Believing that accurate awareness is a precursor to positive change, I value the writings of Megan McArdle. I recommend Megan’s article about Jill Abramson being fired from her job as executive editor of the New York Times. Less than three years ago Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher and chairman of the company, determined that she was the best candidate. Now, after a remarkably short tenure, she is unfit? It’s hard to read the cascading news about this and not think of sexism. There may be gender pay issues (see McArdle’s thoughts about comparative pay), complaints about Abramson’s management style, and concerns over Abramson’s physical and mental recovery from being hit by a delivery truck while she was walking across the street in 2007. We’ll never know conclusively why Abramson lost her “dream job”. But I hope we can, logically, address the cultural and sexism happenings that surround us. And I hope we ask ourselves: What specific thing are we supposed to do to fix these? That’s the point of having opinions, isn’t it? We are supposed to do our part and so lead to a better tomorrow.
