Author Joanne Lipman said that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently reported on women, engaging in institutional sexism and fueling the enormous differences in pay, promotion and opportunities.
‘When we marginalize them [women], we do not appreciate them that much, “Lipman said on CNBC’s” The News with Shepard Smith. “” If we do not value them so much, we do not pay them so much, or we promote them so much, or give them the mentorship, and it all feeds into this continuing institutional sexism that has really prevented us from making the movements we since the #MeToo movement had to make. “
The pressure is causing Cuomo to resign after a third woman accused him of unwanted advances.
Lipman, who wrote: “This is what she said: what men should know (and women should tell them) about the collaboration,” explained to Shepard Smith’s host that although Cuomo’s actions may not have been physical abuse, hinders his “comfortable sexism” equality for all.
“If you have guys like Cuomo – people in leadership positions – who talk a very good game about equality for women and equality for people of color, but then you have these actions facing them, it’s really diminishing the words they say. And that hurts the cause of equality for all of us, “Lipman said.
The third woman to come forward, Anna Ruch, said she met Cuomo in 2019 at a wedding where he placed his hand on her lower back, put his hands on her cheeks and asked if he could have her kiss, according to the New York Times. . Cuomo did not comment on the allegations.
The White House confirmed Tuesday that Ruch was working on the Biden campaign as an organizer in Southwest Florida.
“I can certainly speak on behalf of the President and the Vice President, and so let me repeat that they both believe that every woman who comes forward should be treated with dignity and treated with respect,” said Jen Psaki, White. said. House press secretary.
Ruch did not work for Cuomo, but the other two women, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, are former assistants who both claimed sexual harassment. Cuomo completely denied Boylan’s claim. He also refuted Bennett’s accusations, saying his words were ‘misinterpreted’.
Lipman explained that society now has a much greater awareness of what inappropriate behavior has been since the #MeToo movement, and therefore is more likely to call it quits.
“I mean, in the three years since the #MeToo movement broke out, we know what the rules of the road are, and it’s so outrageous for so many women to see this kind of behavior continue,” Lipman said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James began an investigation into Cuomo on Monday as calls for him to resign grew within his own party.
U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-Long Island, became the first Democrat to request Cuomo to step down Monday night via Twitter. Six Democratic lawmakers from the Senate and the New York Assembly have a statement Tuesday and asked that Cuomo be charged.