MSNBC Anchor Examines How Women Are Treated in the Workplace

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Alicia Menendez, Weekend Anchor, MSNBC and author, “The Likeability Trap,” to talk about her new book, which explores how women are treated in the workplace.

2/4/2020 #2277

Transcript:

"Hi I’m Steve Adubato this is the TISH WNET studio here in the heart of new york city we're pleased to welcome Alicia Menendez she's the author of the likeability trap how you doing? So great to see you Steve. Good to see you we've known each other since you were a kid I hate saying that because it Just makes me really old. But it makes me feel really young which I appreciate. Yeah, that's me to make you--(laughter) Feel good. Let's jump right into this likability thing we're doing this program at the end of 2019. Mm-hmm. Right after Kamala Harris trump's dropped out of the race. Stay with the races it'll go on in 2020 you'll see this I thought she was incredibly likable. Mm-hmm. I, she still is like what am I missing? Well likeability is wildly subjective that's part of it so what you like somebody else cannot like and when it comes to women who are running for Office they face a number of challenges so for starters voters will vote for a man they don't like so long as they Believe he's competent but when it comes to women candidates they have to both like the woman candidate and believe She's competent so she has to clear both hurdles and so it's complicated for women it's additionally complicated for Women of color and what I don't want to lose in that conversation is that all of That mirrors things that happen to women in the workplace every day. Oh wow a lot going on there. mm hmm. But let's go take a couple years back Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton. I just had this conversation with someone earlier we were taping today the likability factor if you will in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, a problem? A huge problem. Huge. Problem I as a journalist was traveling the country and I would do these--I remember. Unofficial focus groups and it seemed that no matter who you spoke with there was this Question of whether or not they were willing to vote for Hillary Clinton and I felt that many of the voters I spoke with sort of made a similar argument They would focus on what they believed was the substance of their argument and then inevitably downshift into why I Just don't like her for those who were not going to vote for her and when you would push what what is it you don't Like very often it was just this gut feeling and what was interesting to me was that almost became harder to debate Or harder to argue over because I said--Subjective. I feel I feel this at a gut level and you can't argue with what I feel at a gut level and listen for Hillary Clinton There was a long history..."