Sexual harassment: harassment in a workplace, or other professional or social situation, involving the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks.

I’m sure many of us are very familiar with how, starting in early October of 2017, many decades’ worth of allegations against former Hollywood filmmaker Harvey Weinstein made by over 50 brave women were made public.

People are wondering: how did we get here and why did stories like this take so long to be shared?

When we look deeper, we see that the problem comes from the fact that the careers that come with the most power and make the most money in our country, seem to remain male dominated even as many women are filling these positions in greater numbers. There are minimal role models for young women trying to break into the corporate world, with women only holding 5.2% of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies.

If someone is already treated as lesser in their career and feels the need to prove themselves to their “superiors” they already are often forced to suppress anything that they think is going to make people not take them seriously in their career.

Every story deserves to be heard and is brave to be shared, but it is interesting how people seem to finally start listening once someone they once respected, such as Harvey Weinstein is accused. Unfortunately most women in the workplace everyday face such struggles and many live in fear of losing their job, reputation, or the respect that people have for them, if they share their story.

The entrepreneurial, start up/tech industry of our country that is based mainly in Silicon Valley prides itself on being forward thinking, yet it comes with some of the highest accounts of sexual harassment and discrimination out of all careers.

San Francisco entrepreneur Lindsay Meyer reported to the New York Times a story of a man who was supporting her as an investor and therefore felt entitled to text her inappropriate things, in addition to grope her against her will.  “I felt like I had to tolerate it because this is the cost of being a non white female founder” Lindsay stated.

Looking ahead, there is a long way to go. We can find hope from the powerful words of Aly Raisman when addressing her (and many others’) assaulter, doctor Larry Nassar.

“If we are to believe in change, we must first understand the problem and everything that contributed to it. Now is not the time for false reassurances. We need an independent investigation of exactly what happened, what went wrong and how it can be avoided for the future.”