Another Visit to the Good O’ “Boys’ Club”

October 6, 2012

White House Uncomfortably Concedes Allegations of a Hostile Work Environment as Obama Loses Support Among Women

Journalist Ron Suskind’s new book on the White House made waves for its documentation of a White House “boys’ club” culture that one staffer said “would be in court for a hostile workplace.” The White House initially resisted the charges, but now White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is conceding that he “did hear that there were some issues early on.”
The examples in Suskind’s book follow previous reports of what appears to be a less-than-welcoming environment for women in the West Wing.
Meanwhile, President’s Obama’s support among women nationally is slipping along with his support among other groups of voters.

BACKGROUND

Journalist Ron Suskind’s new book on the White House made waves for its documentation of a White House “boys’ club” culture that one staffer said “would be in court for a hostile workplace.” The White House initially resisted the charges, but now White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is conceding that he “did hear that there were some issues early on”:

FMR. WH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR ANITA DUNN: WHITE HOUSE “WOULD BE IN COURT FOR A HOSTILE WORKPLACE”: ” ‘This place would be in court for a hostile workplace,’ former White House communications director Anita Dunn is quoted as saying. ‘Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.'” (Nia-Malika Henderson and Peter Wallsten, “Book: Women in Obama White House Felt Excluded and Ignored,” The Washington Post, 9/16/2011)

HIGH-RANKING WH OFFICIAL: OBAMA “HAS A REAL WOMAN PROBLEM,” “JUST AS RESPONSIBLE” AS HIS STAFF FOR WHITE HOUSE “BOYS’ CLUB” ATMOSPHERE: ” ‘The president has a real woman problem,’ an unnamed high-ranking female official told Suskind. ‘The idea of the boys’ club being just Larry and Rahm isn’t really fair. He [Obama] was just as responsible himself.'” (Nia-Malika Henderson and Peter Wallsten, “Book: Women in Obama White House Felt Excluded and Ignored,” The Washington Post, 9/16/2011)

FORMER TOP ECONOMIST CHRISTINA ROMER: “I FELT LIKE A PIECE OF MEAT”: “Christina Romer, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers, said of one meeting where she’d been shut down by Summers, ‘I felt like a piece of meat.'” (David A. Graham, “9 Juicy Bits from Ron Suskind’s Book,” The Daily Beast, 9/19/2011)

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF BILL DALEY: “I DID HEAR THAT THERE WERE SOME ISSUES EARLY ON”: ” ‘I read this in the book,’ Daley continues, referencing the latest Ron Suskind book that alleges poor treatment of women in the Obama White House, ‘but that was during my predecessor’s era. … So I don’t see it as, um, I didn’t even read the book, but I did hear that there were some issues early on under a predecessor of mine, so I can dump on him about it.‘” (Daniel Halper, “Daley: The White House’s Women Problem Was Rahm’s Fault,” The Weekly Standard, 10/6/2011)

The examples in Suskind’s book follow previous reports of what appears to be a less-than-welcoming environment for women in the West Wing:

MAUREEN DOWD SAID OBAMA HAD AN “OVAL MAN CAVE”: (Maureen Dowd, “Oval Man Cave,” The New York Times, 10/27/2009)

NOV. 2009: FEMALE AIDES REQUESTED A DINNER WITH OBAMA TO DISCUSS HIS BOYS’ CLUB ATMOSPHERE:“At a dinner in November 2009, several senior female aides complained directly to the president that men enjoyed greater access to him and often muscled them out of key policy discussions.

“Those tensions prompted Obama, urged on by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, to elevate more women into senior White House positions, recognize them more during staff meetings and increase the female presence in the upper ranks of the reelection campaign. ‘There were some issues early on with women feeling as though they hadn’t figured out what their role was going to be on the senior team at the White House,’ Jarrett said in an interview Monday.” (Peter Wallsten and Anne E. Kornblut, “In Early Obama White House, Female Staffers Felt Frozen Out,” The Washington Post, 9/20/2011)

“NO WOMAN SEEMS TO QUALIFY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INNERMOST CIRCLE”: (Amy Sullivan, “The White House Boys’ Club: President Obama Has a Woman Problem,” Time, 9/21/2011)

BUSH HAD WOMEN AS POLITICAL AND POLICIY GURUS IN HIS INNER CIRCLE, BUT OBAMA DOESN’T: “Even so, it didn’t matter how many senior women were on staff if they weren’t in the room with the boss when it mattered. There, a comparison with Bush’s White House is also instructive. Valerie Jarrett is obviously a key member of Obama’s inner circle, but her role is largely a personal one, to protect Obama’s brand. For the most part, she does not fill the same position of political or policy guru that Karen Hughes and Condi Rice respectively did in Bush’s brain trust.” (Amy Sullivan, “The White House Boys’ Club: President Obama Has a Woman Problem,” Time, 9/21/2011)

“HIGH PROFILE SECTORS OF THE WHITE HOUSE—ECONOMICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY, FOR INSTANCE—ARE FILLED WITH MEN AND EXUDE AN UNMISTAKABLE MALE VIBE”: “Still, some high-profile sectors of the White House — economics and national security, for instance — are filled with men and exude an unmistakable male vibe. Mr. Obama’s inner circle includes Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Emanuel and his senior adviser, David Axelrod (‘The Boys,’ as they are known to some female staff members).” (Mark Leibovich, “Man’s World at the White House? No Harm, No Foul, Aides Say,” The New York Times, 10/24/2009)

OBAMA “FACE[D] CRITICISM FROM WOMEN’S RIGHTS GROUPS FOR FAILING TO NOMINATE A WOMAN” TO HIS ECONOMIC TEAM: “President Obama is facing new criticism from women’s rights groups for failing to nominate a woman to his core group of economic advisers.” (Silla Brush and Sam Youngman, “Obama Faces New Criticism From Women’s Groups Over His Team,” The Hill, 9/12/2010)

FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEE DEE MYERS: WOMEN “ARE OBAMA’S BASE,” BUT NOT ENOUGH WOMEN IN OBAMA’S “INNER CIRCLE”: “‘Women are Obama’s base, and they don’t seem to have enough people who look like the base inside of their own inner circle,’ said Dee Dee Myers, a former press secretary in the Clinton administration whose sister, Betsy, served as the Obama campaign’s chief operating officer.” (Mark Leibovich, “Man’s World at the White House? No Harm, No Foul, Aides Say,” The New York Times, 10/24/2009)

Meanwhile, President’s Obama’s support among women nationally is slipping along with his support among other groups of voters:

QUINNIPIAC POLL: 51% OF WOMEN DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA, ONLY 46% APPROVE: (“Obama and the Economy Are in the Dumps, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll,” Quinnipiac Poll, 10/6/2011)

MORE: ONLY 37% OF WOMEN APPROVE OF OBAMA’S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY, 59% DISAPPROVE:(“Obama and the Economy Are in the Dumps, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll,” Quinnipiac Poll, 10/6/2011)

FOX NEWS: JUST 44% OF WOMEN APPROVE OF OBAMA, 49% DISAPPROVE: (“Fox News Poll: Obama’s Job Performance If He Were a CEO,” Fox News Poll, 9/29/2011)

GALLUP: OBAMA AT 43% APPROVAL WITH WOMEN: (“Presidential Job Approval Center,” Gallup, Accessed 10/6/2011)