On October 3, 2022, Temple University Beasley School of Law partnered with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to host an evening conversation between Professor Anita Hill and Dean Rachel Rebouché on ‘Power, Truth, and Courage in the Evolving Workplace.’ Sponsored jointly by Fox Rothschild, Professor Hill discussed her own experience with gender-based violence in the workplace, how the environment has changed for survivors in recent years, and what the path forward in the fight for gender justice might look like.
Professor Hill currently works as a professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University and recently published her book, Believing, on her thirty-year journey to end gender-based violence. Prior to taking on this post, Professor Hill worked as an attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and then as a Professor of Law at Oral Roberts University and the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Professor Hill famously blazed the path for gender justice by providing testimony about her own experience of harassment with then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Justice Clarence Thomas, in 1991. Graciously candid about her journey, Professor Hill did not originally set out to change minds or the outcome of Justice Thomas’s nomination, but rather wanted her truth heard. Professor Hill’s powerful testimony showed the country that sexual harassment was (and still is) a serious problem affecting thousands of women that deserves a serious response. Despite this, many dismissed Hill’s experience. As a result, she faced sexist vitriol from both ends of the political spectrum. Even in the face of open hostility, Professor Hill held onto her belief that those in positions of power should have integrity, a belief that continues to inspire her work today.
Sadly, the struggles Professor Hill faced in stepping forward are still very real for those experiencing workplace harassment today. When asked why survivors are still so hesitant to come forward—even in the wake of the #MeToo movement—Professor Hill pointed to the dismissive attitudes engrained in all of us from a young age. The common rejoinder “that isn’t so bad” has been used to “persuade the public [that] harassment is not worth their consideration.” If we are to change this prevailing sentiment, Professor Hill says we need to focus on transforming the language used to discuss harassment and encourage survivors to share their truth from an early age.
The experience of women in facing gender-based violence and harassment can differ drastically for those in marginalized groups, especially people of color and the working class. Because state violence and interpersonal violence often feed off one another, Professor Hill stressed the importance of an intersectional response to gender-based violence. In fragile communities, survivors and victims should be among the decision-makers deciding how best to craft solutions to the problem. Professor Hill expressed the necessity for policies responsive to the actual needs of the most vulnerable within communities, especially within the workplace. Undervaluing and undercompensating employees reinforces gender-based violence by making it more difficult for those employees to come forward. The lowest paid employees often lack support systems like human resources to advocate for their needs within an organization and instead suffer alone.
Professor Hill is no stranger to uniting those with different identities and unique perspectives to accomplish a common goal. The youngest of fifteen siblings, Professor Hill learned from an early age the importance of community. Like any family, she had to work with varying personalities and character flaws to find common passion and sustain community. She says a similar united strategy is necessary to devise creative solutions and build community power in the battle for gender justice.
Since her 1991 testimony, societal attitudes towards gender-based violence and sexual harassment may have changed, especially among young people, but Professor Hill says institutions have remained largely the same. Institutions are still structured to protect themselves and the status quo above all else, not those suffering from violence. This often incentivizes “compliance” instead of progress and justice. Through the most horrendous incidences of gender-based violence, we have seen how institutional weakness can harm the most vulnerable. Despite this dreary outlook, Professor Hill has hope for the possibility of change. She stressed the importance of calling on leaders to prioritize the issue of gender-based violence while elevating marginalized voices to build community.
BIO: Therese Gildea (LAW ’23) is a Content Editor for the Temple 10-Q.