyone has a seat at the table and everyone shares in the power, including pushing much of that power out of DC and back to the states, counties, cities, school districts and neighborhoods across America.
It's a clear choice, really.
The mistake Sanders and the Bernie Bros are making is they think they have history on their side.
And they......would be mistaken.
1
Yet another piece about another Democrat in a quest for an immaculately conceived candidate. It is factually impossible to go through life well into adulthood with out have offended some group, actually multiple groups.
Get over it. In fact if you compare Mr Bloomberg to President Trump, Mr Bloomberg is carrying a rather saintly halo over his head.
The Democrats have been shrieking "the sky is falling" for over 3 years. And haven't achieved much more than significantly adding to the National Angst.
But never fear. After all, look at whose ensconced at 1600 Penn. I'd bet if 1000 people were surveyed 10 years ago that we'd have this type of president at least 999 would have said no way. If the corrupt super delegate system doesn't stick it to Senator Sanders, like they did in 2016, we might very well have two old white men, brothers from a different mother as the saying goes, running this fall.
2
While callous remarks to pregnant women and new mothers reflect badly on Bloomberg, the reality is that in this country, all of us, male or female, parents or not, are expected to be fine with a work culture where we are not humans, with full lives, we are cogs in machines. Success tends to be dependent on the extent to which we can best fill the role of a cog, and never bother our employers with our personal lives. Men who are "too interested" in knowing and raising their children are considered not sufficiently devoted, just like women who are pregnant or who are trying to figure out how to care for infants and toddlers. The whole culture of business rewards those who make their jobs, rather than their families, the center of their lives.
2
I worry that someone who got rich whilst treating ordinary women so badly might not think much of ordinary women's needs. How does it help me, as an ordinary woman, to put that sort of person in power?
5
I strongly disagree with the premise of this article as it applies to MB. Bloomberg has vehemently denied saying some of the things this article has accused him of without proof other than referencing a settled self serving lawsuit.
Thirty years ago was a different time. I a woman, owned a small service business and would not hire anyone that had kids as I couldn't afford the expected possible absences as clients had to be serviced. I didn't feel it was right, however I had a business to run.
8
Bravo, you can write (and well). Anyone that can beat Trump has my vote. Course hard to beat such a perfect man--so we start with the imperfect.
3
Mike is far and away the best qualified candidate for president. Mike towers over Bernie in terms of qualifications and character traits. Mike has done the most for environmental causes and gun safety. Sadly, Bernie voted against gun safety. When the NRA told Bernie to jump, Bernie asked: how high? Bernie is an angry and tragic figure.
9
hate to say it, people, but nobody outside the east coast cares. you don't realize that until you've spent time in the rest of america. i'm a democrat, and it pains me to write this, but it's true.
4
We also hate children in our society, which contributes to our hatred of mothers because we don’t tend to hold men responsible for children. We seem to have grown almost hostile to the mere sight of children. People are more welcoming of dogs. Dogs don’t require as much sacrifice or investment and can’t dissent. What kind of society hates children? Not a kind or open one. Not one with a good future.
People have this strange understanding that we prize mothers and put them on a pedestal. If that were true, why the stereotypical vitriol for the single mother and not the single father? Single fathers are fairly common, though you’d think they don’t exist (not to imply that either group is worthy of anyone’s condemnation).
We don’t hold mothers in high regard; we prize subservient women. Mothers are only lauded when we want to breed more humans. That’s how America can hold up the ideal white mother while creating all sorts of negative stereotypes about black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American mothers.
Parents tend to put their children first, yet for women motherhood can represent a kind of liberation. A mother is a women who has been given the power to say no with a confidence and purpose that no cultural, religious, political, or economic principle could override. A servants isn’t supposed to be able to say no. Mothers are free women, so what’s their worth?
In our profits-above-all system, everyone could use this sort of call to freedom.
3
I’n no Bloomberg supporter. The idea of a plutocrat buying the nomination of the Peoples’ Party revulses me. Nonetheless, Bloomberg’s alleged comments are so off-the-wall vile that I wonder if he thought he was engaging in some misguided locker room, roughhousing humor. I’d like to know how the women who were the subjects of his remarks fared with the company afterwards. Did Bloomberg direct any action against them, or was he just talking?
1
It is difficult for anyone under 30 to understand why in the world someone would be looked down upon for recommending an abortion. Sometimes the narrative works in your favor, other times it does not.
To me, Bloomberg is an autocratic creep, albeit a rich one. I don't see any real difference between him and Trump except Bloomberg is far richer and if it's possible, even more arrogant. Given a match-up between Bloomberg and Trump I will vote for Trump as a protest against the DNC nominating someone arrogant enough to think he can buy the presidency.
3
@Mike F.
Really Mike? Do you think Bloomberg will destroy the constitution the way Trump has attempted to? Will he act like a silly child at rallies? Will he be the laughing stock of the free world?
2
There is no reason to bother defending someone with such an egregious record. We have better candidates. The nation can support both businesses and families without electing someone who had shown himself to be as much a racist and misogynist as Trump. You would defeat Trump with a slightly bluer shade of himself? And then what? Progressives are interested in progress, so let's continue moving forward rather than make sure American life is, for all of history, one long episode of Mad Men.
5
I don't think the NYT should be publishing this type of narrowly focused negative attack "opinion" one one Dem presidential candidate at this critical moment. It seems highly likely that Bloomberg said some offensive and hurtful things to women many years ago, but he seems to have learned from his past mistakes and is not repeating them. Any bad remarks he may have made pale in comparison to the many bad acts against women by Donald Trump, but you don't see that in this article. I think Bloomberg has many strong points and could be a good President; he is my second choice behind Biden.
NYT Editors: this is the wrong time to publish such a biased unbalanced piece attacking a viable candidate; shame on you.
12
Wonderfully written piece, Elizabeth. I do hope that readers will take a step back and think about the types of people who felt comfortable making these statements in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s in settings sufficiently public enough to warrant cash settlements with claimants. These weren't private utterances disclosing a hidden set of beliefs. These allegations were often times substantiated with first-hand observer's accounts. Taken together, it means that an individual felt comfortable enough with their viewpoints to broadcast them at a time when "PC culture," or whatever you want to call requiring dignified treatment of all people, was already taking root in corporate America. Trump is undoubtedly a scourge far worse than what Bloomberg's comments represent, but it's worth asking why we can't do better as a party with other options. It's a sad reality that Trump has caused the lowest common denominator to sink such that Bloomberg's actions aren't disqualifying events from the outset.
1
Liberals kill themselves by holding there own candidates to much higher standards then they do the actual president.
5
The Bloomberg apologists in the comments are sickening. The man is a sexist and racist with bad values and he shouldn't represent us. Not to mention his vocal support of George W. Bush and the War on Terror. Have we already forgotten Iraq, torture, Dick Cheney?
3
No one is apologizing, just recognizing his formidable positive attributes and more evidence he can do the job. Equating him with Trump as others have done is not very discerning.
2
Brilliant.
The most telling aspect of this excellent column is the author's link-out to "Juliette" on Google books. The link includes a cover-quote from the NY Times Book Review, presumably from this re-printed version in 1968, not 1797:
"The Marquis is a missionary. He has written a new religion. Juliette is one of the holy books."
Enough said.
The NYT Picks here are...interesting. They give the impression that a lot of people are a-okay voting for straight up oligarchy bc Bloomberg is slightly more polite than Trump in his sexism. And not a single one of them engages Ms. Bruenigs underlying point on the capitalist angle of Bloombergs misogyny.
3
Bloomberg’s comment to the pregnant employee is not just mysogenus but racist also. He has no place being a US president any more than the present mysogenus and racist in chief!
Enough with all these guys running for president who have such baggage of disrespecting women, we need a WOMAN PRESIDENT!
2
He never said it. #Outofcharacter.
3
I'm not sure a single day goes by where the New York Times isn't writing an article bashing Bloomberg. He was the best mayor this city has had in the modern era and would be a fine president. The blatant intolerance and radical revisionism taking place here is astounding.
5
@JBG: As mayor, Bloomberg did a lot for "traffic calming" and created miles of bike lanes, protected ones where feasible. He also pushed an initiative to plant "one million trees"; those were definitely good things. He also, however pushed rampant rezoning that has allowed the building of greatly oversized buildings, which severely damages neighborhoods, indeed destroys the character of some neighborhoods entirely, and skyrocketing real-estate prices force long-time residents out because their taxes increase, and all the stores that replace ones forced out by rent increases have to charge top prices. In this area at least he seems to know the price of everything and the value of very little.
2
@JBG
It appears most of the negative comments about Bloomberg are from people who did not live in NYC when he was the Mayor, so they are clueless about what he did to try to improve the lives of NYC residents. Among other things, I admired his efforts to get fresh fruits and vegetables to poor neighborhoods when he was the Mayor.
Yesterday, someone posted that Bloomberg exploited some imaginary loophole to get elected to a third term. That person had no clue it was the New York City Council (who are elected officials) that voted to allow Bloomberg to run for a third term. Bloomberg ran against an African-American man (the NYC Comptroller) for his third term, and Bloomberg won in a city predominantly Democrats.
I am thankful Bloomberg was the Mayor of NYC for 12 years. He has my support.
2
@Thomas
Hi Thomas
I have lived for twenty years in one of these rezoned areas and while the area is far less cool than it once was I can actually raise children here . The neighborhood became unaffordable but that is what happens when neighborhoods become more desirable. As far as scale, I’ve read plenty Jane jacobs but I doubt she anticipated global warming and she advocated people living closely to where they work anyway. The only way this happens is if cities go up now unfortunately, possibly not to the moon but upwards nonetheless .He actually kept taxes rather low, our current mayor is making them explode. He was forward thinking, steady, balanced budgets (even found surpluses)
I am deeply worried about our city under the current mayors’ general loathing for his own job. The contrast couldn’t be more stark. If he enacted sweeping changes to gun laws would mothers across this country care that he said a few nasty things over 40 plus years in the public eye?
There are plenty of people who simply feel that pregnancy and motherhood don't belong at the office (or any workplace). And if you don't like it, there's a choice (like pregnancy itself): you can leave. It's your choice. That seems to be where things are on the spectrum... no matter what, just deal. Men, working men, don't get clobbered on the head for their "choices" in the same way at all: they don't get pregnant.
3
So - Mr. Bloomberg denies he made the statement, and has nothing to do with the claims in the rest of the article, yet the author smears him for everything wrong in society, as if he were Dr. Evil?
What’s going on with the Times’s editorial pages? It’s as though they’re now lifted straight from an undergrad campus paper. Or maybe just call yourself The Daily Worker?
5
I am astonished by the level of anger towards mothers evidenced in so many of these comments. It certainly proves the writer's point. That being said, the research indicates overwhelmingly that there is gender bias against women in the courts, that in the workplace they are paid less than men, and too often are the butt of sexual harassment on the street and in the workplace. Mayor Bloomberg has indicated that he wants to be president of all of the people. Therefore, it is time that he considers that employers should provide equally for pregnant women in the workplace, just as they provide for men who have had coronaries. Finally, everyone benefits from family conscious plans that take into consideration parental leave, sick leave, disability payments, and protections for those who take care of elderly parents.
4
In many ways, this is a radical column. The argument here isn't just about Bloomberg's piggishness, it's also about the hostility of industrialized society to life itself.
5
Bloomberg is an out right racist and a misogynist, why are white people asking black and brown folks to vote for this man? There are too many other contenders who aren't.....
4
My cousin was a Bloomberg employee and a mother. She contracted ALS. As she began to decline, Bloomberg paid for a high tech wheel chair, later on he paid for a computer that she could control and speak with, only by moving her eyes. This generosity made all the difference to Marlene and her family and cost them nothing.
438
Yet there are so many haters in the Democratic Party. He is a descent man and successful leader. Some of his tactics like stop and frisk are deemed as racist, but they worked. Sometimes things that work are not pretty, but a ridiculously high murder rate requires action and whatever Chicago and Baltimore are doing is not working. Maybe they could use some tips. Their citizens would learn to like it knowing their odds of living among life will improve.
24
That’s great, but please stay on point.
7
And we are supposed to believe he is a misogynist.
6
With respect, this "Misogyny reserved specifically for mothers" isn't just anti-woman. It's anti-human. Corporate valorizition of commitment to the company over commitment to family, community, or even basic rights and ethics has long been a disillusioning hallmark of the masculine experience. Bloomberg here merely demonstrates his commitment to gender equality by demanding the same inhumanity of the mothers in his workforce that he demands of fathers and non-parents.
2
The technocrat he is, it makes sense. Taking another resource (a working woman) out of production, makes the remaining resources more valuable, ie higher wages.
The Bloomberg slogan is "Mike Can Get It Done." Could he have gotten it done as a custodial single father "back in the day"? As a married father, did he have a wife/mother's unequal child-rearing responsibilities when he was building his business empire? Did he ever stay home when a child was sick or cancel a meeting because the babysitter didn't show up? Of course he didn't. But I'll wager Elizabeth Warren did and she still got it done.
Women who have raised children well while succeeding in their careers need to stop defending and flirting with Bloomberg and stand in solidarity with one of their own who has traveled their path. She can make it easier for our daughters and granddaughters to do the things they want to do.
5
After hearing Bloomberg at the CNN town hall and in other interviews, I think we would be extremely fortunate to have him as our next president. Unlike the current occupant of the White House, he seems to be a very thoughtful, intelligent, and successful person who has a wealth of knowledge and a lot of experience in governing as mayor of New York City. I would definitely sleep better with him at the helm. He will be getting my support.
7
I wish we would stop harping on this...it was decades ago. Part of the issue I have with the "woke" movement is that it allows no possibility for the fact that maybe how someone behaved 20 years ago and the views they held then have somehow evolved. We are then stuck with is living in the past. I would like to move into the future...and I really can't take listening to another Warren story about "when I was pregnant...". Yes, times have changed and we have more changing to do..but to constantly compare and judge is completely counterproductive.
12
A lot of comments to the tune of "I don't care, as long as he wins".
So when the next article comes along that wonders why people overlook Trump's misdeeds - look no further.
To promote things they think are important, people will ignore character flaws. On both sides.
10
I wouldn't over think this - Mr. Bloomberg has put women in mission critical roles in his business and then lashes out when their priorities don't align with his. "How dare you get pregnant when I need you here" seems to be the thought process, his statements are mean spirited and hurtful to the women targeted with his wrath. More enlightened organizations (I guess excluding Bloomberg's) talk about work/life balance and offer services and benefits that help women in the workplace address all their responsibilities for work and family.
Too bad Mike can't talk about how is organization helps meet the needs of all its employees rather than, it appears, marginalizing or forcing out those that want to work and have a family.
3
Please DO stop piling on Bloomberg. We all have a list of things we've said and done that wish we hadn't. He may be the last, best chance we have to defeat the worst president, the one who is destroying the republic. Nothing is more important than defeating him. Forgetting about a few ancient words that Bloomberg would never repeat today is worth doing.
13
Can we have a NYT progressive opinion writer run? Someone that will surely pass all purity tests that come their way. Someone that speaks well and is really good at opinions but maybe not running a great city or being a champion of the environment, medicine, science, and gun control.
13
Lizz : thanks for being the breath of fresh air in these weeks where Brooks, Douthat and Bruni have been spilling their ink non stop to make the case for a takeover of the democratic party by a republican billionnaire.
5
The greatest gift a woman can give a man, and the world, is new life, a new human being. Women give and nurture new life; men kill life in wars. Most women would not choose abortion if the fathers of their children gladly welcomed, co-nurtured, and financially support the product of the parental union. Nature designed sex to create new life. Sex is not a recreational sport. It is serious business. Women, value yourselves and do not consort with men who do not value you highly. Men, behave in a civilized manner, rather than as beasts in the jungle.
2
Question to: the commenters here who appear to be exceedingly convinced that without Michael Bloomberg as the Democratic candidate, Trump will absolutely win re-election
Are you Republicans regretting your last vote and living in fear of its reprisal?
4
Need a man say more than Bloomberg has already to prove he is repulsive???
3
What a bunch of true opinion babble. The writer knows nothing of Mr Bloomberg nor has she investigated his company or apparently his time as Mayor of NY. To just bring up mother hating is so disingenuous that one can only laugh out loud. How virtuous all women are. How sainted they must all be, apparently even when they leave their children or drown them for a new life. This gay man, who loved his mother by the way, has become tired of this #me too response to all men. The world is not perfect and one has to work hard to get what one wants. Gay men know this. We never achieved sainthood. Stop hiding behind being scared at work, being scared to leave a bad husband, speak up about your abortion, etc. Life is scary and sometimes you have to make a stand come what may. No walking away with money and NDA’s Fight the Fight when it happens not years after. No won won a war by waiting out the enemy and attacking them 20 years later.
7
Nonsense. Mike is a good guy.
14
You know who is really misogynistic... Our current president.
If you're so "woke" then wake up and stop the purity tests.
13
While some folks chase the issue of purity as a moral
imperative, our lives are on the line of being shattered. A week ago, I would have said "our country." The trenches aren't far away and it's at that point perspective is everything!
If spouses set the social/moral bar as high as this author...which some reasonably could say is not radical,we would all never get married or eventually, all become divorced, over an over. I can attest that my wife is very forgiving. Still married to my first and only wife. I can't say for sure what is her priority in our relationship, but no doubt we all them.
3
I think the entire nation is now well aware that in the 1980s and 1990s Bloomberg behaved poorly to women. Now it is time to celebrate the fact that was able to change is behavior and has worked hard to correct his ways. While mayor his closet staff were women who have nothing but praise for him. This piece would have been much more informative if chronicled his metamorphosis rather than continued to criticize his distant past. Please be more fair and balanced in your columns. The NYT audience deserves better than this.
13
Can't speak for Michael Bloomberg, but by extending to the idea of misogyny to fathers, the authors goes way too far.
As a single working father of four, I regularly experience the overt and covert hostility of female parents towards male parenting.
I'm sorry ma'am the Matriarchy is real and damaging my and your children.
More reading on one aspect of this maternal misadrongyny can be found here:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-fathers/200806/maternal-gatekeeping-do-mothers-limit-fathers-involvement-their-kids
I look forward to the momsplainations to my comment that will try to diminish or dismiss my concern.
Maternal misadrongyny is more pervasive and more harmful than paternal misogyny.
5
C'mon people! Bloomberg is our only hope of regaining sanity in this country!!
11
Michael Bloomberg may be no saint, but it's time to weigh the good he has done through his philanthropy versus the negative actions and comments. And only those personally impacted know how it feels. Yet bear in mind that Trump has a longer and infinitely grosser history of misogyny. He has been accused of sexual abuse by dozens of women, and has been accused of outright rape by one. She is currently fighting in court seeking DNA from Trump. If Trump wins reelection because of a campaign to besmirch Mr. Bloomberg's name, this country will forever be scarred by the malevolence of the serial predator Trump. God help us all, men and women.
10
I'm of the era that suffered most from sex discrimination but if I'm willing to let it go, realize that we have all grown and learned, why aren't you? Mike Bloomberg - like many men of my generation - have adult daughters now. They get it.
How about let's focus on the worse discrimination in the workplace these days, i.e., age discrimination? I and a lot of my well educated male and female friends can tell really really sad stories about ONGOING discrimination.
11
Give us all a break. This is a guy who has given millions to liberal causes and pledged to continue to donate to, and back whomever the candidate is, even if it isn't him.
We are informed by everyone's pet philosophy, from feminist hysteria to communist hysteria. We can pick apart everyone over 20 for attitudes that they once held along with the rest of the population at that time. Jefferson and Washington were slave holders. Franklin Roosevelt smoked. Warren was once a Republican.
Give us all a break from a steady stream of baloney.
Bloomberg is no perfect person, and not my choice for candidate, but he is no rabid anti -feminist either. Ideological purity is a fools choice. Recognize the candidates for who they really are, not the cartoon that the other candidates and the purists are trying to paint.
16
Can the media also bring up the fact that Michael Bloomberg is someone who will actually stand up to the gun lobbies? He is already doing it. Misogynistic statements made by old guys in the 80s and 90s are a dime a dozen. My dad made/makes them thinking he's being funny (he's not), yet he also supports everything there is about equality for women. His actions definitely speak louder than his silly remarks.
I'm more concerned about leaders who truly believe in implementing workplace practices for all parents while also making us feel like our kids aren't going to get shot at school. Bloomberg has and will to an even greater extent, take on that industry. He is fearless on these topics.
16
Yup. I’m 45 - gen x - I’ve experienced most of these varieties of mother hatred. I’ve been threatened with being fired from jobs for getting pregnant, having an abortion, and having a baby. I’ve known friends who were raped, beaten or murdered by the fathers of their children. Then there’s the everyday disrespect and judgement. I’m a single mom, apparently responsible for the decline of civilization. A single mom is a Schrödinger’s cat: we need to work but also be home with our kids, shop cook clean house and do fun things, and also not get fat or sick or stressed, like the woman says in that video. Also any mistake or trouble my son has throughout his life is my responsibility.
What helps me is my mom’s “bad attitude”, as she calls it. “Whatever you do, you’re wrong. It’s your JOB to be wrong.” — Ergo, you’re free, and don’t worry about it.
So I think Bloomberg is gross because these stories remind me of bosses I’ve had throughout my life. I like Bernie and Elizabeth Warren because they offer enough of a social safety net that people could have food, shelter, education and medicine. That would be amazing.
3
Just go ahead and vote for Sanders. Then with Trump still in, you’ll find out just how much mothers can be disrespected.
8
I'm not particularly a Bloomberg proponent but -- one thing I think is important in evaluating candidates is to keep in mind that the Presidency (to me anyhow) isn't a reward or prize for lifetime virtuousness, it's an election of someone who seems to be the best candidate -- now, not in the past -- to do the job at this time, based on whatever we can find out about who the person is now.
Bloomberg has said some idiotic and offensive things to and about women, stop and frisk was hateful, he's also done some significant positive things for women working for him and for society in general. My interest is in who he is now, whether he gets it now, whether he can listen and process what he hears -- still involved in finding this out.
12
Maybe check what his company's actual policy on maternity leave is before writing something like this. Hint: It's very generous!
``In a country with no federally mandated paid maternity leave, it seems Mr. Bloomberg isn’t alone in his corporate distaste for motherhood — and that matters.''
10
Mr. Bloomberg has stated repeatedly, and recently, that the women with whom he had NDAs did not "like his jokes."
That's a joke.
A great piece that makes me wonder what is in all of the NDAs that Bloomberg settled. However, I am genuinely shocked by the anti-woman comments this article has provoked. Seriously someone mentioned Titanic lifeboats as a time when men were discriminated against? Yeah, because that happens everyday in the normal course of business.
Misogyny is misogyny whether it was 100 years ago or yesterday. It’s a choice. To say that the culture accepted it back then, when America was “great” is a ridiculous. I bet the women on the receiving end knew that it was wrong.
3
There is something really unpleasant about all the white people posting about how they aren't bothered at all with Bloomberg's racist stop and frisk policies and are happy to "forgive" him for the transgressions he committed to other people's children.
Just like there is something unpleasant about the people who are posting that Bloomberg didn't do anything ugly to women that they don't totally forgive, because some other women thought he was fine.
Trump had a lot of women vouching for how wonderful he was to them also.
4
So Bloomberg is to be held responsible for every utterance from the Marquis de Sade to social media confessionists? This piece is angry over a lot more than Bloomberg.
9
I will never vote for Bloomberg.
2
It's a shame Ms. Bruenig did not bother to spend a little time researching Mike Bloomberg's record.
Bloomberg has been designated one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality,” having earned a score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the premier benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality in America.
Bloomberg has earned the support of prominent reproductive rights organizations for his work to ensure a woman’s right to choose. He was endorsed by NARAL in 2005 and 2009, and won NARAL’s “Champion of Choice” Award in 2005, Planned Parenthood’s “Walk the Talk” Award in 2012, and Planned Parenthood’s Global Citizen Award in 2014.
Following the Komen Foundation’s decision to cut its Planned Parenthood funding in 2012, Mike pledged to donate $250,000 of his own money to Planned Parenthood.
16
Fact: absences from work, regardless of cause, are disruptive to productivity. Does pregnancy and childbirth result in absence from work? Yes. Therefore pregnancy and childbirth are disruptive to productivity. Those are facts.
That doesn’t mean that women of childbearing years should be discriminated against. It means that employers must plan for such disruptions.
Fact: it’s easier to plan for and accommodate disruptions due to work absences in non-critical positions.
As with almost all things in life, everyone’s interests must be balanced through compromise. The root problem is that compromise requires reasonableness and rationality, both of which are in short supply.
6
There is something really unpleasant about all the white people posting about how they aren't bothered at all with Bloomberg's racist stop and frisk policies and are happy to "forgive" him for the transgressions he committed to other people's children.
Just like there is something unpleasant about the people who are posting that Bloomberg didn't do anything ugly to women that they don't totally forgive, because some other women thought he was fine.
Trump had a lot of women vouching for how wonderful he was to them also.
82
@RJ
Amen. Its so discouraging how willing all these armchair strategists are to offer up OTHER people to make their political compromises.
19
@RJ Even without the racial element, i find stop and frisk repulsive. It smacks of "papers please." How on earth can it be constitutional to stop someone walking down the street and go through their pockets?
The racial element just makes it that much more odious. And it's also the reason why so many are willing to excuse it. If Wall Street titans and the proverbial Karens were being stopped and frisked on a weekly basis, I'd expect it'd be gone in a matter of days.
14
@RJ Stop and Frisk is/was odious, however it is not the focus of this article. I think he can win, I think he can run the country and uphold the constitution, and 'make America great again'. He is smart and I believe sincerely has learned from past experiences.
12
"The suit also says he cruelly dismissed another employee’s difficulty finding child care, saying of an infant: “It doesn’t know the difference between you and anyone else! All you need is some black who doesn’t even have to speak English to rescue it from a burning building!” The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum." What's even more disgusting is that he considers these incidents "off color jokes that were misunderstood." His sexism isn't just aimed at pregnant women, but women in general. Read the downloadable lawsuit from the WaPo website, it will turn your stomach.
4
Comparing Mike Bloomberg to the Marquis de Sade is beyond the pale.
5
LOVE the weasel word headline. ",,,Bloomberg and the Long History of Misogyny..." Not HIS, but THE Long History.
In this deceptive manner, the writer can repeat a handful of accusations of non-PC speech by the candidate -- all but one of them from anonymous sources, and without adding any further corroboration -- and then associate Bloomberg in the reader's mind with all sorts of villainous woman-haters from the Marquis de Sade, to Dr. Freud, to the author of an essay printed in a British tabloid!
8
The new left is steeped in a competitive game of victimhood and it's being driven by young women. The NYT is part of the problem. An entire generation, men and women conditioned by parents who hover over them and keep them safe, hand out participation trophies and accuse any failures of their kids on society. The kids went to schools that continued this paralyzation by using the vulnerabilities of the generation to push for a radical ideas in social issues and gender. Women were an easy target of these professors. Now we have a daily and endless stream of op-eds about how women are victims, from air conditioning in an office to a mother who kills her kids, it's all the fault of men, white men in particular. It's cult like and breaks pointedly from the great feminists of the past who could write and debate with such precise intellect that one agree or not couldn't help but to be in awe of them. Now we have the National Enquirer denigrated version, simply throw out baseless accusations as facts and scream victim if anyone challenges. Thank you crazy far left for handing the election to Trump. Sadly, his vulgarity isn't much different than the new left.
7
Ah, another day, another Times Op Ed piece filled with haymaker after haymaker against Bloomberg.
I'll say it again, the Times bears some responsibility in Trump's victory in 2016: the certainty with which it predicted a rout by HRC.
Let's not let it happen again, shall we?
6
Ms. Warren should not throw stones unless and until she owns up to her own issues. I do not expect to hear anything from her admitting any errors or failures, ever.
4
Reprehensible as these accusations are against Mr. Bloomberg, they pale by comparison to the heinous acts of Trump, who was busy with porn stars while his wife was home with a three-month-old child, who has caged children in freezing and sweltering conditions, threatened to take health care away from mothers, targeted entitlements to help feed newborns and children, and wielded his wrath at the most vulnerable among us. Mr. Bloomberg's actions are awful; Trump is outright Satanic. I have not heard Trump apologize for anything.
6
Bloomberg is in trouble with Democrats because he allegedly said, "Kill it!" instead of encouraging the woman to have the baby "kept comfortable" while a "discussion ensues."
Re misogyny, may I recommend Karl Stern’s enlightening work “The Flight From Woman” (1965, reprinted 1985, maybe hard to find).
1
It seems the Times either wants Trump or the Communist as they can't stop attacking, over and over by the various "opinionaters," the one person who would obviously be the best president.
6
Misogyny has been around for thousands of years. Maybe, just maybe if we have a woman in the White House, we can start chipping away at it. Well,...maybe if we have a woman in the White House for the next thousand years!
3
Seriously, is there a man on the planet who hasn’t said something about women that can be interpreted as sexist? While I am not defending any insensitive comments made by Bloomberg, don’t forget we currently have a self-proclaimed, grabber of female genitals in the White House among his many other abuses of women.
5
Warren looked petty when she attacked Bloomberg as a misogynist in the debate. And so does this author, go watch the ads featuring the women of color and career civil servants who worked for him.
7
This opinion could have (should have) been written without Michael Bloomberg in the headline. Oh, perhaps it wouldn't have received attention then?? I am thrilled to see the overwhelming support of Bloomberg in these comments; readers are seeing right through the author's and the Times' transparent and unjust smearing of a candidate because they endorse someone else.
5
Micheal Bloomberg never said “kill it”.
And to keep repeating this cheap attack line, lie, made up my Warren in this article is an outrageous attack on a good man.
For Warren to spread this vicious lie in of itself shows me that she is completely unqualified to run for President or the hold any position of authority for that matter.
This low blow attack for political reasons makes Warren no better than trump, in many ways worse. It really is pathetic.
7
Just keep on running your purity tests...until there's no one left.
8
Who's the largest donor to Planned Parenthood? Mike Bloomberg. You want to know who someone really is? Look at how they spend their money. Now what do you think? Show me anyone on that debate stage who has done more for job creation, climate change, gun violence, oh, and women's rights than Mike Bloomberg.
To get a headline, you've all but ensured another 4 years. Certainly, our current president has sold a lot of NY Times subscriptions.
10
It may help to also keep in mind the culture within which Mr. Bloomberg made his comments. Mr. Bloomberg worked and made his fortune selling data to investment bankers and traders.
Sometime after I began work in the financial sector in the mid 80s there was a large selloff of stocks. A common response was that prices would bounce back, after all "even a dead baby will bounce if you drop it far enough." Putting aside the joke's value as a metaphor for stock price behavior, the joke was an accurate representation of the type of personality these investors wanted to project.
Not everyone on Wall Street hates mothers and babies, it's probably only a handful, but they do want to be seen as being singularly focussed on profit. Mr. Bloomberg worked in this environment and was unimaginably successful. You don't have that degree of success without being maniacally focussed on your goals and, to some extent, adapting to the culture around you.
I think it is reasonable to assume that if your goals change, your attitudes on certain policies may change as well. Either that, or we can believe that Mr. Bloomberg and everyone else on Wall Street are irredeemable misogynists.
5
Bloomberg, competent as he is, represents precisely the things progressives want to change about American capitalism. We (and he) have made strides since his egregious remarks were captured for posterity, but the work of motherhood and childcare is still not recognized as having economic value. This is why excellent daycare is rare and unaffordable; why daycare workers cannot survive on their wages; and why we don’t have more women in the upper echelons of business and government. Elizabeth Warren has a plan for that!
3
This is a hatchet piece on a more than viable candidate who would have the best chance of beating Trump, carry down ticket Congressional candidates to victory, and advancing those causes dear to me such as gun controls, protecting female reproductive rights, establishing comprehensive health care coverage and resuscitating infrastructure.
Has he transgressed in the past? Absolutely. But he has learned and adapted. Misogyny was rampant in my (and Bloomberg’s) heyday. Times change and so do people.
Bloomberg’s companies are empathetic to new mothers. His charitable contributions are legendary and a force of good in the community. His financial support of Democrat women candidates was instrumental in great House election success.
It’s OK to prefer candidates other than Bloomberg. Write opinion pieces about the virtues of your preferred candidate. But it’s foolhardy to poison the well. And that is what hit pieces like this one does.
We should have a common goal. Let’s not lose sight of our objective.
14
When I look up at the Democratic debate stage, I see 7 people who have dedicated their lives to leaving this world better than they found it. I don’t agree with all their politics and I don’t necessarily like them all on a personal level, but every single one of them has done more than 99.99% of the rest of us, including, I bet, Ms.Bruenig, to advance our society when it comes to gun laws, environmental concerns, women’s rights, low income housing, the list goes on and on…
Why is it that we judge ourselves by our greatest accomplishments while judging everyone else on their worst moments? Why is it that we judge ourselves by who we are now and how far we’ve come, but are comfortable judging others on allegations and mistakes they made 30 years ago? I’m so exhausted from all this demonizing. Instead of picking through everyone's life histories looking for a "gotcha", what if we each made it a goal for this weekend to find something we really admire about each and every candidate. Choose to be a part of the solution... we will all need each other in the years to come.
5
Unfortunately those attitudes are not only found among men. Women who do not have children share the language and resentment for time other women need to manage both family and work responsibilities. My 28-year old daughter is annoyed when her colleague gets to come in later and leave earlier to accommodate childcare needs. Years ago as a parent, I heard the same from men and women- although these days more men are taking time for childcare needs. In fact I had to tell my daughter to look around her office to see how many high ranking women were over 40 -only a few and they did not have children.
9
I am a woman and a nurse. I will probably never be pregnant. I work in an operating room. I hate: always being assigned cases where the pregnant nurse can’t be, such as every case with X-rays. I hate wearing the 20 pound lead apron because the pregnant nurse can’t, and is therefore excused from all those procedures while still coming to work and getting a paycheck. I hate working overtime because the mother to be has to leave for a doctors appointment and can’t stay late. I resent my computer-workers for making me feel this way because they choose to have a child and want a job, too.
13
I can totally empathize (even though I myself am a mother). Before having kids, it always seemed like parents, both mothers and fathers, used their kids as an excuse to work less while we singles were expected to do all their heavy lifting. They would leave at 5 when we had to stay til 9. They had weekend plans with kids when we were expected to be available.
And I admit that if my female coworker announced she was pregnant, I would congratulate her and then wonder how much of her slack the rest of us would have to pick up.
Call it misogyny or what you will, but in our corporate culture, pregnancy is a burden on everyone.
Bloomberg has a problematic history of dumb comments but i suppose much like a trump supporter, I like what he does not what he says.
124
@Frankie Hi Frankie, so I'm sure you'll never have a health issue that requires your coworkers to help fulfill your job responsibilities from time to time. You've never called in sick a day in your life right? And you'll never have any sort of disability that would require reasonable employer accommodation? Good for you - you're a lucky fellow?
Also on the misogyny aspect, I'm sure you won't mind if your health insurer takes away coverage for viagra and other male-specific medications the way they always want to cut back on women's health coverage.
3
@Frankie ...
That’s a lot of hating
4
I know this article is published under the opinion segment, but it would have been much appreciated if the author took the time to include some statistics to back up her arguments. Instead all we get are personal anecdotes, which though can be valuable in providing context, are in no way an adequate replacement for cold hard data. Ultimately, to quote the late Christopher Hitchens "that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."
12
I want to know about actions. Does Mr Bloomberg’s company give a generous maternity leave? Does he care about the well-being and success of his employees, whether female or male? Does he firmly believe in upholding a woman’s right to choose? Spare me the “he said this horrible thing that one time” trope. It didn’t turn people off Trump, it’s not going to turn people who are not into Sanders or Warren into devoted allies.
14
@Qui
Apparently Bloomberg offers 26-week maternity leave. Quite generous
4
Mother Theresa is not in politics - get over it! I fully support Bloomberg and am glad he is running. He was an excellent mayor! As a lifelong New Yorker over 55 years old, I can say, this without a doubt - from my real life experience.
18
@Truth I doubt this writer lived in NY during the time MB was mayor(our best by far) but as with most these days it’s easy to be an expert on everything with little to no experience.
4
In the interest of fairness, it ought to be pointed out in this column that Bloomberg LP now offers 26-week maternity leave, one of the most generous, if not the most generous, benefits this side of the Canadian border.
24
This column comes across as weaponized psychobabble rather than thoughtful reflection. As others have pointed out, much has changed in 40 years and all of us (women as well as men) have probably said things that we regret in retrospect.
As a female physician in training, I had to put together the overnight on-call schedules for the residents in our training program. With a small number of individuals in the program, if a woman took significant time for maternity leave, every one else had to spend an additional overnight in the hospital every week or so. When two people were on leave at once, it was almost untenable. Yet it is not possible to have additional trainees hired for a full year on the chance that one or more people will take maternity leave and also not possible to quickly hire another physician on the fly.
It's human nature to be resentful under such circumstances, when you are left covering for someone else for extended periods or your planned vacation has to be changed. It's similarly hard to be an administrator who has to deal with assuring coverage and coping with other resentful employees.
People (including this columnist and Elizabeth Warren) need to stop cherry picking a few comments from long ago and look at the big picture of individual's contributions and behaviors. Though it's hard to know who will still be in the race when the primaries reach NY, I'd be happy to cast my vote for Bloomberg.
37
There is an odd borderline-y quality to so much criticism of public figures of any kind, where one bad vote, misplaced comment, impertinent remark, false claim of identity, or private statement is enough to knock the person down from Annointed to Execrable. People are packages, and adults with enough lived experience to be considered for the highest office in the land are going to be complex packages. Judge the package, and not just one item in it. In Bloomberg's case, his company is one of the very best for women to work, he has created tens of thousands of jobs and run the toughest city in the world well enough to be elected to three terms. Some lawsuit allegations that need to be taken with a barrel of salt are not disqualifying, any more than Biden's Iraq vote, Sanders' gun control vote, Warren's false indigenous claim, etc. are disqualifying. Again, people are packages. Take them as such.
9
This bears repeating over and over again: if women truly provided equal work for less money for whatever reason, including "institutional sexism" or whatever melange victimhood narrative this editorial is on about, then smart businesses would be tripping all over themselves to hire more women.
If women like Ms. Bruenig here wanted to have an honest conversation, instead of using nonsensical terms like "mother hatred", they would phrase their arguments thusly: "look, we all can understand that, broadly speaking, women require work accommodation in order to have babies. Other countries have decided that even though such women in effect cost a bit more, there are many positive externalities associated with having increased women in the workplace. Therefore, by some combination of legal compulsion and perhaps subsidy, this is something that we should aim for through legislative means."
That's the beginning of a serious discussion on the matter. As a non-clown-cookooland progressive, I'd be happy to get on board with such proposals. But, her disagraceful, nakedly nonsensical victimhood argument which ignores economic reality (maybe she missed the day in religious studies class where basic economics was covered) is so unsympathetic that the fact that the NYT chose to publish shows just how far from reality social justice warriors such as herself are from reality.
17
Trump is a world-class misogynist who has never apologized for anything.
His challengers may not be perfect, but they don’t come close in terms of bad behavior.
If we insist on a saint to challenge Trump, we will be faced with 4 more years of chaos and destruction.
7
What a shocker!! A rich businessman having no sympathy for his employees that do all the actual work that makes him richer. Another reason to vote for Sanders.
5
Many men are and some women equally abusive towards FATHERS who pay the slightest attention towards their children. My childless female boss was incredibly abusive when I stayed home with sick kids.
4
After reading the things Bloomberg has said to women, I just can't vote for the guy.
89
it's a 2-candidate race for the Democratic nomination: Joe Biden vs. Bernie Sanders. Bloomberg should drop out and endorse whoever he thinks is the better bet to defeat Trump. By staying in the race, Bloomberg is just feeding his own ego. Dems need his financial support, not his candidacy.
17
Yes, by all means, choose not to vote for someone solely based on comments supposedly made 30-40 years ago. Ignore completely the incredible good they've done since. Ignore completely their experience and success. Ignore completely the actual policies and opportunities they provide to employees today. But, if you're going to set that standard, be sure to apply it equally across the board to all candidates, including the current occupant of the White House. I'm sure each of them has made comments in the past (or, in the case of our current president, today and every day) you would find disqualifying.
25
@JJones
Ditto. Combine the misogyny with the racism, the elitism, and the support of unfettered capitalism and unlimited campaign contributions, and nope, can't vote for Bloomberg. If by some horrible chance he ends up with the nomination I'll show up to vote for the downballot and hope we flip the Senate. As far as I'm concerned, taking the Senate is more important than the WH anyway.
1
it is so easy to use a new paradigm to condemn someone for behavior years ago during a previous paradigm.
The commenters here who actually worked at Bloomberg speak of his wonderful altruistic acts towards women who worked there but those stories would not help this writer's agenda.
6
First off, your references to Freud are silly stereotypes that don’t have much to do with his actual work. Second, these misogynists are not anti-mother. What they want is for mothers not to work. They love mothers if they never see them.
2
Has anyone mentioned Bloomberg LP's parental leave policy - 26 weeks fully paid. Misogynistic indeed!
13
Reading through the comments, it appears that the “Bloomberg influencers” have logged on.
7
If electing Trump is your goal, this constant ripping apart of the candidates is the way to go. Bloomberg has donated more to charity than all the other candidates combined and that is benefiting us all. I find Warren aggressive smears Trumplike and harmful to the Democratic cause. As a successful female professional who came of age in the 70's, I know what it means to balance work with motherhood and dealing with sexism. Bloomberg's comments come nowhere close to worrying me and you didn't live through those times and it's easy to criticise. Bloomberg strikes me as the most competent and clear headed and I wish the aggressive and nasty tone of these debates would stop.
268
@Sharon
Do you think that Bloomberg will elicit large turnout from African Americans? His politically expedient, last minute, lame apology suggests not. His lackluster debate performances also do not bode well for a victory.
25
@Sharon
Thank you for your reply. It was perfect
11
@Sharon
"Bloomberg strikes me as the most competent and clear headed..."
Based on what? Ads? You live in Montreal and I doubt you know anything about Bloomberg except "he's a billionaire" who gave away a lot of money while keeping EVEN MORE for himself so he could live in a manner that is beyond what even England's royalty experiences.
The previous "businessmen" presidents -- Herbert Hoover and Donald Trump -- don't make anyone in this country yearn for another businessman.
The best presidents -- Abraham Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK -- were not "businessmen". They didn't run America on the philosophy that their main motive was "profits". The purpose of government is to provide for ALL Americans, not simply the ones who those in power decide are "most profitable" to care about.
27
Can this PLEASE stop! Yes, we know many men (and women) in power have been jerks. And many will continue to be. However, I'd much rather hear what the candidates have to say NOW on issues of healthcare, climate, the wage gap, and all the rest. What a waste of time for so many column inches to be filled with past transgressions ad nauseam.
15
Stop the Bloomberg bashing. This column has so many merits on its own without bringing Bloomberg into the picture. Yes, the prejudice exists. But you are linking this broad and important topic to sparse ill placed comment from his past. Talk to the many women who’ve worked for Bloomberg for years and you will get a full picture.
16
So, Ms. Bruenig, are you saying that the DNC and we Democrats should reject the approximately one billion dollars that Bloomberg has pledged to help Democrats get elected even if Bloomberg loses in the Primary, because Michael Bloomberg is an anti-motherhood misogynist? It seems to me that if Democrats are principled then we would reject any money from such a horrible misogynist, right? Where's the line for the Democratic Party on accepting massive campaign contributions from misogynists?
4
May be woman should stop having children for a few years or refuse to take care of them. Let the fathers take care of their offspring, let see how they survive it and work at the same time. Enough of this selfish childish behavior. They want to be taken care of, not care for anyone else. too bad !
1
I have to wonder if things that any of us have said, whether we meant them, thought they were funny or for any other reason, were to suddenly be printed, how awful that could be. To now overlook any good Mr. Bloomberg has done in his life by exposing these comments while an accused rapist, a guy who went to sex parties with Epstein and is stealing everything, sits in the WH, simply makes no sense. No one is perfect and I suggest this newspaper think long and hard before they once again destroy the opposition to Trump as they did during the last election.
7
Many of the commentators' remarks that voters should be understanding because "he's from a different era" or that they too share the same views but that's not "misogyny" demonstrate just how deeply rooted this kind of hatred toward motherhood runs in our society. Thank you, Ms. Bruenig, for shining a light on this issue.
5
Purported and disavowed disdain for mothers, versus long-standing and present day admiration for Castro and left-wing dictators. Wow, that’s a hard choice.
3
People hopefully evolve and change over time with the possible exception of trump. My views on women have certainly changed over 70 years and I credit the remarkable women that I have had the opportunity to work and be friends with. And there is nothing more beautiful in the world than a pregnant woman, she glows.
2
I worked for Bloomberg for many years and was there when a number of these lawsuits happened. Bloomberg comes from Wall Street, where misogyny was and still is acceptable, though of course we all hope the culture will slowly change. This is not to excuse him from such remarks, but only to suggest that we ALL are occasionally guilty of losing our moral center when we're endlessly exposed to toxicity - that doesn't make us reprehensible people. Bloomberg is equally responsible for creating one of the most equal opportunity workplaces I've ever been in (especially in the financial industry!). Wish we could just stay focused on the big picture.
20
I don’t hope that the culture of misogyny will slowly change; it’s overdue for change. Change, one would hope, will come quickly when people stop accepting it as inevitable or deny its continuing existence. The intolerance should be that we find this behavior acceptable at all, in the workplace or anywhere.
3
A nonsensical opinion piece.
Mr. Bloomberg is very much in favor of motherhood -- responsible, thoughtful motherhood. He cherished his own mother, and he maintains a close, respectful alliance with his ex-wife for the sake of their daughters.
His research into, as well as financial support for, the environment -- and gun control -- shows his interest in future generations. He is worried about our kids and our kids' kids.
He supports family planning and women's health clinics because he knows the strain that unintended pregnancies can cause.
His subway advertisements for birth control took a hit from liberals because, they claimed, they "shamed" unwed mothers.
Sorry, friends. Teenagers having babies assures lifelong dependency on subsidies and babies who do not benefit from educated mothers and stable home lives.
Bloomberg is a good guy.
26
Wow. I feel terrible. I always thought people can admit mistakes, learn from them and move on. I guess not. So let's ignore Bloomberg's 9.5 billion dollars in donations to charities to date including significant donations to Women for Women International to help women with sustainable food harvest in Africa, the Foundation Center to provide education for women in Rwanda, the Congo, Sudan and Nigeria to name just of a few of his projects to help underprivileged women.
15
It's hard to wrap one's head around the absolutist approach here: Every mother? Every business? Every man? The same as it was in the 1800's, as it was in 1990?
Obviously, I can't speak as a mother, but I'm married to one and have a daughter who is one, so I have tangential experience. I was a manager of female employees, some of whom became pregnant during their tenure, others who were hired while obviously pregnant. None were ever fired or sent home, but none received adequate leave and support either.
My point is that it's not possible to come away from such a universal condemnation without feeling like here is yet another socio-cultural phenomenon from which there is no atonement. I understand that this was directed at Michael Bloomberg, but even then it comes across as a sin from which there is no redemption.
There is much to reflect on in the abysmal treatment of women in our society, both in our history and currently. A lot needs to change, but a lot has already changed. If we can't see a way forward because every apology or effort at change is viewed as inadequate, every failure as so egregious as to be unforgivable, it begins to sound more like an intractable grudge than an effort to educate and inform.
I would have liked to seen Ms Bruenig's suggestions on what exactly Michael Bloomberg can do to redeem himself in her eyes.
10
This is the kind of angry rant that is so extreme in its viewpoint that it is difficult to respond to.
It seems Ms. Bruenig is simply unable to acknowledge the practical ramifications that a woman who is pregnant or planning to start a family has on her availability at work. As a father of 3, I can tell you even in the best of circumstances bringing a child into the world is no small endeavor. My wife and I are both self-employed, but when we had very young children, both our businesses suffered significantly (though it was a very happy tradeoff).
I am not arguing to discriminate against pregnant women or women who want to start a family in the near future, but to chalk it all up to misogyny is as facile as it is wrong.
9
I consider myself a feminist, but even if all of the alleged comments Bloomberg was to have made are true, I’m not certain that he should held back from a political career for the horribly rude comments he made to an employee 30 or 40 years ago. Does it matter that it was a different time, when men felt they could do and say things to women that they don’t now? I happen to think so. For most intelligent people, wisdom, insight and compassion grow tremendously over their decades. Hopefully we all become better people as we age, and as far as Bloomberg is concerned, I think you can see that in his record.
7
The writer briefly touches on the lunatic eugenic movement to make it seem as though this is a problem originating from the right, but overwhelmingly, the hostility to women having babies comes mainly from liberal forces in modern society. I have observed that generally, those who are considered as fundamentalists or traditionalists do not harbor the hostility towards mothers described in the article.
3
Crazy disconnect of conservatives/right wingers is that they lament the low birth rate of white families and, yet, as businesses and customers, stick with maternal/paternal leave policies that discourage larger families., do not support workplace childcare, do not subsidize or pay wages that support childcare, hollow out public schools, and make it difficult for families to afford housing that would support larger families.
2
I am so disheartened to see the comments filled with the same misogyny this article critiques. I am surprised how many people still believe the myth of overpopulation, based in racist, colonial, and xenophobic propaganda, and use it to freely say hateful things about parents. Science has come to a consensus that the world's population will stabilize in a few decades as birth rates decline, particularly in low-income countries: even the WHO has stated it doesn't consider overpopulation a serious threat. The carbon footprint of a single person in an industrial country is nearly equal to a family with a child because of of net resource use: single people spend more on things like travel and consumer goods. It's an indication of how strongly misogyny is entrenched in our society that we find it easier to blame mothers than to focus our efforts fighting environmental destruction by holding corporations and governments accountable.
4
Anyone condoning Bloomberg telling a woman to abort her fetus is disturbing. I fully recognize the challenges that come from a diverse workforce, women taking time from work to have babies, shortened work hours for those celebrating non-Christian holidays, and those out for extended periods because of accidents or injuries. If other employees are left to absorb their work then that’s a management issue. Time to get with the times, employees are no longer willing to sacrifice their lives so the owners can reap bigger profits.
3
Why would anyone be upset with a woman getting pregnant? Perhaps because it’s a double hit on a manager’s budget ... labor cost for the woman on leave AND labor cost for the replacement while she’s gone. When budgets are tight, its hard to be enlightened when an employee takes time off for one OR MORE pregnancies.
16
@News User
Which is why intelligent and economically ambitious mothers should shy away from companies that you describe.
5
If the man who has more money than a good part of humanity put together thinks he's too poor for a few employees to have pregnancy leave, how can the average family afford it? Come on. Bloomberg could do it and not even notice the money was missing.
2
We need the urgent change of the entire social perspective.
The professional careers aren’t the most important things in our lives but the well-being of the entire society.
The social happiness starts with the wellbeing of the babies and toddlers. It starts with the motherly love, not the corporate one!
No corporation can replace a real mother. No single caretaker can replace a dozen mothers and deliver the same amount of love, attention and care that the real ones could.
Since we are already in the age of robotics, we don’t need such a large labor force any longer.
It means the mothers should stay at home and take care of their children till they start going to the preschool.
Otherwise, we risk the pandemics of drug addictions, alcoholism, obesity, depression, insecurity, alienation and lack of human emotions among our youth.
Pretending to be happy is completely different from true happiness.
Smiling all the time is not true happiness, have no doubt about it!
That’s just acting...
6
@Kenan Porobic AI and robots haven't yet taken over the workforce, decades of stagnant wages, benefits, and a threadbare social safety net require both parents in the workforce, save for a very fortunate few. And those who have offramped to care for children or the elderly often face diminished career prospects upon return to the workforce. To very loosely paraphrase the prophetic Leslie Bennetts in the Feminine Mistake, it's a problem when staying home with children means you can't afford the home.
9
@Kenan Porobic
In countries with reasonable maternity leave, work coverage is planned for, a last minute scramble.
Also. why not have fathers stay home to care for peschool children? Let them take the hit in their careers.
8
Amen. I know more than a few impoverished former stay-at-home parents or caretakers of elderly parents who found they could not get back into the workforce.
2
This article is biased and politically motivated. Elizabeth Bruenig and her husband Matt are anti-capitalist Bernie Sanders supporters. Bloomberg has done more to help women and Democratic causes than any of the other candidates, with the possible exception of Biden. He's certainly done a lot more than Sanders, who seems to have been in politics just to help himself. Bloomberg is indeed a champion of capitalism. But so are the vast majority of Americans. Nominating a socialist Castro sympathizer will ensure a Trump victory and a Republican takeover of both houses. Sanders is popular among the undergraduates on campus. Could that be because his positions are immature and irresponsible?
60
@Bruce Freed Sanders is popular among undergraduates because he's a change from the status quo. Bloomberg represents an intensification of the status quo. Mike wants us to stop worrying our pretty little heads and let him handle things, so he can stay rich and we can stay hungry. The persona he affects in his ads and on the debate stage? That's the Wizard-of-Oz omnipotent projection head. The "portable Bloomberg" is the real Mike behind the curtain.
4
Trump was a change from the status quo, how’s that working out?
1
I have only one question for the author:
Would you prefer another term of President Trump?
Bloomberg, for all his flaws, is the vastly better choice.
Despite whatever comments he may have made, his actual track record of supporting women and their priorities is outstanding. Tear down the challengers and you will end up with the incumbent for another four years.
4
I Hired a lady who is pregnant. At the time I was not required to pay or allow maternity leave. The only complaints I got as I covered this lady were from her fellow employees... Women all women. Not a complaint from one man. It depends on who the managers are what the culture is.
4
James, thank you for your comment. I am a woman and I can tell you that when it comes to discrimination, intimidation, ridicule and harassment of women, it makes no difference what the gender of the abuser is —women and men are equal opportunity misogynists. It’s not rational but it’s sadly true.
3
More palaver as the country falls apart while republicans are doing everything to make sure Bernie is the candidate.
4
I am more disgusted by Bloomberg's comments and attitude toward women and families than Bernie's stance regarding Castro's literacy efforts.
4
I certainly don’t understand how anyone could make remarks as nasty as some of these remarks are alleged to be (“kill it”). I also (unfortunately) don’t understand what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and start a business that ends up employing thousands of people. We may have to realize that the perfect person candidate does not exist and decide what sins we’re willing to forgive to find someone who can run this country. It isn’t I.
1
This article is Orwellian. How is it possible that you don’t mention Bloomberg company generous maternity policy. Generous health care and all the growing families that work for Bloomberg.
7
@Harris silver Because it doesn't support her woke millennial narrative like most other opinion pieces in the NYT lately.
3
I’m female and I think it makes perfect sense that employers are unhappy if a valued employee becomes pregnant and plans to take time off ( ....or plans to take extended time off for any reason, really.) Employers want excellent employees (of all sexes) to be present to do the work! Obviously! How is this misogynistic?
5
I am a mother of two children. I have worked my entire professional life. And I find that the worst form of misogyny comes from stay-at-home mothers who believe that the entire world owes them appreciation and a living for doing what any functioning mammal can do. A modern country needs to have e a paid parental leave and affordable childcare. Beyond this, mothers are people and deserve no special professional or personal consideration. I have never asked for one and never given one. On the contrary, I fired or refused to promote or support women who used their kids as an alibi for poor performance. And while I would not ask, as Mayor Bloomberg did, “Why don’t you kill it?” of a pregnant employee (since I don’t believe that abortion is killing), I find nothing offensive in suggesting she has an abortion if the pregnancy comes at an inopportune moment in her career.
5
Woman and their result of their choices should be afforded the same protections as everyone else and not one iota more or less.
Pregnancy is a choice. If a woman chooses to get pregnant and have a child, congratulations. If she chooses not to have a child that is now a socially acceptable decision.
Asking companies and other workers to accommodate this choice and to pay them for not working is ridiculous.
If a woman decides not to have a child but over a period of 5 years in her working prime were to announce that she decided to travel the world and needed 3-4 month breaks to do so with no consideration as to the business needs, wanted her job protected, needed accommodation when she got back and accommodation before she left and expected no recriminations for her choice — we would all laugh.
I find the hypocrisy of these so called feminists overwhelming — who argue for equal standards and non-discrimination (which is absolutely appropriate!) based upon sex, who argue for a woman to be treated as being with equal rights and seen as a free fully choosing agent (of course!), but then yet promote “motherhood” as a vaulted status deserving women a unique status with unique privileges in the workplace not afforded to men, older woman, woman who choose not to be mothers.
Again, women and their result of their choices should be afforded the same protections as everyone else and not one iota more or less.
2
Bloomberg had a significant impact on the ability and willingness for families to make NYC their home. He amplified green spaces, giving kids more playgrounds, enlivened the waterfronts giving rise to new small business and commercial districts and banned smoking from public spaces reducing exposure of secondhand smoke. If you’re going to use Bloomberg as a convenient villain for your article, how about focusing on a balanced view of his policies instead of a one-note criticism of his admittedly inappropriate one-liners? Any woman that worked in financial services during the time that Bloomberg made these comments can cite dozens of unhealthy, misogynist remarks by co-workers and leadership. Times have changed and maybe he’s evolved. Can we have an honest conversation about what he has done from a policy perspective both at his company and in NYC? If you want to talk about stop and frisk, that’s valid. But don’t muddle the intent of this article, which seeks to explain and inform the types of misogyny that genuinely exists, with a headline that bashes a political candidate just to get clicks.
5
Shame on Elizabeth Bruenig! Shame on Elizabeth Warren! Unfounded accusations such as Bloomberg saying "Kill it" when if he would say some such it would never be in those actual words. "Kill it" are the words of Warren repeated by Bruenig to drum up resentment towards Mike Bloomberg to hopefully eliminate him as a contender for the Presidential nomination. Just another example of what's best for ME, not the country. My blood boils!
Amy Klobuchar was right when she countered "Stop the infighting and focus on Trump." To continue with the personal attacks will lose any chance of putting a Dem in the White House.
Mike Bloomberg has demonstrated thst he respects women. If you doubt me, just look at his company's policies and the hierarchy of the women working there.
I am sure there was no "Kill it" directed at his pregnant female employee but rather genuine concern that her timing could allow for a set back in the advancement of her career. Many of my professional women friends have opted for a later pregnancy because they love their work life and are focused on achieving more before taking on motherhood. Nothing wrong with that. I came along when my Mother was 43 which turned out to be a good thing as I got the benefit of her being older and wiser and imparting that knowledge to me.
Mike Bloomberg is the moderate I support as the best of the group to defeat Trump. Picture a debate... what can Trump say that Mike cannot throw back at him and bury him?
9
Bloomberg's responses to Warren during the debates about his treatment of women were completely unconvincing.
We already have a misogynist in the White House right now. We don't need another one to replace him.
This country had better elect somebody else than either of these two.
8
Props to the most hilarious comment yet: "A lot of bias in this opinion piece."-- Interested, NY
I don't know how much this exploration of general workplace disdain for women has specifically to do with informing me about Bloomberg, who I already strongly dislike--which is why I clicked on this article--see aforementioned favorite comment--but I enjoyed Breunig's style here.
3
I’m sitting in my work truck typing this on a cold blustery day here in rural Pennsylvania. We just pulled up to the house of a stay at home mom. She came to the window with a smile on her face,a warm shawl over her shoulders and a smile on her face. How is the rat race of corporate life preferable to this scenario again?! Women wanted to be treated like men,and now you got what you asked for. This is how men are treated all day every day. Of course it’s in different areas;men aren’t able to get pregnant for one thing. But being kicked around and walked on and screamed at is something that men don’t talk about because what’s the point?! No one cares! For sure not other men! I can’t think of one thing that ‘progressive’ values have done for women except to denigrate them. Women have been taken out of an environment in which they are biologically and otherwise programmed to excel at,(being mothers)and moved into an environmental which it’s very difficult for them to excel in. OF COURSE IT’S DIFFICULT! And it’s cruel to expect women to be both mothers and career women!In my community,women hold the highest place of honor that’s it’s possible to give someone. And that’s not sitting in an office all day or standing behind a cash register at Walmart. By the way,if you publish this NYT’s,thank you! I read this paper on my tablet every day!
2
@Toni The women who became surgeons did not “want to have it all” any more than the men did.
Men are allowed to have children at any point in their careers that they choose because they have always been able to pass off the responsibility and work of raising THEIR children onto their wives. That’s not fair.
Women, just because they are actually the ones who carry and breastfeed the child, should not have their choices about when or if to have a child dictated by workplace constrictions that have long been imposed by men.
It’s time we expect BOTH parents to be equally responsible for their children, both in the workplace and at home. Welcome to the 21st century!
3
Look at Bloomberg's history of providing equal pay, or support for Planned Parenthood. Bloomberg is dry witted, and that doesn’t translate for some people, especially those quick to get offended (or with an agenda). Not trying to make excuses for his past comments or for business owners in general, but this quick jump to labeling someone as a “misogynist” is over the top and needs some real and better-rounded context. He’s the best candidate here, now, for women...for the people of our country.
8
Try as I might, I see no reason to discriminate against people that choose not to have children. What am I missing here? Why should a woman get 2, 4, 6 months off with pay just because she chose to have a child?
3
This article is an outrageous attack on a very good man. I know a Mr Bloomberg and have worked for his company.
Bloomberg LLP is one of the most progressive and inclusive workplace in American. Multiple woman hold the highest positions in the firm with the executive board mostly woman.
When Mike Bloomberg was mayor of NYC he appointed the most woman in the highest positions of authority of any administration in the history of the city.
There has never been a direct allegation against Mr Bloomberg, ever. He is a man of integrity, and high person values with full respect for woman in the workplace, period.
17
Elizabeth, connecting Bloomberg to the "History of Misogyny..." is as cheap as it is slippery. I hope you are able to do as much for people (including women) as he has in his life. And may no one ever cherry-pick something you said from a different era, out of context, and try to fit it into their present agenda.
9
@mo I hope you are able to see that calling Ms Bruenig "Elizabeth" and Mr. Bloomberg "Bloomberg" is sexist.
Or...this could be a bias against men who are angry that they've hired a talented employee only to learn they will lose that employee for months.
I can only look with disgust at some of the comments here. I won't get into them except to point out, to those who decry this piece's "identity politics", that white identity politics has defined the US political environment for centuries and that it has been the primary driving for in the Republican Party for decades. I suspect that those who whine about "identity politics" don't even realize this obvious point.
4
You're on to something, Liz. In fact you can do a franchise of these articles: Biden and His Long History of Confabulation, Pete Buttigieg and the Memos of McKinsey, Elizabeth Warren's Non-Days on the Non-Existent Reservation. etc. But what exactly are you showing here beside perhaps an earnest and callow perspective. When I was younger, pontiification on politics, love, money, etc. was really easy, because I'd experienced oh so very little of it. Now that I've loved, voted, and started a business or two, I can now see the gray between the black and white. I suggest you take a macro view before you use this formidable platform to further confuse an already muddy Democratic primary. If we cannot, as Americans understand the process of making mistakes, learning, and moving forward, why should anyone bother running for office? Why try to rehabilitate criminals. Yep, I'm afraid you make a naive argument that only makes sense in an intellectual's hothouse.
7
Thank you
1
Wow, if anyone really questions whether rank misogyny prevails around these issues they need only take a look at the comments posted here. I am truly shocked at the callousness and intense anger displayed towards women who dare to propagate the species.
9
Mike is the only one to destroy Donald Trump Dem party will fall on its own sword if Bernie is the candidate what a mess to be stuck with Trump for 4 more years.
2
It is incorrect to blame misogyny on a backlash against female self-assertion. It is frontlash. A young male chimpanzee begins its advance in rank by beating up females, starting with the smallest one. When it can beat up all the females it advances to the males until it finds the one who can beat it. The hostility towards females enables the males to take resources from females. In the human case, it enables rape, hostile seduction, and abandonment, all possible reproductive strategies depending on the society. We have to correct this by bringing up males to practice compassion, and to weaken their native misogyny by not exercising it, and to overcome it with conscience. We need more assertive mothers, not less assertive mothers!
4
Stop this right now! You are damaging the only viable candidate by dredging up the past indiscretions that do not reflect the current man. I personally women who work for Bloomberg now and it is a humane place where individuals of all genders, races, ethnicities are respected.
Ask yourself: do you want to hurt someone who has radically changed with the times or a neanderthal like Trump whose ideas about women are stuck in the miserable 1980s? If you keep up this attack on Bloomberg, the result is Trump--please think about it!
4
Obviously Bloomberg needs to pick a woman as VP to allay any fears. I like Amy Klobuchar.
2
It’s not society that’s resentful, it’s the tiny noisy overrated segment of the business world known colloquially as “bosses.”
1
And what about his limiting baby formula in hospitals to force new mothers to breast-feed? He did this in NY and many hospitals complied with the plan. Of course a scheme like this hurts the poorest new moms who have to get back to work and cannot breastfeed for long if at all. Women don't need a paternalistic misogynist president.
2
Synecdoche. Nice.
So if you click on the sources, these are allegations that Bloomberg denied and were never proven or even corroborated.
But don’t let that stop the author from concluding that Bloomberg is a misogynist.
And click on the last cite for the source of the reference to Wit and Wisdom, a gag book someone wrote as a joke and gave to Bloomberg on his birthday. Here’s what it states:
“Mike simply did not say the things somebody wrote in this gag gift, which has been circulating for 30 years and has been quoted in every previous election Mike has been in.”
3
If you let perfect to be the enemy of good you will lose.
3
The reality is that the party members, Democrats, are the ones voting for this guy!
Allegations and more allegations. I don’t formulate opinions based on allegations. Trump alleges that the Coronavirus is under control. I don’t believe him and I don’t believe people that pop out of the woodwork twenty years after the fact. Radical feminists like Elizabeth Warren say “of course I believe HER.” Are women born with a truth gene that men lack? As a man, I resent the immediate rush to accept as TRUTH every allegation women make against men simply based on their “recollections.”
3
NDA's, sexist remarks, Stop and Frisk, red-lining, spying on muslim communities, and the decimation of NYC's middle class to the benefit of the wealthy. One might think that Bloomgerg is trying to steal Trump's base.
5
An unsurprising hit piece from a columnist (Ivy League grad millennial with an activist lawyer spouse) whose last opinion piece was an undisguised campaign commercial for Sanders.
Don't people have the right to change and grow? Don't executives have the right of due process, and presumption of innocence? Is every allegation from a woman about work place conditions on the same level as tablets from Mt. Sinai? Well on the latter at your former Ivy league perch the answer would be yes, but elite academia is hardly the general population of our country, and men aren't considered monsters until proven otherwise.
4
BTW I also failed to mention that in addition to Bloomberg offering PAID MATERNITY LEAVE, his health insurance benefits offer coverage for INVITRO FERTILIZATION! That is unheard of. Mike Bloomberg is progressive, reflective, willing to look at himself, a changing world and change with it. That is the mark of man with character.
10
I am of an age where I put up with endless misogynist remarks, both as a woman, and as a pregnant woman and mother. Did I enjoy them, of course not. However, I think Ms Bruenig is really off base. As women we do indeed need to "get over it." That's not to say "forget it", it is to say, celebrate the progress we've made, and work to make it better.
As for Mr. Bloomberg, he came from a different era and be given not a pass, but a sense of understanding, which is what we should expect from him. He has proven that he can listen. He has proven, that unlike the guy in the White House now, he has empathy and a real heart! Not to mention, he has a proven record of getting things done even in tough times - remember post 9/11. We need someone with empathy, heart and the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time because we ARE in a crisis - financially, morally, and internationally!
176
@P Dunbar
There are lots of people with some empathy and managerial ability. Studies have shown women are better at multi-tasking on average (and
common sense says they have more empathy on average), certainly better than men pushing eighty years old, so the best somewhat younger women would be a much better bet if this is what a voter cares about.
There was even another NYC mayor as a candidate in the race and
he got nowhere. Bloomberg's unique appeal is his giant wealth and his hiding from collecting one dollar donations and debating says he wants to run on his wealth, including apparently unlabeled paid-for comments on social media and elsewhere.
If this is what matters to voters, we will get what we deserve.
6
@P Dunbar I identify with these remarks. Not only because they are age-related but mostly because I weary of purity standards -- no, women should not be denigrated in any way. Nor should anyone, for that matter. Please contrast this concern with the larger one of Trump deliberately choosing to lock up children after separating them from parents, tearing down environmental standards that help protect said children (and adults), throwing out behavior standards for entertainment value at rallies (and elsewhere), constant ignoring of facts, choosing inadequate or totally unprepared Acting Everyones, ignoring divisions of government when it doesn't suit you, and so much more. Shall I go on? Can we just keep focus on the big picture, at least until November??
11
@Alan
Bloomberg decided to run (after having publicly announced last year that he was not going to run) because after watching the train wreck known as the Democratic field of candidates he believes he's the only one who can defeat Trump, and I believe he is correct.
If I had 60 billion dollars, I would be doing exactly what Michael Bloomberg is doing--trying to save this country from four more years of Trump.
And, yes, this is what matters to me and I hope I get what I deserve.
I am of Bloomberg's vintage. I started my career as a woman engineer and have experienced my share of workplace misogyny. Let me say this--in my day, I would never expect my boss to provide me with a private breast pumping area. I would never expect my boss to accommodate my distinctly female needs in any way. That's just was how it was back then. Businesses were not family-friendly enterprises.
Times have changed and I have changed. I now believe that American businesses owe their employees family-friendly policies whether it be breast pumping areas, child care leave, child care facilities, whatever.
I believe Mike Bloomberg has figured it out as well.
26
Many here and elsewhere have spoken about the Bloomberg of the 1980's. We are in a different time and place now, but the rehashing of past cultures is damaging the future of this country. Bloomberg was no saint, as he well admits but what are we looking for when we blame and shame men for what they did 40 years ago? Is there a crime he hasn't been held to account for? People like Harvey W. are being held accountable for there CRIMES from the past, but there is no crime here for Bloomberg. If we recognize that the culture of 1980 is truly in the past then we need to move on, as clearly Ms. Bruenig needs to do. Anyone but Trump!
1
I worked on Wall Street during the 80s and 90s. Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, DBL, Goldman, etc., and the law firms that served them. To people who are echoing the crude advice of Mike's partner, to "get over it" when learning about his "kill it" advice to a pregnant employee, I can say that you've got it wrong. This kind of thing wasn't typical. The traders and baby bankers could be a crude lot, but "kill it" would have been shocking even then, and especially from someone in a supervisory capacity, much less the owner of the company.
That Mike was able to utter this, for the record, reflects more on the person he is than the times that were. Smearing a lot of money around doesn't alter your fundamental nature or prove that you've changed.
3
Small business. Five employees. Close knit group, several of whom are also parents. One become pregnant and goes on maternity leave. Everyone happy for the new mom and baby, but either (a) productivity drops by 20%, (b) workload increases by 25% for the other four, or (c) wage costs increase by 20% to bring in a temp (assuming that person is 100% as capable and committed as the one on maternity leave).
These are just facts - not politics.
It is simply unreasonable to ask the other employees to pretend this isn’t some combination of unfair (especially for other employees who have chosen not to have kids), expensive (in terms of increased costs or decreased productivity, or (c) annoying (to those who have to work more).
Why do we treat maternity as something sacred? It is a choice - no one in today’s developed societies is forced into it. And whether it’s maternity leave or paternity leave is irrelevant. If you want a lifestyle that contains both work and children you cannot pretend that this comes for free. Why should it?
If society deems it so important to facilitate mother’s having children then society needs to foot the bill. Mandatory compensation to all corporations to cover all reasonable costs incurred due to maternal or paternal leave? Vote on it - if that’s what people want they should pay for it from taxes.
At present the burden is borne by individuals who are then castigated for airing their legitimate grievances.
4
I'm probably sounding a little too old-school for the author, but there is a big difference in what a person in Bloomberg's situation says and what he does. I'm not excusing the words, but all of us mothers over 50 who have worked and raised children in corporate America (and anywhere for the most part), understand that there is a difference. If Bloomberg now provides the benefits that I read about, then who cares if he inappropriately joked about something in the 1980s and 90s. I remember getting those same questions, and it didn't even phase me - and that's because of the time. It was very different. If he was equally irresponsible with how he cared for his employees, then that's one thing; otherwise, it's very irresponsible for a journalist on a platform like the NYT to write such a piece without looking at what policies he put in place to provide for his workforce.
5
The ratio of employees winning any type of litigation against an employer is nearly zero; tort, personal injury, or anything other than lost wages or pensions, actions rarely prevail and nearly always are settled if they have any merit.
Elaine Pao lost her lawsuit against a venture capitalist company, when that company had clearly denigrated her - viewed her as less valuable for one factor, that she was of child bearing age, and might have a child.
In California, which is a pro-corporate state, anti-worker state, that jury's decision injured future employment litigation.
M. Bloomberg is a corporatist. I am now ashamed of him. Whether or not he did initiate extremely hostile discriminatory acts against women in HIS workplace or not, there's enough to demonstrate that he must have done so. He failed to defend himself during the debates with facts about his corporate policies - his laws essentially.
3
This is less common now, but yes, still exists.
Passing over a job at a large bank because it had just settled sex harassment charges and I feared being seen always with an asterisk no matter how well I performed, I accepted an offer with a smaller, regional bank in the late 80s.
On our first day, another young woman and I were completing paperwork in the HR department. She asked me if I intended to answer the question on when my menstrual cycle occurred. “I’ll only answer questions every new hire is asked,” I said. Although I have no idea if she answered that offensive, mysoginistic query, her career advancement outpaced mine.
I guess I had an asterisk and probably was considered a noncompliant, potentially troublesome employee. For too many women then and now, workplaces resemble minefields. Whatever choices we make, more negative repercussions seem to ensue. Women still earn significantly less than men (all variables considered) 30-plus years later. The same is true for any “outliers” from the white, cisgender male model that Bloomberg personifies.
And let’s remember how Amy Klobuchar got into politics: it stemmed from enduring a forced discharge from the hospital, though her ill newborn daughter was in NICU, within 24 hours. She ended “drive through deliveries.” Elizabeth Warren openly discusses how without her Aunt Bea, she couldn’t have stayed in law school.
These two Democratic presidential nomination contenders get it in ways Bloomberg never will.
8
Bloomberg and Trump were perhaps both in the same place in the early 1980s. But today? Trump's still in the early 1980s. Bloomberg?--He's not only in 2020, he's in 2050, and thinking ahead in ways most 'moderates.' let alone Republicans, can't even imagine.
11
While not commenting on Bloomberg (the op ed offers little or no evidence to back up its claims) It seemed to me that the negative attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood were also reflective of the feminist movement in the 60’s and 70’s. It was all about getting women out of the house and into the work place and who cared who was watching the children. Thankfully, child care is now a priority of today’s woman’s movement.
6
Picking at Bloomberg's pixels distracts from the bigger picture. Not only can he beat Trump, he has the managerial skills to fix Trump's damage. Or, would Ms. Bruenig prefer to wait for the Second Coming?
15
A young lady we knew as a student in HS worked for Mr Bloomberg in NY for several years when he was mayor. Her take on MB is that he was a fine man and an excellent boss in the time she worked for him. I trust her judgement.
16
After reading this my reaction is that some of this is possibly normal on the part of men... by which I mean seeing someone as a mother means seeing her as something other than an object of your desire. Because of course women are and always will be more complicated than that. Of course we have allowed this to be twisted and blown up in a very patriarchal society and our lack of maternal leave is a reflection of that.
2
Child bearing is necessary for the economic health of a country. Countries that have low birth rates with decreasing populations have contracting economies (e.g. Japan). They have difficulty providing support for the elderly as their percentage of the population increases. So, support of child bearing should be a matter of government policy.
3
Yes, Elizabeth, that is the corporate world that was. But your "mother hatred" trope is way over the top. This piece isn't informative. It's just a hit piece by someone who wasn't there during those times, doesn't seem to understand that most corporate settings were like that. It was the culture that most of the world operated in.
Mike is about ten years younger than my late dad. Wonderful guy, my dad, a WWll four year combat veteran, as were the majority of that generation's men. He was a Marine to the core all of his life, and treated women with kindness and respect. Was he also a chauvinist? Yes. Most men were, because it was unavoidable. People were, and are, complex.
You're too young, Elizabeth, to realize just how comparatively recently our culture has changed. And the knowledge you think you have of those days is purely in the abstract. Cultures are built over hundreds of years, and it takes many generations for change to to come. It doesn't arrive in all aspects of the culture at the same time. Also, this generation of young women don't have a knowledge of the roles both genders have been locked in for hundreds of years. For all their power, men had almost as few choices as women did in those years.
Mike has more than made up for his past misogyny, in all the work he's done FOR women. Too many women want blood over it. I hope their blood lust is satisfied when Trump is reelected.
16
@Jrb This is fantasy, the idea that we are past misogyny, that our corporations have changed in such a way that anti-motherhood is no long a factor in women's ability to progress and thrive in a corporate environment. It is a myth that a new generation of corporate leaders has taken hold of a new world for women. Stories out of the young, male world of technology give the lie to such assertions. The Me Too movement isn't decades old (though the '60's/'70's wave of feminism is) and its complaints and accounts sadly remain all too current. "Mike" definitely has neither outgrown nor outlived this painful reality. Is he still calling Diana Taylor his 65 year old, two-decade long partner "girlfriend"?
6
@Alice Olson
My grandsons and his friends still call their girlfriends "girlfriend" and they are all liberal. But they treat them with more respect than guys treated women back in the day.
1
@Alice Olson
At no point did I suggest we are past misogyny. And if you're offended by an older man calling his girlfriend a girlfriend, I guess you'd be just as offended by older women calling their boyfriends 'boyfriends'. They are older, and 'woman'friend or 'man'friend just sounds weird to many of us, as does the ubiquitous 'significant other', which is so incredibly impersonal it doesn't sound like a human is being referred to.
It's this nonsensical freakout over the more minor aspects of harassment that numbs people to the serious harassment. The equating sexual harassment with sexual assault and rape, as though they're all the same thing. Trying to cancel a much-needed candidate who could win this election over remarks he made, and opinions he held years ago, while not bothering to learn what he's done - in big ways and small - for women as a collective. He may still have some of those views. As long as he isn't acting on them anymore, and there is no evidence he is, then when is rehabilitation enough? This is what I mean by blood lust. No matter what a man has done since to make up for his behavior, it will never be enough for too many women today.
I lived and worked in that world and this one. By virtue of my years I've experienced more misogyny than young women of today. I am #MeToo, in the original meaning of that term before it was coopted. Those same years of living also give me a more mature perspective of human nature.
1
enough already. just face it there isn't a perfect man in the world so look at his ability to run New York look at his ability to do something about the environment look at those things and quit with the identity politics.
29
@michelle None of us, women or men, are "perfect"but there are gradations to "imperfect." Women and those men who love them would be wise to recognize differences when choosing someone to make policy that governs women's lives.
3
@Alice Olson
Like voting for Trump. Seems a lot of folks don't agree with you. Money over respect.
If, as a society, we have to consider whether pregnant women should be given special privileges like being paid for taking time off from a job where someone else will have to do their work, then we need to consider whether that woman is performing a service for society for having a child. Since the world has too many humans now, another child is not for the benefit of society but for that woman's personal pleasure. In this case, she and her husband should bear the burden of time and money. The rest of society has nothing to thank her for and should not pay the price.
11
@Amy Feinberg The point is that it is only the mothers who are expected to sacrifice their careers to have a family, which you admitted when you said that she has a baby for “her pleasure.” I’m guessing it was for the father’s pleasure as well, in more ways than one.
I agree that the world has too many people, but are we to stop having children altogether? Or will parenthood only be allowed for the wealthy who can afford to take time off from their jobs?
11
@amy feinberg, capitalism relies on constant growth, and so does our society, for things like SS and elder care.
I wonder if you feel the same about the privilege of having lunch and bathroom breaks, and weekends off. All things that machines don't need.
The only thing that matters is $$$, right?
1
@amy feinberg Fertility rates are in dramatic decline worldwide and world population may peak below nine billion by 2050 and then decline. ... If the birth rate exceeds 2.1, population numbers increase; if it is less than 2.1, population numbers decline. Birth rates below 2.1 have been common now since 1970. Mar 7, 2019,
www.irishtimes.com › news › science
There needs to be a public private partnership to ensure the right amount maternity and paternity leave. The government should either match the wages or subsidize the business for this time off. Business then is mandated to hold the position until the time is over thereby alleviating issues with lost career goals. It's a simple fix, if we can subsidize farmers billions of dollars for a pointless trade war we can subsidize parents having children.
17
@Johnson, Keep government out of it.
2
Part of the reason Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 was the liberal extreme of pushing ever further with feminism. Her emphasis on the Axis Hollywood Tapes was met with a dragging up of accusations that her husband had committed rape while president. The campaign resulted in dirt-throwing on both sides, and actual issues were forgotten.
This essay illustrates that Democrats might well take a similar tack in 2020 resulting in the reelection of Trump.
Nobody is perfect. Not Bloomberg. Not Sanders.
If there is discrimination, maybe it is in FAVOR of women and children, which were preferred when assigning seats to the lifeboats of the Titanic.
The author writes:
"And then there are the uniquely modern forms of mother-hatred: The eugenic sort, which vilifies poor, disabled and nonwhite women who have children for daring to increase the ranks of those whom the elites consider unfit."
In 1972, Donella Meadows et al wrote the important book, "Limits to Growth," which argued that population growth because of too many children put planet earth on a trajectory towards overshoot and collapse.
Starvation, running out of oil, degradation of the environment were listed as possible limits which would bring population growth to an end.
Although China instituted a one-child policy cutting its growth compared to India, this warning was ignored in the US. Some critics on the left said it smacked of "eugenics."
So the population of earth doubled once again, making global warming worse.
7
@Blaise Descartes A note here. More third class children died when the Titanic sank than first class male passengers. Only FIRST class women and children were given preference. Another huge myth being reported today is that countries with shrinking population are in economic trouble. There is no evidence to support this. It is all speculation on the part of one set of economists that insist you need a growing population. With Japan, the problem is that the people, unlike in the US, do not spend their money on useless garbage which they then have to declutter.
Politicians want constant growth because more people equals more tax money without have to raise the tax rates. The US has reached the point of stable population growth. The increase is the result of immigration.
except like everyone touting this nonsense you're completely ignoring the fact that Americans have been having less children for two generations, school enrollment is falling everywhere and even crime has been reduced once the children of Boomers passed through adolescence. What's killing the planet is incredible wastefulness, immoral corporate behavior and Incredibly short-sighted planning by governments everywhere. But I guess you can be thanked for keeping the John Birch Society alive.
@Blaise Descartes, men are the ones that write the rules, even now.
You sound like you're blaming women for the number of children they have, as if men weren't involved. Births in the US are not the cause of the doubling of the world population.
1
A lot of bias in this opinion piece. I haven't looked into Bruenig's political leanings but I suspect she wants to defeat Bloomberg in his presidential bid. Mr. Bloomberg is of a generation of men who were allowed and empowered to speak in a manner to women that the younger generation wants to eradicate. Don't stomp out the good that this man has done for women because you want to "get even".
20
@Interested I am so tired of giving a pass to all those men of a 'certain generation'. Nor is it only the 'younger generation' that wants it to end. It is and has been all women that want it to end. The simple fact is that men continue as they have through out history, to dismiss women to placate their own egos. This has gone on across all fields and professions. The medical profession even today shows a huge disregard to women resulting in many preventable deaths. This attitude is pervasive to the extent that laws to give women an equal footing do not get enacted.
Ms. Bruenig, if you think the workplace is hard on working professional mothers (and, it is) try being a working professional father in the same role. There is virtually no support in the workplace for fathers who are also the primary caregiver for their children. Just imagine a professional male working for Bloomberg wanting the same parental workplace support that Bloomberg gives women, and just imagine the damage to a man's Bloomberg career path that would seek the same workplace parental accommodations and benefits.
13
@SparkyTheWonderPup You are not wrong, but why is it that every time there is an article about difficulties women face, it is met with "but what about the men." Men and women face different issues, and it is okay to have an article specifically about something women face without including what men face (and vice versa). This article is only in part about the workplace, it discussed multiple ways that mothers are treated badly. There absolutely should be a discussion about how fathers are treated in the workplace, but it is okay to have articles that just focus on women.
11
@elyse87 Because the two issues are inexorably linked.
4
@SparkyTheWonderPup, good point. Men feel a lot of societal pressure to return to work immediately, to be the breadwinner rather than child-carer etc. My father was a stay at home dad and recently mentioned to me that he was disappointed that there hasn't been a bigger shift in support for men since the 70s. But I think they have to fight for their rights just as women do, and men still wield more power than women so they are actually in a better position to promote change.
1
Thank you for this. It's disturbing that so many comments here illustrate your points, that pregnancy is resented and motherhood (in the families of others) denigrated and unsupported. The power of women's reproductive capacity has always been a wellspring of misogyny.
As a non-mother and an environmentalist interested in limiting population growth, I still understand that we have a communal obligation to construct a supportive environment for parents and children as a sound investment in our future. So, yes, the financial burden of parenthood should be borne by us all.
25
Times change, people change and politics is more than just a litmus test of whom has the best scorecard now on the sacred alter of identity politics. I'm certain that Wall Street -- like other institutions - was harsher on women in the 80's then they are now. We are all that much more enlightened and respectful. Let's move on and deal with the matters that are important for our future. If someone like Trump -- with his serious transgressions and prejudices -- can be endorsed by the evangenicals, why do Democrats insist on these fallow tear downs of our best and brightest politicians?
12
@Marc s
I think her point was that Bloomberg is not our best and brightest.
1
@F I'm not in agreement; the article condemned misogyny rather than smarts. it's there in the title and text
Not even close, Ms Bruenig, not even close. You likely never tried to build a business. Anything that disrupts an employee's productivity will agitate the business owner, male or female. And although pregnancy is a blessing, it's a curse to the employer who relies on valued critical employees, like, yes, women to get the job done. A crucial employee whose hours are spent at home is exasperating, regardless of gender.
20
@PoDoc, true. But like with many things other countries have managed to do more than us.
2
@PoDoc Employment is not chattel slavery. Employers may feel exasperated that they do not own an employee's every minute, but they deserve to face pushback if they fail to keep related comments to themselves.
2
@PoDoc That sounds very close to servitude. That is the point really, that employers only look at the 'work' and ignore the person. If you do not value your people and show that you do then your people will leave and you will find yourself training your competitions workforce. Too many employers are used to the idea that their employees owe them because you gave them a job. They are finding out that the younger generation wont be brainwashed into thinking like that.
When I was a surgery resident in the 80's the call was every third night. Just as I began to settle in on only sleeping two out of every three nights my senior resident said not to get used to it. It didn't take long to find out why. The female residents got pregnant and took three months off. I got every other night on call. That meant working 36 hours on and 12 hours off. The resentment my male colleagues festered towards their women counterparts extended to their own wives, girlfriends and I suspect even their mothers. None of them remained in long term relationships. The successful female surgeons of that era survived by taking on a stereotypical male persona. It was the system that was broke all around not women trying have the semblance of any career and family. Making the men take more call wasn't imposed by the women but by the administration. Mr. Bloomberg is part of that archaic system. He can have his team package him any way he wants. As the leader I'm sure his attitudes toward women filtered down to his managers and rank in file workers by example. This election shouldn't be about which billionaire can make it SEEM they care the most even as they made their money instilling a culture of exploitation.
9
@Stewart Those women who became pregnant during surgical residency should not have become surgeons. Their decision was based on the unrealistic notion that "they could have it all". If you were to evaluate the current work load of those female surgeons now, I am confident that they work fewer hours, peform fewer case, take less emergency call than their male counterparts from the same era. Training them wasted precious resources that would have been better spent on individuals totally committed to caring for patients.
11
@Stewart I have seen this in many jobs in many walks of life. Two things: (1) Bloomberg's company is actually known as one of the more progressive and reputationally as one of the best workplaces in the financial industry for men and women and (2) as an attorney who represents many corporations, I find it amusing that it is assumed that these allegations are truthful.
Often times it is easier for a corporation to settle with a non-disclosure than to pay exorbitant legal fees defending a "he said-she said" litigation that draws resources away from productive work. The amount of frivolous claims against corporations by unscrupulous employees (men and women) would astonish the average person and probably motivate those people to make false claims themselves if they knew how profitable it was. Just think of the insurance abuse that exists and multiply it by thousands.
14
@Toni Given that 50% of pregnancies are unintended, you're making an unwarranted assumption here.
1
My complaint of this op-ed piece is that it fails to acknowledge that women have been equally and sometimes harsher then men around workplace pregnancy and motherhood. These judgements have not been confined to the workplace either. Women are judged in nearly every social setting, especially when children reach school age. It starts very early, judged for social status, judged for looks, judged for whom one marries, judged for how one handles marriage and extends even deeper when children are involved. I am no fan of male misogyny but I am even more appalled at the damage my "sisters" do to each other. Digging into Warren's or Klobuchar's past might reveal some deeply inconvenient truths as will digging into any of the other candidates backgrounds.
19
If Mr. Bloomberg is such a monster how is it that The Times had this endorsement of him on October 23, 2005:
"Mr. Bloomberg, who is running for re-election on the Republican line against Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic candidate, has accomplished a great deal in four years. His greatest achievement has been to teach New Yorkers that good government is not a zero sum game; that even in a city where every neighborhood, block and building jealously guards some ancient prerogative, change can make things better for everybody.Mr. Bloomberg has not been nearly as exciting, or entertaining, as Edward I. Koch or Rudolph W. Giuliani. But he has been better at running the city. If he continues his record of accomplishment over the next four years, he may be remembered as one of the greatest mayors in New York history."
44
@Conrad This current piece is an OPINION column. This is a separate function at a newspaper from the editorial and news desks.
In the democrats quest to beat Trump in 2020, will we look past Bloomberg's history and indiscretions? How many of us fail to see that republicans ignoring all that is wrong with Trump, is only because he is their man, and he is fulfilling their agenda? (you could start with his evangelical base). Sometimes an all consuming goal becomes all consuming.
11
it's discouraging to see so many people in these comments defend workplace discrimination. we are a better community, more productive, and more prosperous when we take care of one another. why is it so outlandish to treat people with respect and to adopt policies that respond to people's actual needs? women aren't the only ones who make children or have families. to create a more just society, we must champion paid family leave - for mothers, fathers, and caretakers of all sorts. why do we prioritize profits over people?
24
@Katie Thank you for saying this so clearly. I too am disheartened by these comments.
2
@katie
That is not the critique of the article.
Of course no mention that Bloomberg called his mother everyday until she died or that he still pays for his mother’s phone line so he can hear her voice. Would have taken the sheen off the Marquis De Sade association. It would not have surprised me if Bloomberg expressed annoyance when employees got pregnant. If he did, he was clearly wrong. But he would not have alone in corporate America at that time. I’d be interested to know what NYC Government pregnancy practices and policies were during his 12,years in office or what Bloomberg LLP’s current pregnancy policies are-both of which might be more relevant data points to understanding what a future Bloomberg administration would mean for women. Somehow they didn’t make it into this hit job.
31
@Waylon Wall
I wonder if men who go into rehab and are put on administrative leave for alcoholism and addiction on a regular basis were and are subjected to the same kind of "annoyance" on the part of their employers?
An acquaintance of mine from years ago was constantly having to go in and out of programs for substance abuse, and his employer not only condoned it, they paid for it. Women who needed to take time off for maternity leave, child care issues and breast cancer surgery were subjected to endless scrutiny and judgment about their "lifestyle choices" and told they should be responsible and "pay for their own life choices."
Men are treated differently and more favorably in the workplace.
10
He’s hostile towards new mothers because he sees them as weak and inconvenient. It’s a glimpse into the kind of person he is and he may never get my vote as a result.
I was fully committed to Vote Blue No Matter Who until Bloomberg entered the race. Now, I won’t say I definitely will not vote for him if he is the nominee but I will need to think long and hard.
9
@Tim
I would like to know on any issue, including women, how Trump would preferable to Bloomberg if, as you say, you were "fully committed to Vote Blue No Matter Who".
12
@Tim So, if two names are on the ballot in November, Trump and Bloomberg, which of those two would you have choose the next Supreme Court justices?
6
@Tim "I was fully committed to vote blue... until Bloomberg entered the race."
As Marcia Brady used to say, "Sure, Jan."
3
Another 'highly educated' young person claiming to know exactly how it was to be a woman in the workplace 10 to 15 years before she was born!!
Was there any new research provided? Did she examine comparable treatment in comparable corporations?
No and no.
Well miss, I WAS a woman in that work force. And I had good, bad, indifferent and sexist bosses and coworkers. BUT I also had many many more good guys as bosses and coworkers:men who became lifelong friends.
People who weren't there have absolutely no right to cast stones at anyone who was without taking into account all facts or basing snarky judgement what shows up in the tabloids.
signed:
77 year old retired professional woman with 45 years in IT in major corporations across America and proud single mother of 3 successful professional kids and 4 grand kids.
77
This isn't about your experience in the workplace, it's about the workplace experiences of women who worked for Michael Bloomberg. The latter is what is relevant, not the former.
72
@Nshsandy
In what way was this a relevant reply to the article? I didn’t see her say that there were no good male bosses.
9
@Nshsandy: Read the WaPo article and read the PDF download of the lawsuit. You'll change your tune pretty darn quickly.
2
There’s a similar situation with reserve military who are called to service and have to leave their civilian jobs and the employer and remaining employees have to make do. The service member is guaranteed by law to be able to resume their civilian job when their service ends. And as with pregnancy, the situation of interrupted employment can be repeated. Managing that for the employer is a challenge.
2
@Barrie Grenell
Yes, and some employers, like our current president, sought to evade these respomsibilities. See, Beattie v. Trump Shuttle, Inc., 758 F. Supp. 30 (D.D.C. 1991)("Trump's refusal to hire Beattie based upon his military obligation was in direct violation of both the language and purpose of § 2021(b) (3)").
Mr. Bloomberg, on the other hand, has been an active supporter of reservist rightsa. While the FMLA requires only unpaid leave, Bloomberg has provided 18 weeks of paid parental leave (recently increased to 26 weeks).
1
@ Barrie Grenell
But the right thing to do.
The characterization of businesses and workers as misogynists is at best disingenuous and a calculated political untruth. The issues related to workplace management of pregnancy among young working women of child-bearing age are complicated by work loads placed on co-workers and the added costs of staffing additional workers to cover for the personal decision to become pregnant which was likely not disclosed to the employer at the time of hire and for which the employer is legally prohibited from asking. The burden of covering the cost and work load of an individual's personal decision is now borne by the employer and coworkers who did not participate in that decision. Women should truthfully acknowledge that they are likely to become pregnant when they are hired so that all who will bear the burden of their absence can plan. Also, Society as a whole, and not individual businesses or coworkers should bear the financial cost of pregnancy leave.
10
@Toni Consider the perspective that people who do not raise children are making a "personal decision" to free ride on the labor of parents who do the work of raising the next generation. Good luck doing without them.
16
@New Jerseyan I am in complete agreement with your stated view. It is my opinion that parents who raise children should receive a progressively larger tax benefit based on the number of children (future taxpayers) they have/raise/educate to reflect the positive Societal impact their children have both in general and on the US Treasury.
7
@Toni Coworkers and the business owner shouldn't bear the cost, I agreed. But you blame the women who becomes pregnant and say it is their duty to inform others about their reproductive decisions. I strongly disagree. Society is failing women with kids, more than ever. Why would you endorse women being tasked with yet another burden? Place it where It belongs: on society. And business owners have a lot of governmental influnce. They could pressure the government to fund maternity leave and childcare. Yet they don't. Blame them.
What I find most disturbing about all of this is that, after Elizabeth Warren called out Bloomberg for his comments in that last debate, you could hear the audience react in a negative way (that was definitely a loaded audience).
Worse, after the debate, male commentators questioned Warren's judgment, not Bloomberg's, for even bringing the subject up. Why would she accuse him of such a thing? Or, as Chris Matthews wanted to know, why would someone like Bloomberg say something like that, implying that Warren had made it up for political points. Even Warren, who strikes me as pretty unflappable, was taken aback by Matthews' attack of her rather than of Bloomberg.
25
@avrds Bloomberg has consistently denied making the remark Warren tried to attack him with. She knew it to be an unfounded accusation, yet in her desperation she ran with it.
Bloomberg has given more money to EMILY's List than anyone. He's given millions to Planned Parenthood. For Warren to try to tar him as a misogynist was low and apparently everyone knew it.
5
@avrds It was a loaded office and the commenters here are definitely skewed as well. Shouldn’t be a surprise since we know Bloomberg is using his billions to hire people to spread a false narrative of grass roots support.
3
@Tim
I also groaned in despair listening to Warren. Her accusations kept coming and coming --and Bloomberg had already done as she requested, released the NDAs. Apologized. Still she went on and on and on. I was so angry with her at that point. I donated to her campaign four or five times in the past and she completely alienated me. I was embarrassed that she believes (apparently) that she represents women well. She alienated me. I stood in line for 2 hours to get a selfie with her in NYC. And she has managed to alienate me. Bloomberg is someone who actually can get the job done. And when she pounded away at him self-righteously long after he'd answered and responded to her complaints, I want to now turn off the volume when her voice comes on -- just like how I feel about Trump. No more hectoring, please. Enough. That's how I feel about this column, whining about one or two comments in the past. Enough of the hectoring, Women.
2
From a corporate perspective (Bloomberg), I can understand the frustration at having his corporate executive team's ability limited by the personal decisions of key members of the team. Losing a key member of that group for a substantial amount of time (or possibly on a permanent basis) can leave a huge hole and impede the team's ability to execute. When or if the new mother comes back, it will take time for them to juggle their new role as a mother with their previous life. And yes it will often affect their ability to work 16 hour days or to engage important clients which require travel.
In spite of these drawbacks to corporations short-term interest, there is a larger societal vested interest in making sure that new mothers succeed during this difficult period. Our society needs children brought up by these successful intelligent and ambitious woman. But our businesses (epitomized by selfishness of Mr. Bloomberg) force woman to choose between their ambitions at work and their desire for children. For these woman, it's not matter of affordability of childcare, but the limitation of being a parent on their executive responsibilities. The best solution for corporations and these woman, would be to design normalized career paths for them that allow them to limit travel and hours during the initial years of their child, but allows them to (if they choose) re-emerge within the higher executive ranks when they can once again meet the extra demands of these positions.
3
@Pat The question to your first paragraph is why the same concerns do not apply to fathers, outside of the initial physical recovery period.
16
@Marybeth
They do if a male wants the same amount of time off. But that's pretty rare from my experience.
@Pat
'. . . the frustration at having his corporate executive team's ability limited by the personal decisions of key members of the team."
I wonder if Bloomberg had the same level of "frustration"with male executives having to take time off for substance abuse rehab. Using drugs and alcohol are "personal decisions" as well . . .
“And there’s the capitalist sort [of mother hatred], which holds mothers in contempt for needing time off from work (not to mention pay) to deliver and care for children, and some accommodations when they return to the office.”
As a woman who chose not to have children and now a small business owner, it has nothing to do with hatred and everything to do with simply wanting equal pay for equal work. If society values parenting (which I think it should), then government tax revenue should provide benefits for maternity (and paternity) leave, rather than asking individual companies and individual co-workers to repeatedly step into the breech at their own expense. You can’t ask one set of people (non-parents) to do more work for less remuneration (in the form of fewer benefits) without creating legitimate resentment. Despite what the law might say, this results in a bias against hiring women of childbearing age.
305
@SD I agree that the government should pay for maternity leave...and health care...but that still means we the taxpayers are paying for these benefits. As we should! Just because a person doesn't have a child doesn't mean they don't benefit from good maternity leave, child care, education for those children. Those kids will one day be your surgeon, lawyer, chef, airline pilot.
154
@Inkwell SD was simply saying that the burden should be society's overall, not individual businesses and individual co-workers. Read the comment again.
39
Amen to national mandated paid and parental leave. It could be rolled up with caregiver benefits for those who need time to care for elderly relatives.
54
I am bothered by words like "misogyny" and "racism" because they reduce a complex question to a certain moral one. We can object to Bloomberg's comments and his behavior without calling it misogyny.
It seems from his behavior that he wants women to have jobs and not have children, which comes pretty close to the feminist view. That is not misogyny, it is simply a new cultural norm.
Society should make it easy for women to have children and for them to be well brought up. But doing so may require a certain softness towards traditional roles for women which DID allow women to have children and be at home with them. That too had problems.
But because the old views of family and the new one are in conflict we are unable to think of solutions.
11
where are the men in this equation? it's misogynistic to expect women to be the primary caregivers, whether you like the term or not. I'm a working mother, and it works because my partner takes an equal role in raising our children. it's telling that you care more about the label than about equity for women.
19
@Ludwig
I don't know any feminists who want women to have jobs and not children. Women are often forced into that position because having two full time jobs is sometimes just too difficult.
The issues are:
1) that human society needs children, but women are expected to bear all the costs of career interruption, childcare, and expense (why shouldn't traditional roles for fathers also be "softened" to allow them to be stay at home parents?) ; and
2) that motherhood is given one day a year in order to sell cards and candy but is otherwise devalued since it compromises the primary view of women as sexual objects.
Children are in the national interest and the time and costs of their care should be shared as a national obligation. That might be one small step toward valuing motherhood.
17
Proud to say 25 years ago, my boss hired a pregnant women who had been fired from her job a few days after she informed her firm she was pregnant.
In case your curious, the boss that hired a great employee was a woman.
13
Exactly the opposite!
What about the resentment toward the parents that put their professional career above the well being and the best interests of their babies and toddlers?
Leaving a new born baby in the hands of complete strangers day after day, thus depriving them of the motherly love and care, leads to drug addictions, alchoholism, depression, selfisness, social alienation et cetera...
1
@Kenan Porobic if the infant is left day after day with the same person, then that person is not a stranger. Infants are able to form attachments to more than one person.
6
@Kenan Porobic Studies show daycare does not harm kids. I think women should have longer leave as an option, but you are also blaming women for the necessity of work. This comment section is just full of people who want to blame women. It's ugly and a sad reflection of society.
2
The party of ordinary people; of civil rights, voting rights and workers’ rights; of sufferance, pluralism and inclusion; of the New Deal, Great Society and undoing Citizen’s United; of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy . . . the Democratic party is toying with the idea of nominating a multi-billionaire media buyer as its presidential candidate.
Icarus!
7
Yet, when his mother Charlotte died at the age of 102 in 2011, Mr. Bloomberg paid for her phone line for the next number of years so he could hear her voice on the answering machine.
He claims his own mother had a tremendous influence on him.
I tend to believe him.
26
@Joshua Schwartz I believe Bloomberg, too. His close, respectful, and loving relationships with his mother, daughters and 20-year domestic partner, a successful professional woman, belie the accusation that he is a misogynist.
In not stating that the sole pregnancy discrimination case against his company was dismissed by a (female) federal court judge, and then launching into a list of misogynistic attitudes toward women, the author more or less frames Mike Bloomberg for the behavior of others.
Employers are frustrated at accommodations that must be made when a woman is pregnant, takes maternity leave, or needs to work a modified schedule or from home after having a child. European nations deal with such economic burdens by socializing the costs of maternity leave and child care. Bloomberg made bad jokes; and I assume that, in the 80s and early 90s, his companies were as backward and insensitive as the large law firm for which I worked in accommodating pregnant women and mothers. Times change. Both sides have legitimate concerns, and the right answer is to share the costs.
6
@Joshua Schwartz Just because he liked one woman, doesn't mean he can't be misogynistic. This is basically the "but I have a black friend" argument.
1
@Joshua Schwartz
Indeed, as Warren said, Bloomberg is nice to "some women". Sorry, but loving your own mom does not qualify as a blanket that protects you from your mistreatment of women who work for you. Not even close.
1
An opinion based on an allegation? More opinions like this and you will have cemented Trump's reelection.
38
This piece is over-the-top feminism. The fact is that all the candidates have some baggage. Mayor Bloomberg should be given credit for his efforts to beat the worst president in history.
36
@LWK But not all the candidates told a pregnant woman to "kill it" because it would be better for the candidate in question. If you don't see how grossly out of the norm that is, I am worried for you.
1
Of course, Trumpnik is a great improvement.
Get your act together fast or suffer the consequences. Stop tearing all the potential nominees apart. Focus on the main issue - POTUS.
19
A provocative piece but don’t see how the editorial board thought it was worthy of publication. It doesn’t really explore or shed light in any substantive way on Bloomberg’s view of mothers or his company’s policy on maternity leave.
25
Ok let’s talk about possible things Bloomberg could have said in the 90s.
While Trump wins another term in 2020.
Wake up Democrats.
This is an emergency.
Stop messing around.
49
@Jane But these writers wouldn't have any material to write about so anything goes, hence it's all about them and their woke idealism not the country. The mantra for progressives has become me first and I'm a liberal.
13
@Jane Bloomberg is a weak candidate trying to buy an election. If we want to beat Trump, he's our worst option.
@Jane Bloomberg is a lifelong Republican, a billionaire,and a man who has unlimited personal funds to out power the media presence of his rivals. Trump is a lifelong Democrat, a man who has a knack for using an unlimited amount of other peoples money to fund his campaign, and a media presence that is unparalleled.While the appeal of fighting fire with fire is tempting there is always the risk that that action will simply burn the house down.
Bloomberg is the kind of person - mostly men and some women - with a large ego and limitless ambitions we tend to choose as our leaders even though we don't need them in a democratic society( we need solid institutions manned by humble and competent civil servants, good laws and our common sense). Once they get in a position of power we allowed them to reach they forget they were once helpless babies and will be soon helpless elders. Nobody does it alone, but we love the false idea of the guy who takes care of everything for us, the fixer.
9
A guy who takes care of everything for us like forgive student debt, forgive medical debt, provide free college to everyone, provide childcare to everyone ...
1
@Roberta Lucarelli
The fixer is Sanders, He plans to give us all that we want, free education, free health care, you name it, Utopia. Also somewhat of an ego (understatement). That is who you want.
Given Bloomberg’s campaign tactics, how do you ensure that comments in response to this article (or others) are not from those paid to manipulate/influence social media by the former mayor’s campaign?
5
@Chris GGG True, but every campaign does it.
@Chris GGG
I for one am not part f his campaign as I am sure many other aren't. And who speaks up for Sanders and the other candidates or are you only saying Bloomberg's people.
Let's put Bloomberg's alleged "Kill it" comment in perspective. Mark Green (Democrat) first used it against Bloomberg in their mayoral campaign of 2001, according to Eleanor Randolph's "The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg." Green was desperate and maybe Warren (Democrat) in 2020 is also. Bloomberg denied then and now he said it. He's not exactly a cuddly stay-at-home dad so I'd guess he might have muttered it. More certain is that he funds Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
23
@Larry Yates His only action is to give money and buy Congress. What other actions has he taken? Warren's record is far more substantial.
3
Well he was the mayor of the country’s largest city for 12 years, I guess you think that doesn’t count?
2
@Kj You kidding? Just on smoking his ban from public places helped many New Yorkers quit and lengthened their lives. How about climate control? How about donating beg to Democrats who flipped seats and captured the House and stigmatized what's-his-face as the third prez impeached? Seriously we've got a pan-epiidemic brewing. We better get a leader who can handle it. How about Mike?
I felt a deep and profound fury towards Elizabeth Warren and her battering of Bloomberg. Watching her, an attorney herself, go to the guilty until proven innocent place denigrates the "Me Too"movement to a place of unfounded legal abuse.
We baby boomer women, Warren include, had many battles to fight in our work lives. Some of it did involve inappropriate language and questionable jokes.
Unlike her, equality means equality to me. Not endless victimhood. You don't like bad language or jokes, speak up..Handle it.
There are untested rape kits from sea to shining sea in this country. Those women are victims. And If Warren wanted to prove her outrage, that was the place to go.
Those of us older women who fought so hard to be equals, resent Warren turning us into whimpering victims over issues we handled with courage and resolve. As equal members of an employment team.....
Using "Me Too" to raise cash or hit the spotlight over corporate NDA's which are universal in employment issues is dishonest and demeaning to the real dangerous issues women face daily. Shame on her.
49
Isn't it attitude as Mike's B responsible for the sea of untested rape kits? That is what happens when the society doesn't value women. Warren is fighting for the respect of the women and should be praised not scolded for that.
5
@Margot LeRoy
Thank you for your wise comment. I couldn't have said it better.
1
@Margot LeRoy A sad part of this story reflects our out of control litigious society. A stupid comment results in a payoff rather than apology, complete madness.
Fifty-eight years ago, when I applied for a teaching job in NYC, the principal asked if I was planning on becoming pregnant. Even though I was shocked by the question, it never occurred to me that it was inappropriate or even possibly illegal. I answered, “No,” got the job, and had a baby a few years later. Bloomberg is a misogynist throwback to a bad time.
11
Well, this woman misses Bloomberg. I miss not being afraid of taking the subway - at all hours now. I miss not seeing filthy, homeless encampments right outside my door (and I live in Chelsea - I can't even imagine what it's like in the poorer neighborhoods). I miss having a mayor who actually likes to be the mayor of NY. I miss a mayor who isn't lazy and doesn't get to work until 10AM. I miss having a mayor whose wife is an endless money pit, creating useless initiatives with zero outcomes. I miss a mayor who takes the subway and doesn't expect me the taxpayer to foot the bill for his trips to the gym. I miss having a competent mayor.
55
@Betti Agree that deBlasio has been a terrible mayor. But Bloomberg did what he did in NYC by doing it imperially which is why he, too, was not a great mayor and would make a terrible president. It's Bloomberg's way or the highway. Period. First, he overturned two voter referendums on term limits because he wanted a third term. One vote in city council rewarded him with his desire, and he then gave that one city councilman a big job running the taxi commission (David Yassky) while shaking down not for profits his foundation funded to turn out board members to speak on his behalf for this power grab. It was completely and utterly non-democratic. His good ideas on climate change fell on deaf ears because he failed to get a coalition to work together to support it. He bullied stuff through without regard for communities that live here and know our neighborhoods - like putting private luxe condos inside public parks, the sell off of other public lands to private development, his grotesque expansion of corporate tax breaks and actual hand outs to private corporations (see Fresh Direct) to name just a few of his seriously flawed actions. Add this to his stop and frisk policies and his outright mysogenistic views of women who work for him... I say he is unfit to be president.
2
Mr Bloomberg’s alleged comments are quite awful. However, so are Bernie Sanders’ published works. https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/29/bernie-sanders-disowns-1972-article-on-womens-fantasies-of-rape/. Bernie did recant these words though. Bloomberg has offered to release all his accusers from their NDAs so they can speak to what he said. The point is that misogyny and sexual harassment are awful. If we wish to discuss them in the context of our political contenders then everyone should be included. Most importantly Donald Trump.
11
All of the issues brought up in this article are essential for us to understand and think about deeply. But the author makes the pandemic blunder of misusing the word “misogyny” as a catchall term for anything that includes unenlightened, sexist, instrumental, degrading, etc., behavior and attitudes toward women, whether they originate with men or with other women.
The word “misogyny” means hatred of women. It’s a very simple concept. So why does it get thrown around — most notably by intellectually lazy Americans, including NYT op-ed writers who should know better — the way it does when other words describe what we are confronting (including Bloomberg’s heartless greed)? To misuse this word deprives us of recognizing situations where it genuinely exists.
Two credible examples: I’ve witnessed genuine misogyny while living in Afghanistan, a country where many young boys are often removed from environments where girls and women are present, for example when they are indoctrinated in madrasahs. They leave these institutions with no hope of leading a normal life involving courtship, marriage, parenthood, etc. Many become fanatical Islamic insurgents, where more isolation from females deepens their hatred and misunderstanding of them.
Another example of real misogyny exists among the so-called incel (“involuntary celibate”) community, where it’s possible to find many parallels with the hopelessness, isolation, desperation and hatred toward females one sees in Afghanistan.
9
@Paris Thank you for pointing out how harmful hyperbole is
2
@Paris What a strange argument. Misogyny is misogyny, whether in Afghanistan or in America. Shading it in degrees is a useless exercise.
@Paris You can hate someone and live close to them you know. See, 'the American South, post- Civil war" if you need an example.
1
This is the most interesting, powerful nyt op-Ed I have read during this primary.
3
We all saw his comedic style on stage the other night. His delivery is wooden, and his material is outdated, stale, and , yes, sexist. But I think lumping him together with Freud, de Sade, and (why not?) Don Giovanni is WAY over the top.
Life is complex. There is no single, all encompassing explanation for anything.
But from the quotes I've seen it really does seem like he was trying to treat his female colleagues as if they were "just one of the guys." In his own way he was trying to be egalitarian.
I hope the fact that he failed so badly leaves NO ONE thinking he should be our president.
3
Did you listen to Michael`s interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS last night and before with A. Cooper town Hall one hour interview ?
Our Country is in crisis with trump Presidency, who does not believe in Climate Science and takes funds away from any progress of Scientific Research ?
And now with the Coronavirus Pandemic and Mike Pence in charge ,who belives in prayer instead of Science ?
Why go back decades ago when Bloomberg apologized multiple times and wants to move forward !
We do not have time to dwell in the past but focus NOW when trump calls everything a hoax.
I am a Woman and a Mother FYI .
19
Because we have 7 candidates and we want to choose the best.
1
@yulia
Who could beat trump that should be the main goal and drag him out of the WH.
3
Elizabeth--I enjoyed your first two essays, but this comes across as second-wave claptrap.
Michael Bloomberg is the product of a loving mother and the father of two well-adjusted daughters.
I doubt he is seriously misogynistic.
As president, he would be the first to mandate maternity leave and implement in-house day care for new mothers--and fathers.
15
I worked in direct contact with Michael Bloomberg when these comments were supposedly made and I do not believe he would ever say something as disgusting as this. Even sarcastically or in jest. That is NOT the Michael Bloomberg I knew. I believe this was slander and the attempt to take advantage of one of the wealthiest individuals who has ever sought public office.
24
@Sophia Trucci
Thank you for your comment..
This is another hit piece by the NYT commentators based on allegations. This is the same MO Elizabeth Warren used in the last debate.
He was one of the best mayors of NYC which is no small task. He actually came to work everyday and did not waste city time at the gym. After 9/11 he put the city on the road to recovery. The city functioned and the streets were clean!
He has donated millions to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I have been around men who have have made misogynistic remarks and truly meant it.
I take your word about Mike Bloomberg. He is a leader and a pragmatist. This is the best hope this country has to defeat Trump.
6
If Trump and Bloomberg are equally bad toward women (and for now I still believe Trump is worse in regards to women) that would seem to cancel out in a general election (but would still expect that Republicans would fault Bloomberg for what they endorse in Trump) and I believe that Bloomberg would be better for the country than is Trump.
The lack of perfection in a Democratic candidate should not be a reason to clear the path for Trump whose imperfections dwarf the entire field of Dems combined.
10
It’s incredibly irresponsible to entitle your column this way without even stating that the allegations have never been proven. You used a salacious political headline to bring readers into a real issue that should’ve been handled more delicately without Bloomberg bashing with unproven allegations.
15
Tell that to Moms Demand Action , tell that to the thousands and thousands of happy women in all the world that have children while employed by his corporation. You take "comments", many of them from other corporate culture times , or out of context, and demonize someone. When reading your article I understand why less and less people read the Times. Instead stop and think who is the only one who can beat Trump, who is the best candidate for America. Let me tell you his name is Michael Bloomberg the others are too left or not prepared. Trump is the enemy not Bloomberg, wake up!
19
Perhaps the only thing people can do going forward is to wish for Karma to be more powerful than hypocrisy.
Senator Warren focused on an allegation that Bloomberg has denied and used to the time to not only denounce him for it, but to talk about how she was fired for being pregnant. This has been debunked so many times in Massachusetts, I don't know why she doesn't get called on it. In April of that year, when she was already 4 1/2 months pregnant, not only did the principal not fire her, he offered her a new contract, despite her lack of accreditation as a special ed teacher. She instead chose to tender a written resignation in June. Bloomberg should ask her to show that resignation or prove she was fired.
14
Purity tests for Democratic moderates are a surefire assist to reelect Donald Trump.
12
Billionares are an anomaly of the tax code.
1
@gene Billionaires are a product of the tax code. Time to change that, for sure. Will Bloomberg take the lead? Not so likely, I fear.
I have a 4 employee company. All women. What I hear from the left is theb following: should my company make a profit, I'm underpaying my staff more (share the wealth). Should an employee need time off for child related endeavors, I should take the hit (don't share the losses).
Right now, hour for hour, I make half of what the average staff person does. This is the beginning, where I starve, so later, I can be maligned for success. Someone please convince me to vote for a Democrat.
5
@Owl
I'm a Democrat. I've never voted for a Republican, ever, from1963 onward and I've voted in every election since that date.
But every Democrat should read this. The rage, anger, and stupidity of the leading Democratic candidate is indicative of why the Democratic party is a minority party and will be so for a very long time.
2
From the perspective of a business owner, there is no upside to an employee becoming pregnant and mothering babies, only downside. While pregnancy and children are positives for the woman, her family and society, they are distractions from work and a negative for a business owner.
An entrepreneur building a business typically lives and breathes that business 7 days a week, 18-20 hours a day. He or she drives his or her employees to do the same. Add to that the ubiquitous macho sexism of the 1960's-80's plus the arrogance of monster success and you get the world of Mike Bloomberg before he became mayor of NYC.
Give him a break. He's not that guy anymore and his track record as mayor and business owner today proves that.
232
@Mad Moderate I will give Bloomberg a break, if not my vote, when he advocates for national legislation for paid maternal/paternal leave and universal access to childcare for working parents INCLUDING THE TAXES AND BUDGET ALLOCATIONS TO PAY FOR IT. Until then, he is only a short-sighted, selfish, short-term, foul-mouthed buccaneer.
16
@Mad Moderate disagree. The Bloomberg in the ads and the debate stage is smoke and mirrors. The Mike in “the portable Bloomberg” is the actual Wizard of Oz.
12
@Mad Moderate Hmmmm! no upside to having children. You may want to reconsider that idea. as a 70 year old I see my nieces and grand daughters choosing not to have children because of the devaluing of the maternal role. they have traveled the world and reside in beautiful abodes and spend their money on self. I just wonder who will buy your products business person as this becomes the norm. It would seem difficult to grow a business with no workers or customers, would it not?
12
It was ludicrous to attack Sanders as a sexist by the Warren camp, although it is very believable that he may have said and done things that sounded or were sexist.
Now the Warren camp is going after Bloomberg, a man of the same age, undoubtedly has said and done sexist things. However, what I saw is that he was capable of being nuanced, self-reflective, and capable of admitting mistakes.
Let's also not forget Al Franken, who was assassinated by his fellow Democrats (Warren and Sanders included) on prompt of a Republican hit job.
Then there is Trump, "the least racist man in the world", which is basically synonymous with being one. Yet, he is our President for the next 5 eyars.
10
His remarks are awful, but you have to account for the fact it was a different era.
82
AAA, no, no, NO!
A different era might be the 1950s but, even then, traditional mores said to respect, not disrespect women.
We ALL knew even back in the not-so-long ago 1980s and 1990s that sexism, harassment, and misogynistic actions and policies were not OK or acceptable.
It’s time to put this “it was a different era” excuse to rest. The women's movement, women's liberation, and first and second feminism had happened. The Equal Rights Amendment was getting passed by states in the 1970s. Pay equity was being demanded then, too.
There was no excuse then and no excuse now for such remarks or behavior. In any case, Bloomberg’s boorishness and sexism continued into the present. Even in the debates, he has been tone-deaf, saying the NDAs were “consensual”, claiming only 3 women were involved and it was only about some joke he might or might not told— when, in fact, there were scores of women come,aiming about harassment, a hostile work environment, and Bloomberg himself.
He also denied saying anything against pregnant women or about that particular employee — yet, not only did she report it, a male executive is on the record saying Bloomberg said it.
Finally, Bloomberg can not escape who he was because it is who he is. There are sexist and racist remarks by him spanning decades, even into recent years.
Time to stop defending the indefensible!
35
I don’t understand the 1980s and 90s to be a different era. This type of discriminatory behavior was obvious and degrading and professionally destructive to me as a young woman. I saw it clearly at the time for the hatred it was (not to mention how it squandered the potential of a dedicated and capable work force). Even in this supposed “other era” I was enraged by the harassment I encountered in the office and walking on the street. What was lacking was not recognition of the problem but recourse to address it. So forgive me now if I’d like to hold others responsible for their actions in this oh so long ago distant era!?
24
@AAA no, she doesn’t. She can chose a candidate who was fighting for equal pay and workplace democracy during the very era when you seem to think it was ok for people to behave this way.
9
"But the great paradox of misogyny is that its object is womanhood itself — not traditional womanhood or nontraditional womanhood, but the very fact of being a woman."
Spot-on! This is a fascinating piece that illustrates the 'double-bind' women face - regardless of what we do (have children, don't have children), we will be targets of misogyny. The feminist revolution can't come fast enough, in my view.
19
@Laura "The feminist revolution can't come fast enough, in my view." But Laura, Bloomberg's remark in fact amounts to toeing the feminist line. A traditional man like Pence would never recommend that a woman have an abortion in order to keep her job or to do it well.
Feminism is not a full solution. It is a half solution pretending to a full solution. And in this divided world full of slogans, we are unable to come to a state where we have full solutions.
1
Nice Headline. I assume you work for trump.
Bloombergs comments in "Wit and Wisdom" are from the 1980s. Wall Street was very cruel to women then - particularly on the trading floors.
Many of us said thingswe would never say today. We have not eliminated sexism but we have dome a long way. Bloomberg has apologized and his record over the past 30-40 yers is one of great accomplishment. He has used his wealth to help many people & organizations and NYC was lucky to have him as mayor.
In making perfect the enemy of good you bash one of the best hopes we have for ending Trump and his destruction of Democracy.
33
Dear Peter,
Is it possible that Ms Bruening has hit a nerve? Has she revealed too much about Bloomberg's not-so-appealing misogynism?
If it is true that Bloomberg behaved this way then, as an older gentleman, (if I may use that term), I very much doubt he has changed from his views in the 80's. People generally become more imbued with the qualities they had in youth and middle age, not the reverse. And, having too much money and doing good by others with it does not make one a good statesman.
No, I and many others like me, are not falling for false virtues any more. We want someone of truly moral character, with higher ethical standards than Bloomberg could ever hope to have.
7
@S. L. My only real concern is removing DJT from office. He is destroying our country and the thought of 4 more years of him lying, undermining the rule of law and trashing our Constitution is terrifying.
I actually like Bernie & Liz as Senators advancing a progressive agenda. That said, neither is electable. A Bernie nomination would reelect trump, even worse, it would kill any chance of retaking the senate (and ousting Mitch) and could well result in a GOP House. then we would see a totally uncontrolled trump!
Mike has his flaws but we need to nominate someone closer to the center. I like Pete and Amy but that have failed to gain traction.
I liked Joe but he now bumbles and seems unable to finish thoughts/complete sentences. He has lost more than a step.
I will vote for whomever the dems nominate but this is an absolutely critical election.
If we lose we could well lose America - imagine a SCOTUS with 2 more DJT appointees. So mnay of the protections that we take for granted would be in peril and we would lose still more years failing to deal with Climate Change - the great challenge of the coming decades.
This election matters more than any in my 67 years.
2
@peter I agree with most of what you say but to say that Trump is "destroying" democracy is little more than hype.
He WAS elected (under an imperfect system) and he is using presidential powers which he got as a result. Democrats are often blocking him using powers that THEY have as a result of the fact that members of the House were also elected.
There is a conflict between the interests of the two parties but do not resort to hype and call it the destruction of democracy.
Bloomberg may or may not be the man to beat Trump but these are desperate times. I would advise all the presidential egos vying for attention in a crowded field to stop attacking each other for what one of them may have said or done decades ago because every time they do they are giving Trump and the MAGA-hats more ammunition.
31
Could we now have an opinion piece about how motherhood has been revered through the centuries? This is also true, of course. And may be a much more uplifting and enlightening article.
Any other women tired of women complaining? Because I sure am.
As a mom an essential thing I would consider is did Bloombergs policies improve children’s safety and education? That turns out to be something moms care a great deal about.
30
@Jk Clearly, his policies did not.
1
The Bloomberg comments are relics of a not-very-distant past that is, in some ways, gone with the wind, and in other ways, still a nut to be cracked. The powerful of 2020 (probably) would not utter the tactless words that came out of his mouth when he was a brash upstart. But our workplaces take less care of their workers than ever. (When you use cut-rate services like Amazon and Uber, you help make that happen BTW.) In this increasingly "you're-on-your-own" economy, young people need a cold-eyed plan if they are to have a reasonable prospect of reaching old age (or even middle age) still able to pay their bills. Parents-to-be, I strongly caution you to protect the earning power of both partners. Parents who retire from the workplace to raise children are sitting ducks, banking entirely on the fealty, continued health and good fortune of their partners. Use your youth and energy to fashion a work life that is flexible enough to take you through each season of life. When you are starting out and children are just a twinkle in your eye, still prefer workplaces that accommodate parents and pick up the slack without complaining. Sooner than you think, it will be you who needs the accommodation. And awhile after that, someone else's children will be looking after you. You want them raised well!
13
The only thing that matters is what he will do to resolve the grave issues facing the US right now. We would have to be out of our minds to obsess over whatever unfortunate comments he may have made over the course of his life. These are trivial issues vis-a-vis the dire situation the country and the world is in today.
31
@Andrei Foldes And how do you believe he will handle the issue of one of the largest groups of homeless people--women and children? Mr. Bloomberg holds views that downgrade women. Didn't you listen to the first debate?
3
@Andrei Foldes The best prediction of future behavior is past behavior.
@edwardc
Exactly wrong. Trump is a business fraud, and an incompetent manager, a liar, cheat, useful idiot, divider Russian stooge who in addition makes foul comments all day and from the White House. Bloomberg is a business genius, an incredible manager, honest, honorable and extremely effective leader who works across the aisle to unite people and get things done who allegedly made some stupid remarks decades ago.
1
What I find incredible, even almost-impossible to comprehend, is the notion that 50% of the population who are capable of carrying a child and giving birth would IN ANY WAY be treated less than worthy within their workplace. *Getting pregnant* is normal! Even - I daresay - important! If there are some tricky things to manage while an employee is on maternity leave - hey - you've got at least 8 months to work on a contract worker to fill in, or ready the remains troops for some extra hours etc. Finally - here's a little secret: treat your employees with respect and you get loyalty in return.
44
@Brooke Batchelor This is very true. When I returned from my maternity leave last summer, I thanked my boss for making sure not only was it possible, that a lot of it was paid, and that there was no pressure to take less than the time I was offered. I was very clear that without being able to take that time to be with my brand new baby boy, I probably wouldn't have returned. I just signed a contract for another year because of the respect and support I've received here since becoming a mom.
11
As an executive in international finance, I was a rare woman at that level in those days. One morning in the elevator, a male colleague from another bank looked at my obvious bump and showed visible shock. He said, " Wow. I always thought you were a career woman."
Maybe now men and women don't say what they are thinking out loud. But. I was out of service to my clients for a long time on maternity leave and others had to and/or wanted to usurp my place. It took a long time to get it back when I returned. That's just reality. Clients don't care why you are gone.
19
I read comments from people who imply that Bloomberg couldn't be a misogynist because he was elected to mayor three times in NYC. They wonder, why did New Yorkers like him so much.
When he ran for his third term, Bloomberg spent $102 million while his opponent, Bill Thompson, spent around $7 million. And Bloomberg won by a mere 50,000 votes. Not great, considering that no one knew who Bill Thompson was while Bloomberg just served two terms, including during the 9/11 recovery. The fact that Bloomberg outspent his rival 14 to 1 and barely squeaked out a 3% margin of victory tells you what New Yorkers think of the man.
So now Bloomberg is hoping to buy the White House. Only problem is, Bernie is leading in virtually all the polls for Super Tuesday. And to make matters worse, Bloomberg is bland and boring and can't debate his way out of a wet paper bag. Unfortunately, debating wasn't an integral aspect of running for mayor in NYC or Bill Thompson would have won.
In the last two debates Bloomberg came off as stodgy, wonky, tone-deaf, imperious, and bureaucratic, which was exactly what we got when he was mayor. But when you're a billionaire you can pay to put the focus on your successes and bury the liabilities. And believe me as a New Yorker, Bloomberg has a lot of liabilities, the biggest of which is that he's a rank opportunist with a massive ego.
It's sickening to think of the billion-plus dollars Bloomberg is throwing down the drain in his quixotic run for president.
34
@Bill
How like a Bernie bro to write a long screed taking down Bloomberg as one who throws "a billion-plus dollars" away for his quixotic run for president – while completely ignoring the fact that the guy said he'd put his money and organization behind whomever gets the nomination. Well, I'm ready for a stodgy, wonky bureaucratic president. I've already cast my vote for Bloomberg.
5
@Bill
Totally disagree. Bloomberg was the best mayor and political leader I’ve had the pleasure to witness. Stodgy and wonky - but extremely effective and has made the city, this country and the world a better place. Bernie is charismatic, but ineffectual. He won’t beat Trump. If he does he will reduce the number of Democrats in Congress and he will never get any of the bread and circuses he’s promising passed into law. He will be the third President in a row who can only act by Executive Order and that will be challenged, limited and quickly erased when he leaves office - which will not be when he’s 88. Immature wish fulfillment is going to hand the country to the fascists on Tuesday.
6
@T
The uninformed hysteria continues to be ratcheted up about Bernie but facts cannot be ignored:
"Bernie Sanders Can Beat Trump. Here’s the Math"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/opinion/bernie-sanders-polls.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
BTW, Bloomberg did a few goods things while mayor but the downside, in the opinion of many New Yorkers, far outweighs the good.
I won't bore you with the horror of Stop & Frisk (which many white people continue to disregard because it didn't affect them), but how about his absurd boondoggle to move Yankee Stadium to Hudson Yards (which was swiftly slapped down), followed by Plan B: creating playground at Hudson Yards for the rich?
I live near Hudson Yards and that faux Xanadu has done nothing to improve the quality of my life or the lives of my neighbors and friends or the surrounding community. It's another insular spectacle of flaunting brazen, unlimited wealth.
Bloomberg helped ensure luxury apartments in NYC skyrocketed (more than half now sit empty) to solidify Manhattan as a city that is less welcoming and affordable to the middle class. All of Bloomberg's maids, butlers, drivers, and various other servants can't even afford to live in the outer boroughs these days. They've had to move Upstate and to NJ.
I suppose it's possible to view Bloomberg's time as mayor as progress -- if you're in the one-tenth of one percent -- but ordinary New Yorkers felt themselves marginalized by many of his decisions.
2
This and recent revelations certainly puts an end to my short interest in Bloomberg as a viable candidate and I am glad that the NYT and Elizabeth Warren in particular have not held back in revealing the huge flaws in Bloomberg's behavior and character as it relates to women and minorities that should disqualify him from the presidency. Can you imagine him helping women and families obtain affordable child care? This article also brings up another issue that rankles and that is the ads that continue to show up with young women disparaging their mothers-in-law and fits in with the narrative that mothers emasculate their sons and have an unequal relationship to their son's families. It's utter nonsense and I hope that once and for all women will please stand up for each other, whatever our roles.
22
@fg yoo You should look at how much he did for the city of New York - including women, minorities, and children. By taking snippets of information to form an opinion makes you no better than those who base their decisions and opinions on Fox News. He’s the best positioned to beat Trump AND run the country in a way that brings the splintered parties together.
If every one of us were dismissed because of statements made in over 70 years of life, there would be no humans left.
22
@John Galt I can't believe I'm responding to someone who uses "John Galt" as their name on here, but here goes:
"[Bloomberg's] the best positioned to beat Trump AND run the country in a way that brings the splintered parties together."
There is no, excuse me, data-driven evidence for this whatsoever. In fact, the many flaws that Bloomberg has shown over the decades, including as Mayor of New York, definitely show this Democratic voter that he has no chance of winning the nomination, much less uniting the party to beat Trump.
But I suppose your very user name on here belies your misbegotten belief that the marketplace is always correct, and a multi-billionaire must be the leader for our times. I implore you to see where that has already taken us!
1
@John Galt Ok. Is there a reason you did not include his accomplishments that benefited women and children?
3
Shortly before I became pregnant which was planned, I was offered 2 jobs that earlier I would have given my right arm for either of them. I turned them both down. Katherine Hepburn is quoted as saying I could either be an actress or a mother. I chose to be an actress. I chose to become a mother. I knew I could only do one properly. That is not to say I didn’t have a job because I did work part time but only in positions where I could put my family first. One of my daughters in law is an executive at a large well known company. She and my son have 2 children and he is the primary caregiver since he is a consultant who works from home. In their case it works in large part because of his business. They are fortunate, most people are not. Children are not accessories to show that you “can have it all”. And sadly I have seen the results of that outlook too many times.
10
As a boss, Bloomberg can be rightly faulted for these comments, and for the work environment they fueled. That doesn't mean that his role in fighting back the much more egregious evils of the Trump presidency should be disregarded.
People can be, and are, both bad and good. You can recognize all his flaws and still appreciate his current efforts.
I still have concerns that he might lose the race if he is the front-runner, especially if he sticks to form and fills out his ticket with professional-seeming but politically uninspiring figures.
That won't drive turnout.
Bloomberg could be a huge boon if he agrees to be Sanders' VP. A difficult show of modesty, yes. But he would do an amazing job of guarding Sanders' edges, holding onto small c capitalists and moderates, and strengthening Sanders in key areas of managerial skill and pragmatic realism.
13
@James It's really hard for me to believe Sanders would choose a billionaire for his VP.
5
@James “much more egregious evils of the Trump presidency.” As if anything could be “much more” evil than Bloomberg’s base, inhumane misogyny. Not to mention his overt racism (cited in this op-Ed) and disdain for working people and their unions.
Look at the actual policies at his company; now compare that with the claims being made...
39
one big difference between politicians and others is that the
former are often judged mostly by what they say and the latter by what they do. So what has Bloomberg actually done against women to justify such harsh criticism?
33
Jerry. Good point. While I never worked for Bloomberg or his company, I did know who people who suffered under his pretty harsh rules but they were men. MB was trying to build a company and young men might need a certain amount of work structure in the form of punishable rules, and Bloomberg’s company had them. Whether the rules were different for women I don’t know, but Wall Street as an entity was never easy on woman, in any way, no matter whose rules.
2
@Jerry
"So what has Bloomberg actually done against women to justify such harsh criticism?"
The man has had to settle multiple sexual harassment claims -- not just against his company, but for his own behavior.
You're right Ms. Bruenig. There has been a "legacy" of societal resentment toward women for having children. What does that have to do with electing a President? Last time I checked the President doesn't have the power to implement laws or policies that discriminate against mothers and none of the Presidential candidates are advocating for the adoption of such policies.
27
@Jay Orchard What the POTUS does have the power to do is appoint federal judges and nominate judges for the SCOTUS. And Jay - guess what? THEY have all sorts of power - to enact laws / change laws / etc. Ya see how that works?
1
@Jay Orchard
Doing all he can to defund Planned Parenthood is discriminatory against mothers. A work requirement for aid impacts mothers who economically cannot afford child care.
@Brooke Batchelor
No I don't.
Wow, it takes until the penultimate paragraph of this column for the author to say, “but it’s not just Bloomberg”. We go through a lot of “ancient history” to prove the author’s point that, what exactly? Male leadership in the workplace has a bad history? I don’t think Bloomberg wanted to fall back on “that’s the way we did business in those days” trope (and those days were really until the 1990s). I also completely believe Bloomberg that he never told a woman, well...what Sen Warren accuses him of saying.
I can say, from my experience as a white gay male, every workplace I’ve been in have had very generous maternity leave policies. Financial services may still lag, but my time in the energy sector showed a real concern for mothers spending time with their newborns. In fact, a friend of mine’s wife works for a major oil company here in Houston. She’s getting four months off (paid) to spend with their new baby. He got a week from his employer.
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@Mark H
Lucky you. Did all the places you have worked also have great health insurance? So, therefore the complaints of the uninsured or those with $7000 annual family deductibles are erroneous.
Too bad you canot see past your own nose
Bernie is going to win the nomination based on the results in California, so the breathless attacks on the moderates will abate. But, Bernie’s free ride will stop. He will actually be subjected to scrutiny by a very adept Republican machine. His positions on spending and socialism will be a big turn off and will likely be enough. But, his praise of Castro and the old USSR, not to mention his writings on sexual assault and worse will come to the fore. Yes, it was a very long time ago and I can grasp (some) nuance in it. However, it is VERY strange. And, Sanders has been able to scream over it to grab a PLURALITY of Democrats, enough to win the nomination. Moderate Ds and Centrists will be demoralized and stay at home or vote another way and down ballot moderates will get crushed. AOC will have gotten her purity test because few moderate Ds will remain. The only sliver of hope is a global meltdown due to the pandemic. Remarkable....
17
@Ben Smith This is no more or less than the rap against the Obamas for their minister Jeremiah Wright or friendship with Saul Alinsky. There certainly was, and is ‘(some) nuance to it. Not really so strange if you actually were interested in finding out how make our society more inclusive and supportive of those with little or no power. Read the Times today for an analysis that puts the lie to your ‘down ballot’ concerns.
1
@Ben Smith If so, you will then get what yoy richly deserve - another four years of the Trump gang and ... .
Bernie represents a shift from the government controlled by the rich and corporations (those lobbyists in DC aren’t there on vacation) to one that works for all of the people, including the poor and the middle class. This is what the country is supposed to be!! Poor people are paying more taxes than the largest corporation in America?? How can that be..yet it’s now true. If getting this right is so wrong and scary to you, then you were never a Democrat, and if you are snared in the trap planted out there — scared by the mention of Castro, then you are an easy target for the Russian trolls.
If allegations are just that - alleged, why write this column. To achieve feminist credit? I am a woman and have relied on good policies for my professional life. Since I was not in a high-powered environment, I did not suffer the kind of maltreatment alleged here. Actually, my bad experiences were mostly through other women!
As for Warren's treatment of Bloomberg, and I support her, she was far too scathing. I realize nuance toward men is not the "woke" of the day.
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@renee
I am a Warren supporter who watched the pre-South Carolina primary debate. While I know Bloomberg did much to improve life in NYC, I disagree that Warren was too hard on his treatment of women. Even more so when he replied (after Warren called on him to allow all women at Bloomberg with a non-disclosure agreement to come forward) "I've apologized...nothing is good enough for her." or words to that effect. Neither NYTimes opinion writer Elizabeth Bruenig nor any other writer or pundit has pointed out this comment, but Bloomberg's passing debate comment made me think that this is what many men say about their mothers--and wives--and women in general. In Bloomberg's case, though, this might impact public policy where women are concerned, and that's why this conversation is important.
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@renee I see your point. Much like CNN and MSNBC, the horrific allegations against Trump are always followed by the phrase, "if proven true."
@SM Gallegos
You understand what he meant, right? She insisted on him clearing the NDA’s. He did the next day! She then insisted on him clearing the NDA’s again.
1
the workplace is the workplace - the home is the home - all societies need both commerce and population - the art of managing the shifting boundaries between acquiring and consuming largely defines the contours of a culture - these conflicting and/or complementary activities comprise the bulk of our intertwined public and private lives - constant human effort is needed to maintain and propel all of this - there is inherent 'static' amidst the enormity of the human interactions which are the constituent basis of our shared lives - there is malice, there is miscommunication, there is misunderstanding - always has been - always will be - but over all of this is the reality of the ever increasing 'success' of human 'progress', which in the aggregate is a metric of how we work and live together - look around - most people coexist - most business functions - this is real
2
Bloomberg was awful. Did he learn? But I think his learning curve's trajectory is skyward, not downward, and he should be given some credit instead incessant media beating. Much more important factors have priority. Bloomberg did do Stop and Frisk but Biden did the 1994 Disastrous Crime Bill and Sanders did vote for it--so there are many colors and there is atonement. Biden seems least likely to apologize for anything though.
14
Nobody ever wants to discuss the extra workload/strain on those having to cover for the mom or dad who takes extended leave. Not a popular stance, but reality is rarely popular.
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@Midwest Josh The only place that motherhood is aptly dealt with is in the public school system. They are educating the progeny of all races and nationalities so they cannot denigrate pregnancy. The school system hires a short term sub for the duration of the extended leave of pregnant women. It is not shameful and school employees are genuinely happy for the expectant mother.
9
@JT
Unfortunately, if "aptly dealt with" means a card and congratulations and a cute newborn pic circulated on the email list, then public schools in the Midwest at least, where I teach, are doing well.
Otherwise, the only "maternity leave" I've encountered has been district compliance with FMLA. And that goes with large and small districts alike.
2
MANY people at your work will talk about the "burden" you place on them when you are out on maternity leave. Don't think you are the only one to come up with this idea. People make constant rude comments (even now) about needing time off to bond with a new baby and recover from childbirth. Then when you go back to work people ask you why you aren't home with your kids. You've got to be tough to be a working mom these days, but how else can your family survive in this economy?
5
I agree we should hold out until a flawless Democratic candidate emerges with a long track record that would be considered impeccable today.
36
I moved to Canada about 10 years ago, and I manage a group that includes a fair number of young women. Here in Canada we give them an entire year off when they have a child.
Since we are set up to handle this, it's not a terrible burden. We simply hire a contractor, pass a lot of the simple (often tedious) tasks of the woman on maternity leave to that contractor, and give the regular employees staying behind the more interesting and complex work.
The contractors often prove to be quite good workers, and provide a pipeline for future hires who we've already had the luxury of testing in our workplace.
Overall, it's a quite effective system. And the women on leave come back less stressed than American women and often very anxious to get back to work after being home with a baby for a full year!
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@617to416
I maybe should add that because Americans don't give women much time off when pregnant, it is impossible to hire a temporary worker to replace them while they are on leave. This means everyone else has to pick up the work of the woman on leave. This breeds resentment and just increases the stress levels in the American workplace.
When you give the pregnant woman a year's leave, however, it is possible and worthwhile to hire a temporary worker to replace her while she's gone. That makes the maternity leave less burdensome for everyone.
Longer leaves make sense for the women. They also make sense for her coworkers.
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@617to416 I work for a large US company and women get anywhere from 6-9 months (depending on how long they've been at the company), and dads get 12 weeks. As for who does the job, we usually hire contractors for the moms because they're gone for a lot longer.
4
@Betti
Yes, as long as they're gone long enough. Granted I've been in Canada for a decade now, but when I left the US, maternity leaves were generally three months, which is too short a time.
6
People do say and do things that they later are not proud of. Then they demonstrate contrition. Adults examine that contrition and decide if it’s enough to satisfy them. I’m satisfied with his contrition. Let’s move on and take care of the real problem. The lack of contrition displayed by our present “leader”
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@John really "contrition" that is what you think of his decision to say after literally almost 20 years of defending Stop and Frisk he decides literally weeks before announcing for President he just now realizes it was wrong. or his sniping at Elizibeth Warren during the debates when she had the temerity to ask him to release his employees from non disclosure agreements not just 3 of them he gets to choose? Oh and I am still waiting for him to show any contrition for the illegal spying of Muslims and illegal arrests of protesters during the Republican Convention which like Stop and Frisk were found to be unconstituional by Federal Courts and cost the city tens of millions. He did not apologize but instead attacked the courts so very much like our "present" leader
8
@John You’re absolutely right that contrition is important. But I haven’t seen it from Bloomberg. I’ve seen an arrogant billionaire trying to figure out the absolute bare minimum of what he has to say to mollify the plebeians. No thanks
6
I gave birth to four children while working full time. The institution for which I worked had a generous leave policy that included both parents. However, after the first child, I didn't take more than two weeks off after giving birth. Why? Because there was great prejudice towards women who were gone for 6 weeks after giving birth. Men who did so were lauded as great parents. Women who did so were derided as "not serious" any more. We still have a way to go in establishing equity.
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@Susan
Sad but not surprising
1
The 1990’s were a different time. If you are going to condemn, provide a timeline. It is one bad but pervasive thing to have had these comments in the 80’s and 90’s. It is another if said or acted in 2010’s.
27
@Connie Amazed: Are you kidding? You must be a lot younger than I am. Maybe it was still pervasive in the 1960's. By the 1980's his attitude has to be seen as clueless at best and nasty at worst.
1
@Connie Amazed Are you kidding. Disparaging comments toward women and a collection of NDAs are ok because they were made in the past?
1
Bloomberg LP Expands Parental Leave Policy from 18 to 26 Weeks of Fully-Paid Leave for Primary Caregivers
May 15, 2019
Gender Neutral Policy Also Covers Adoptions and Foster Placements
Updated Policy Is Double the Average of Communications and Finance Industries and 63% More than Average for Tech Firms
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While honorable and ethical people should all support equality in the workplace (safe, equal pay for equal work, etc.), it appears that this opinion piece isn't satisfied with that. Ms. Bruenig's argument here is for special treatment. In fact, pregnancy is a choice and she is demanding that all help her pay for that choice. No. You don't get to work special hours, or get more paid time off or special work assignments. That is patently unfair to everyone who has to take up the slack you left when you made the choice to get pregnant.
38
@Wiley Dog
Of course bearing and raising children is essential work, necessary for the survival of our species, and critical to produce productive citizens for the future. But so, today, is being able to earn an income. We need to enable women to do both. It is not unfair to anyone to allow women to take the time necessary to do something essential to the survival and health of humanity.
28
@617to416 Sorry, I feel it is disingenuous to advocate for more children. This crowded planet already has over 7.5 billion people. Maybe it can support more, but only at the cost of decimating all other large species with which we share this planet. No, more children are not "essential".
14
@Wiley Dog Funny how your comment that pregnancy is a choice is totally dependent on women's neutering themselves--that is, making themselves like men--with birth control. It's rare to find a woman of child-bearing age in the United States not on the pill, which means it's rare to find a woman whose body can do what it's designed to do: become pregnant and give birth. No matter who you are, your life is thoroughly shaped by this artificial state.
What a shame that birth control, something that was supposed to liberate women and give them greater control over their bodies, is now used against them by people who refuse to support women as women unless they've committed themselves to being hormonally altered. Birth control is not liberating if it serves co-workers and bosses rather than women.
It's one thing for a woman to go on the pill in order to choose to avoid pregnancy, it's another thing completely for anyone to hold the natural act of her becoming pregnant--what you've denigrated to a choice--against her.
The world would be a better place for everyone if we designed it to accommodate women's bodies rather than expecting --no, demanding--that they alter themselves so as not to disrupt the workplace or capitalism.
If a co-worker's becoming a mother creates more work for you, don't blame the mother. Blame your employer for not fully supporting motherhood. When we fail to support motherhood, we fail to support ourselves.
11
It’s time to dispense with the macho “rhetoric” (we generally call it something else) and to nominate and elect a woman for President. It’s the male-dominated world of guns and bombs, fostered by the arms industry, that has brought us to the brink of collapse in the social order. Men like to play with their weapons in the “battle of the streets,” and women are no longer tolerant of the “kill it” culture that still prevails in both the corridors of power and the last mile.
38
@Tyyaz Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi and Golda Meir were no pushovers, Don't be sexist about leadership decisions. Unfortunately the world works on rules of the jungle.
2
@Tyyaz Bloomberg LP Expands Parental Leave Policy from 18 to 26 Weeks of Fully-Paid Leave for Primary Caregivers
May 15, 2019
Gender Neutral Policy Also Covers Adoptions and Foster Placements
Updated Policy Is Double the Average of Communications and Finance Industries and 63% More than Average for Tech Firms
11
As the days progress, all I hear is bad stuff about Bloomberg. And whenever he’s asked questions about these things, his answers tend to lead to more questions. I’d say he’s not a good explainer.
19
@Mark I'll go so far as to say he's not a good candidate!
1
Many workplaces are deficient in their treatment of mothers of infants, especially in lower paying jobs and factories (where taking a pump break every 2 or 3 hours can skew off an entire assembly line). But much progress has been made in office jobs and companies where leave is generous, schedules can be flexible, and nursing rooms are included in renovations.
But still, being a new working mother can still present disruption. Ask around: To create a pumping room, someone's office or group conference room has to be cancelled. If several mothers have all had babies within a close range, the pumping room has to be "booked" because they all won't fit. But nursing mothers are often all on a similar schedule. That means that employee group meetings have to be scheduled around everybody's pumping schedules. Yes, when several members of a team take leave at the same time or in close succession, the whole team's work will be disrupted and the burden shifted onto someone else. Or, some may tack maternity leave onto other vacation or even sabbatical time, extending leave for well past 3 months while expecting her job and salary to be held. These are all new wrinkles in adaptation that warriers like the author don't really investigate and help find solutions to, while poring over stereotype examples they have only read about from a distant past. Writing about the realities today for woman and for the jobs that should support them would be far more relevant.
13
@Aubrey Why is it up to the author to find solutions to these problems?
Surely companies are aware that they hire both males and females and that some females will bear children.
My work days were regularly subject to management decisions of one sort or another. Now and then I'd find myself given a room too small to accommodate the type of desk required for my duties, or one with a wall of windows that scorched me on sunny days and froze me all winter, or we found that our group meeting space was eliminated in order to squeeze in a dozen people working on a different project. The need for a lactation room is *not* some sort of bizarre change; it's just one of many.
Employees can sometimes push a company to improve their work environment, but putting the onus on either workers or outside commentators just shifts responsibility away from where it belongs: the company's owners and managers.
19
@Aubrey: ",,,especially in lower paying jobs and factories (where taking a pump break every 2 or 3 hours can skew off an entire assembly line)." This assumption is based on what - a feeling? As an HR professional who worked in a plant for two different global companies, I beg to differ. A few people leaving the line (whether for restroom breaks, to take medication, or a plethora of other reasons) does not skew-off an entire assembly line. Workers needing time away from the line is built into workforce planning/scheduling everyday. With respect to nursing rooms on-site: "To create a pumping room, someone's office or conference room has to be cancelled." That is so not true and far-fetched that it's laughable. Most pumping rooms I've seen in both the private and public sector are small closets with a locking door handle, equipped with nothing beyond a table and chair. In other words, it's space that wasn't being used for much of anything prior to being used as a pumping or nursing room.
12
@Rita Davis You make some good points but maybe you also assume that everything is easier than it is - if that is so, then why do we read accounts of factory workers being clocked for time off the line and women having trouble figuring out how to pump at work without chagrin? Sure, some offices might have "unused small closets." Some don't and have to create them. But a small closet doesn't work well if four or five women have to juggle their day to fit into it one by one. Most pump rooms don't have rinsing stations either, which would help. Strange that you feel it's laughable to consider what would help today's women even more.
I have trouble accepting the accuracy of a column that quotes allegations that not only have not been proven, but also denied, and denied vociferously.
We seem to be cutting corners about a person's alleged misdeeds. It's as if the charge is sufficient and denials or lack of proof mean nothing. Given Bloomberg's public record of accomplishments on both business and philanthropy, is it not reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt on some of these alleged incidents?
237
Never believed he said that. Not moments after the conversation, when she told several people she was genuinely uncertain what she heard. Not when she became more certain after speaking with her abusive grifter husband on the telephone. Not when the abusive grifter husband advised her not to speak to MB to resolve it. Not moments later when MB expressed complete befuddlement. Not moments after that when MB phoned to discuss her concerns and got voicemail. Not minutes later when she left the office never to return.
47
I don’t see why business success should give any special credibility to anyone on this issue. I would think the women should get the benefit of the doubt. They have less power and risk much, including their livelihoods, by speaking up.
In this case, many women swore to it in court and the ‘kill it’ comment was corroborated. And we are talking a very large number of complaints and lawsuits and NDAs here. You ask us to believe that a printed booklet of sexist witticisms was entirely fabricated - it’s just that Bloomberg didn’t think it important to point that out until recently? Its a pattern that suggests a culture.
Moreover, Bloomberg thinks he is worthy of the highest office in the land. He should be subject to a very high standard of conduct, not excuse-making for juvenile sexism. So...no. To the degree there is doubt, which you overstate, I don’t think he should get it. The women should.
6
@PaulB67 I take it you also believe Trump when he denies all of the allegations against him, too? Works both ways...
8
Yesterday I went to the opening of Mike's center in Rockville, MD. There were several hundred people there and most were women. On Saturday Mike will be in McLean, VA to speak to women for Mike. The venue was moved to accommodate the overflow crowd.
One of the speakers in Rockville was a woman who worked for many years with Mike in NYC. She told us of how he reached out to women and consistently supported them. She said that she was afraid to ride the NYC subways which, along with much else in NYC, was dangerous when Mike first came to office. Bloomberg set an example by riding the subway to work for all 12 years when he was mayor.
Women in his firm, Bloomberg LP, are equal in every way to men and his employees are as much women as men.
His leave policy for women is the most generous in the industry, six months paid leave.
It is easy to find a detail and make a monstrous narrative out of it but even that is hard to do with Mike.
He has consistently worked to elevate women and will do so as president.
Unlike his rivals, Mike actually gets things done. The others are all talk. Mike has the most impressive track record of accomplishment.
Mike will get it done.
Watch him on 60 minutes this Sunday.
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@Simon Sez
You don't even live in NYC but you claim Mike was so popular -- by his 3rd term, voters in NYC despised Bloomberg so much that the heavily favored candidate to replace him as Mayor -- Christine Quinn -- lost to de Blasio because the heavily favored Mayoral candidate had kowtowed to Bloomberg and was clearly his toady. She was a woman. She did what Bloomberg wanted.
10
@Simon Sez Bravo!!
4
@Simon Sez
Good grief Simon, how on earth can you possibly know that women are equal in every way to men at Bloomberg L.P. ? What an astonishing statement, from a man, who doesn't even claim to have any particular connection to that company.
When I worked for Bloomberg L.P. 17 years ago there was one visible woman in a somewhat upper level on the technology side, and my own married male manager told me he was romantically interested in me so soon after I joined that it was clear I'd been hired with that notion in mind.
6
I subscribe to the concept of "non self," which is a difficult idea for many to grasp...that there's no static self inside us, unchanging, unwavering. We as people are continually evolving and changing, based on all types of stimuli and forces outside of us that guide our experience. That is why I try to see people for who they are right now, today, not who they were 30 years ago. In some people's view, a person who committed a crime years ago, yet paid their price to society in prison, will always be a criminal. I don't believe that.
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It is true that women and mothers have it harder than men and fathers. The problem of our culture though is the resentment of children. As a culture we do not support families, e.g., no family leave on par with other countries. Our employers tend to view us as individuals whose family relations are inconvenient. With the MBAification of American life we have become a culture where every transaction has become monetized and with a la carte pricing, we increasingly make parenting more expensive and problematic. Whether we are talking about affordable and available childcare, our one size fits all children approach to public education or how we manage the behavioral problems that develop as a consequence it is the inconvenience of children's needs that are sacrificed. As a country we have evolved into a capitalistic plutocracy that worships the bottom line and anything that interferes with profit is seen as an irritation by those who are held accountable for increasing profit. The capitalist plutocracy pits us against each other and thrives on the conflict between factions that argue over surface issues rather than developing core solutions that might diminish profits. Our culture is changing despite the election of Trump. Things are improving; not fast enough as the boomers still exert influence. As the millenials and gen-xers replace the boomers, greater social change will accelerate as they don't have the same animus to what is considered to be socialistic policies.
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But why does she not even mention that over a year ago Michael Bloomberg increased masternity leave for fmale workers there to almost 6 months. This is almost on a par with Sweden and should count for a lot in judging him.
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@virginia Kaufmann
Uh, no. In Sweden it's a total of 2 years, with the father required to take part of the time, and lots of flexibility in how you take the time - i.e., 2 years full time off, or 4 years half time off, or some complicated combination.
And after you go back, for quite a few years full time equals 30 hours a week.
So no, nothing like Sweden.
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@Elizabeth Thanks Elizabetgh. A cousin of mine had two kids in Sweden many years ago when it wasn't this good. Sweden is now unbelievabky good! Nevertheless, three months is still a lot better than nothing!
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@Elizabeth Would you agree that what a country chooses to do which affects all businesses the same is very different than what a private company chooses to do which affects only its own employees?
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Without absolving Mike Bloomberg of all blame for his past errors, let us be careful not to spin this as misogyny.
The corporate problem of the lack of acceptance of mothers as being merited workplace contributors is more due to our social indifference toward the role parents, both female and male, need to play in the lives of young children.
This indifference results not only in a lackadaisical attitude toward mothers but also toward the role fathers need to play in parenting.
It is only in very recent years that corporations have begun to close that shortfall. The move toward paid leave for both parents is a new thing, extremely critical and much overdue.
America has a misogyny problem no doubt. But it also has a poor understanding of the role played by parents in raising infant children.
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This is an extremely important issue, but I think the terms of this particular discussion of it need some clarification.
I cannot agree that there has been a "legacy of (presumably American) societal resentment toward women for having children." But, I do agree that capitalism, corporate capitalism in particular, finds less value in employing pregnant women and future mothers. Corporations will also exploit the precarious position of women in the labor market to diminish their wages in a society where the norm is that amoral corporations are only beholden to shareholders. In an economy in which profits are commonly increased by depressing wages (especially in service and information sectors), this is a common strategic approach to labor and the bottom line.
If you are going to make the claim that the resentment is due to birthing children you must also account for the obvious evidence that woman are valorized for having children in our society, too, and reconcile these two observations.
I think it more likely that women are "resented" (I don't find it helpful to attribute human emotions to a society), and exploited for their impact on the labor market, not for having children. That is, fellow workers may resent the effects of having large numbers of socially low status (that's the misogyny) women in the labor market increasing competition, depressing wages, and thus increasing corporate profits even as they are exploited by corporations--like all vulnerable labor.
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Idealization is just the flip side of devaluation. These are actually a part of the same phenomenon, a process of valuing or devaluing women inappropriately and for the wrong reasons.
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@OfWomanBorn
I don't disagree. But, you've made a point the author didn't. It seems to me analysis of this issue in terms of both valuing and devaluing women and motherhood which situates the discussion historically and in the dominant capitalist institution of our time, the bureaucratic corporation, is more useful--and much harder.The corporation is, also, by the way, the local context of Mr. Bloomberg's comments and actions. I think if we were to do a linguistic analysis of these statements attributed to him, we would see them as directly indexing the ideology, ethos, and practices of corporations.
How else do these statements make sense to Bloomberg and others but in relation to the conditions under which they are working? Does anyone think such statements indicate the person in question is opposed to having children or women generally (they were hired by the corporation when they were believed to add to profits, after all)? These statements are made in relation to the logic of the corporation and that seems to me to be the way they are most usefullly parsed. If you think employees birthing babies will cost you money, you will likely think such things. Actually saying them is another matter.
@Please Read Yes. Framing this as a “social” issue is dead wrong...this is blowback from our beloved Capitalism!! When it is machines doing the work all will be well.
Imagine an egalitarian society where a company wouldn’t be able to predict wether it’s going to be a man or a woman who will need to take parental leave. They would have to rule out everybody in their childbearing age, now think about how many men that would leave to hire.
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I like this thought experiment. It highlights the fact that it is not only women and children who suffer without adequate family leave laws and practices. Men should absolutely have access to paternity leave when their children are born. Think of how much better off our society would be if fathers universally had this option.
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Ha! Then older women would have it made! No more hoping to be ok financially when we reach the age of the sexism-ageism double whammy. Imagine that!
It comes from a work first perspective and mindset. Since the beginning of time males have been expected to put everything else aside for the sake of their job. Some managers see through that filter. Let me know when single childless workers are eligible for several paid months off from work no strings attached.
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@ Daphne
While I agree about the workaholism culture, I also point out that in the U.S., maternity leave often is NOT paid.
You also seem to have no idea about the either the physical toll pregnancy, child birth and newborn care can take on a woman, nor about the amount of work caring for an infant can be. Nor do you seem to grasp the sheer physicality of childbirth and the recovery time it can demand.
p.s. Family medical leave, sometimes paid, is available to many workers, regardless of marital status, as are sabbaticals when offered by a workplace.
AND, importantly, there are plenty of single moms out there and plenty of single pregnant women, too. So perhaps your snide, resentful comment implying that single people are denied the vacation you seem to think birthing and caring for an infant is needs to be reconsidered — and grounded in the real world.
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Single childless workers may have other people in their lives that require caregiving. And caregiving is work, not vacation. Instead of viewing this through the zero sum lens of ‘but what do I get’, maybe have a a little empathy.
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@Marta
Responding to the spirit of the article.
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If fair treatment is the issue, a critical opinion piece should appear in The Times about each presidential candidate, detailing how each dealt with money issues, and relations with the opposite sex. These exposures should be supported by selected quotations of statements each candidate would rather keep out of the public domain, even if those statements were allegedly made twenty or thirty years ago.
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This is an article that does not consider the impacts on the the team or workforce when a woman does choose to have children. We have a position that is held for an employee on my team now for 18 months. We can’t hire someone to fill the role or do the work because we are still paying her. So everyone else on the team has to do the work. This is the real world ramification of paid family leave. Just saying that it’s not all so rosy and just about the woman when it comes to the working world. Those left to carry the load are affected here as well and that is not even considered in this article. Nice way to ignore what should be an obvious perspective.
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18 months seems rather excessive to “hold” a position. Why have they not put in place temporary help? Or mor support personnel. FMLA is 12 weeks. Your company is under no obligation by law to hold the position longer. Some info is missing here.
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I agree that the burden being shouldered by the individual company is not ideal. In a society where children are predominantly raised by women, a company who hires more women would be at a disadvantage. So either men and women have to split parental leave 50:50, or it has to be paid for by society as a whole, meaning by everyone via taxes, assuming society has an interest in children being born.
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@Dan. And if you suddenly had a personal issue or became sick and had to step out of your work role for several weeks or months, your colleagues would cover for you. Give us all a break and have some compassion (dirty word?) and understanding.
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Excellent piece! Our society does not believe in sharing the responsibility for creating or raising children.
If a woman or teenager gets pregnant, it is considered her “fault,” and she is often left to deal with the pregnancy or the choice to end it on her own.
If she chooses to continue the pregnancy, she might get little or no help in ensuring the health of her baby, and then she is penalized financially for taking time off work to deliver and care for her newborn.
Later society blames HER if the child, who may have been raised in poverty or extreme stress, has problems with learning or socializing.
Yes, a female employee who becomes pregnant may cost the company she works for more in benefits such as maternity leave or sick days, BUT THAT IS BECAUSE THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE IS NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS YOUNGEST MEMBERS!
Warren and Sanders are fighting for SOCIETAL SUPPORT for raising children because it should be the RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SOCIETY!
As in everything else, the people who control the wealth in our country want to reap the benefits of a functioning workforce without paying anything to sustain its health or basic humanity.
It’s long past time for that to change. Vote Warren/Sanders!
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Sanders notoriously neglected his own mother and son leaving them on welfare, didn’t work or collect a paycheck until he was 40.
Mike Bloomberg was well known as close to his own mother and a fair, egalitarian -like the workplace he ran-and enterprising employer.
This is why the dance team of Sanders & Warren will never leave the sidelines. If there were ever two to botch “progressive” these demagogues are it. The divisiveness, the constant provocative language, the haranguing, those hypotheticals never proved by either of them in a practical sense. It all harkens back to the only era Sanders relates to, the 1960s where he was a lazy activist at that!
Has anyone noticed? Sanders & Warren are not “progressive” but decidedly “regressive”.
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A very thorough and accurate job of analysis, I'm sure. We understand he has flaws and it's good to know what they are. However by today's standards most men will be found wanting. The question has to be is he a creep? I think not. If this were any time before the 1960's his views would be uncontroversial. Bloomberg can accurately be described as out-of-step. Which given the stakes should not be a deal breaker. I myself am uncomfortable with his complacent views on the environment. But in both these cases and others, I am inclined to believe he can be educated.
Perhaps his flaws are his strength. Bloomberg is a conservative democrat. He will garner significant Republican support. The big question is can the Democratic factions look beyond their concerns and recognize that Mike Bloomberg, imperfect as he may be, does have the gravitas to win the job. He looks presidential.
Boring, staid, status-quo? Yes. That is why I suggest he is what we need. Unlike our current leader, I believe Bloomberg is willing to pay attention to our many challenges. He is one who listens and learns. The only question is, will he be fast enough?
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@William Pritz he might appeal to moderate Republicans (because he is one), but it is all but guaranteed that the progressive wing of the Democractic party will not vote for him. Nor will young voters, voters of color or many other vital swaths of the Democratic electorate, all of which outnumber this mythical demographic of the "moderate Republican".
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These allegations are new to me. It seems they only materialized since his run for this office. I do not recall an issue during his three years as Mayor.
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Thanks for this piece - the ability to make a independent living is central to true equality. So this kind of workplace harassment and inequality is not only damaging psychologically, but it constrains women in their life choices.
Although not the topic of this article, I’d also like to mention that women who don’t have children are subject to different kinds of misogyny in the workplace. Assumptions about likeability, implicit criticism about not being feminine enough, etc etc. Its almost as if we live in a misogynist culture and women can’t win no matter what they do.
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Bloomberg did an excellent job keeping lots of issues out of the public eye while he was mayor. Now we learn the truth.
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@SMB
That they are new to you does not mean that they weren't public knowledge during his mayoralty. I was certainly aware of the accusations levelled against him during his 12 year reign.
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It seems there are many women willing to stand up and praise Bloomberg's treatment of women. While mistreatment accusations remain unproven. He's released 3 women from NDAs that involved him directly. If there are more, why don't they at least stand up and say, 'I have one and I want to be released.' I would like to hear them if it's true because it would affect my opinion.
But at the same time there's a danger in rushing to judgement without adequate information. Or repeating rumor over and over again until people start to believe it's true. That's a Trump style tactic.
As for Warren, her attacks are so filled with anger it almost seems personal. As though she still hasn't gotten over Bloomberg's support for the candidate who ran against her.
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@JimmySerious
Because the terms of such NDAs normally includes a clause that you cannot disclose there is one, except under limited conditions (like subpoena).
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@JimmySerious
Yes, actually her debate attack on him was so nebulous and lacking detail, that its virulence made me distrust her, although I had been a big fan.
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That might be true, but why don’t we also think about why the Democratic Party is even embracing a candidate who would spend millions to elect a Republican running against one of the most progressive senators?
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Americans—especially American women—work more and earn less than their Western European counterparts. Countries like Norway, Switzerland, and Denmark provide long maternity leave and affordable childcare to their workers and yet have the highest rates of productivity in the world. Could it be that a happy, well cared for worker does better work in less time?
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@Inkwell let's not forget, they have paternity leave, too, which also benefits mothers.
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@Elise It also benefits fathers and infants.
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@Inkwell Comparing one of the world's most populated, heterogeneous countries to very small, very rich, homogeneous countries is unfair.
We need to do better on maternity leave, but it is really apples and oranges.
3
Woman and their result of their choices should be afforded the same protections as everyone else and not one iota more or less.
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@W. Stradlater Right--because women get themselves pregnant, and their children belong only to them and no one else. (Of course--for the moment--they are able to choose abortion. Maybe not for long, though.)
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The negative attitude towards pregnancy and maternity extends to female bosses as well. When my infant was ill and I asked to depart for a business trip one day later, my boss said no, "The baby won't know the difference." I was fortunate enough to be able to quit and find a work environment where it was clear that family came first. Most do not have that option. I personally know several women who have had successful and productive careers at Bloomberg but do not doubt either his past comments or that the environment was demanding. I do, however, think it's important to put it in context. Let's interview several Trump employees (not Ivanka) and compare.
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I don’t understand why we have to interview Trump employees for context. If he treats women worse, it doesn’t make Bloomberg look any better. I fail to see why we should tolerate a history of discrimination of any kind from individuals arguing they deserve the higher office in the land.
7
The reason is that your decision affects their lives whether they are mail or female.
Decades ago, in college, I met so many people with backgrounds different from mine that paying attention to context as well as content organically drifted to front of mind during conversations I had.
And during those years, through many conversations that I noted were with men, I grew aware of why it would be a particularly poor tradeoff to raise a son. In my phrasing from those college years, I'd learned that on the whole they 1) take more, 2) give less, and 3) blame their mothers for everything.
32
Society is cruel to many of us and I blame very little on my Mother who raised four pretty decent kids as a single parent, I get most saddened thinking about how more empowered we’d all have been if she had had a caring committed self actualized partner. So maybe your observations fell a little short, you said they were primarily formed while in college. Spot on in many aspects- take and blame keep so many held back from their true selves, fear rules them.
1
While Ms. Bruenigs’s thoughts are laden with her obvious aversion to the various species of Some males’ admittedly antipathy toward females, and as a psychiatrist I agree with many of her observations, in this case it appears that Mr. Bloomberg’s derisive comments toward women were solely due to their impending need to take some time off from working in his company, and the extra burden that it would temporarily place in his workforce. Nothing more, nothing less.
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I agree. If Mr. Bloomberg did in fact say what he is accused of, perhaps it was out of the frustration of seeing someone he considered to be intelligent, capable, promotable accidentally or intentionally making a choice that would have been better for everyone a little later. I’m not so sure he would have said this to someone he considered to be an average performer. I say this as a successful female with 30 yrs experience in corporate America, most of them in management. I support Mike Bloomberg.
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Who wouldn’t have obvious aversion to the various species of Some males’ admittedly antipathy toward females?
2
@Sandra Robinson Would you give a pass to someone who said this that wasn't your preferred presidential candidate? If a man said this to you, would it even matter to you *why* he said it? or just that he said it?
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It’s a disgrace how the United States cares for pregnant women and mothers. Our country’s mostly white misogynistic politicians pretend to care about family values but they do nothing for pre natal care, maternity and post partum health, and child care. Instead, they actively attempt to eliminate sex education, birth control options, and women’s protections in the workplace by continuing to protect corporations from providing basic needs such as paid leave for the mother to heal and care for her baby. When we look at the statistics of maternal deaths for a western country, and the stress and demands on new mothers with limited pay options associated with the richest country in the world, I don’t know how family values can even be mentioned in the GOP platform. The patriarchy is very much alive and real in 2020.
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@JMo Not strictly relevant,I think.
1
@JMo
The author of this article ignores the fact that Mike's company offers the most generous paid maternity leave of any in America, six months.
This opinion piece tries to trash Mike by ignoring his actual record.
Sad.
13
It’s not the United States job to care for a woman. It’s the husband and father’s job.
4
Back to the future Ms Bruening. I kind of like Democracy so I support Mike Bloomberg and/or Joe Biden. All other issues are secondary. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow never comes. All we have is the present.
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@Gwen Vilen you think Democracy is a billionaire spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy an election? Not sure I would call that a democracy...
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I’m not sure this issue is behind us. Women still struggle to raise children in this brutally capitalist country, with little leave time and less pay; infant mortality is still fairly high in the US; and women are still fighting for equality whether they are moms or not.
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And making this false compromise is why we still have inequality and misogyny after hundreds of years of organizing. You bet the the tomorrow where woman get the actions to ensure equality never come. During a crisis, it’s sit down and wait — other things are more important now. When the crisis is over, it’s be quiet things are great quit rocking the boat. A perfect construct to make sure it’s always secondary and the needle never moves, Feel free to vote for tepid white men again. I say push now - your daughters will thank you.
17