Women of color bolt Warren's Nevada campaign in frustration

[Gothmog]

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A half-dozen women of color have departed Elizabeth Warren’s Nevada campaign in the run-up to the state’s caucuses with complaints of a toxic work environment in which minorities felt tokenized and senior leadership was at loggerheads.

The six staffers have left the roughly 70-person Nevada team since November, during a critical stretch of the race. Three of them said they felt marginalized by the campaign, a situation they said didn’t change or worsened after they took their concerns to their superiors or to human resources staff.

“During the time I was employed with Nevada for Warren, there was definitely something wrong with the culture,” said Megan Lewis, who joined the campaign in May and departed in December. “I filed a complaint with HR, but the follow-up I received left me feeling as though I needed to make myself smaller or change who I was to fit into the office culture.”

Another recently departed staffer, granted anonymity because she feared reprisal, echoed that sentiment. “I felt like a problem — like I was there to literally bring color into the space but not the knowledge and voice that comes with it,” she said in an interview.
She added: “We all were routinely silenced and not given a meaningful chance on the campaign. Complaints, comments, advice, and grievances were met with an earnest shake of the head and progressive buzzwords but not much else.” A third former staffer who was also granted anonymity said those descriptions matched her own experience.

[bluewater]

1. Not a good thing, even if it's only these 6 women.

This needs to be addressed.

Even though Presidential campaigns are large sprawling affairs, the ultimate responsibility lies with the candidate.

Warren’s campaign did not dispute the women’s accounts but suggested they do not reflect a broader problem within her large, 31-state organization.

“We strive for an inclusive environment and work hard to learn and improve,” Warren campaign spokesperson Kristen Orthman said in a statement. “We have an organization of more than a thousand people, and whenever we hear concerns, we take them seriously.

It’s important that everyone who is part of our team has a voice and can be heard. That’s why we are proud that we have a unionized staff and clear processes for issues to be addressed.”

That said, efforts should be re-doubled to provide a safe, inclusive work environment for these women and any others with similar experiences.

[Garrett78]

3. If she's not top 2 in New Hampshire, Nevada won't matter for her.

[bluewater]

4. Top 3 is OK if she beats Biden.

Biden, meanwhile, must not lose to Buttigieg in NH. Such a loss would set up the possibility of cascading defeats heading into South Carolina.

[Garrett78]

6. I don't think 3rd will do. I'm not sure 2nd would be enough, given her regional advantage.

If she can't beat Sanders, she has no path.

Agreed about Biden. He needs to finish ahead of Buttigieg, so 2nd...or 3rd if Warren can come in 2nd.

[bluewater]

7. Considering Sanders surge in the polls, 2nd in NH would be great for Warren.

3rd place if she beats Biden would keep her alive, but a 2nd place finish keeps her in the "top tier" perception-wise.

Honestly, The Buttigieg bounce post-Iowa has him surging in NH too.

It will be difficult for either Warren or Biden to defeat him.

[Garrett78]

11. 2nd might suffice, but she has to beat Sanders at some point.

[bluewater]

13. The hope is that could happen as the field thins out...

The strategy seems to be try to stay in the top 3 until either Biden or Buttigieg become unviable nationally and to pick up the lion share of their supporters.

If the field does not thin out, and Biden, Buttigieg, Warren and even Bloomberg are dividing up the voters, it's hoped that she could emerge as a consensus candidate between the various factions.

Time will tell.

But like Biden, Warren needs to try to stay in the top 3 in New Hampshire next Tuesday.

I don't think they both can.

[BeyondGeography]

8. Sounds like you're in a hurry to dismiss her

If she's 3rd in front of Biden placing 4th for the second straight time guess what the headline is?

Finishing behind Biden, otoh, is not an option for her.

[Garrett78]

10. Not at all. It's just that she has to be able to top Sanders at some point.

I agree that Biden would be in serious trouble with a 4th place finish, but I don't see how Warren would have a path if she's not a close 2nd, or better. When/where does she beat Sanders? Nevada? South Carolina? California?

[BeyondGeography]

12. She's got to take it one step at a time

If Biden continues to stumble and Bloomberg basically replaces him in the moderate lane the landscape in more diverse states would change. Competing with Pete and Bloomberg instead of Biden for the AA vote would help her significantly.

[krissey]

5. Warren listens. In her heart, she wants to do the best, be the best. She is not working from ego.

Warren will not dismiss the complaints by telling them to vote for Sanders or Trump. I am confident Warren will address this, she is that good.

[hangaleft]

9. Agreed

[CTyankee]

14. I have worked for nonprofit organizations fighting for women that are almost completely

led and staffed by women. Learned that the woman at the top is often protected by their staff from hearing the grumbles from below. And when something goes wrong, the fingerpointing begins in order to protect the women at the top. I have seen this happen. It's probably because the "enemy without" is considered the bigger threat and so dissent must be ignored or, worse, suppressed.

This is disheartening, but I am not surprised.

[krissey]

15. I have also seen Warren put a lot of time and effort in listening to grow, better understand

and address the issues with fellow women instead of telling them to vote for someone else. We women are hard on each other. Generally give the man the break while keeping resentments toward women. I find Warren's efforts heartening because I know she takes this conversation seriously and will undoubtedly address it.

[CTyankee]

16. Sometimes the women closest to the female leader will make a tremendous effort to "protect"

her. This never turns out well, IMO. While the woman leader should not be dragged into every internal disagreement, some resentment is inevitable as some staffers can feel they are not heard.

My organization was just too white. We did have "diversity" training but that is a couple of days at best and cannot turn around learned behaviors that are years and years in the making. It is difficult and minority members can feel that they are simply "not heard" or "tuned out."

What a waste of time and talent. I wish I knew the answer.

[cwydro]

21. I believe her campaign manager is a man.

Funny how you think that there’s some inherent problem in “woman-led” organizations.

[cwydro]

19. How is this different from when men are at the top?

You seem to be saying that somehow organizations that are “almost completely led and staffed by women” are somehow not as well led as those led by men.

Considering Bernie’s problem with women on his staff earlier, of which he was unaware. I find your comment curious.

In my experience, people at the top are often “protected” from hearing the “grumbles from below.”

Smh.

[BlueMTexpat]

17. Should I begin posting

articles with negative headlines about Biden? It seems that at least some of his supporters are quite meticulous about posting negative articles about my candidate. And this is from from Politico, which should always be taken with a grain of salt.

There are indeed negative articles about Biden, but I do NOT post them. Instead, I post articles that show the strengths of my candidate.

In any organization, there are bound to be some growing pains and I am sure that Warren will address these, if she is even aware of them. She certainly is now.

I may change my stance against posting negative articles about other candidates, if their supporters continue to post negativity about my candidate. Please cease and desist. I'm disappointed in you, Gothmog.

And please rinse and repeat: OUR ENEMY IS TRUMP!

[cwydro]

20. To my way of thinking, negative attacks against one candidate or another speaks of insecurity.

Some are worried about their chosen candidate, it would seem.

[Gothmog]

18. I am glad tat Senator Warren apologized

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