Beyond #MeToo: How To Keep Up The Momentum

It was the hashtag that toppled a Hollywood heavyweight and launched a movement of meaningful change. But has it gone far enough?

By Prue Clarke

Gender diversity

It was the hashtag that toppled a Hollywood heavyweight and launched a movement of meaningful change. But has it gone far enough?

By Prue Clarke

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It’s a social revolution unprecedented in its scale and speed. #MeToo ignited last October as studio head Harvey Weinstein endured a public reckoning. Hollywood A-listers revealed tales of sexual assault and coercion. Not one, or two, but more than 80 women came forward. There was a New York Times report. A New Yorker investigation quickly followed. Actress Alyssa Milano then borrowed a phrase first used by activist Tarana Burke ten years earlier. She turned it into a hashtag, encouraging victims to share their stories of abuse. Its power preceded any algorithm. Within a week more than a million had responded, and #MeToo became a movement.

The movement’s uprising has since snowballed into a global phenomenon. Fueled by social media, it has taken down men in film, media, politics and technology across the world, forcing companies and institutions to rethink their culture. Finally, powerbrokers are waking up to the fact that women are angry about the ongoing mistreatment and inequality they face at work and at home. Finally, women feel they have a chance to do something about it.