Trump's Boys Club
by digby
Well, this is shocking.Truly shocking. Actually it isn't. At all.
“The boys’ club mentality here is just ridiculous. … It’s everywhere,” the White House staffer said.
Asked to described the issue further, the staffer said women’s viewpoints are not respected in the White House. She acknowledged there are women in top roles including Sanders, communications director Hope Hicks and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, but she said the men on staff don’t take their female co-workers seriously.
“Obviously, there’s Kellyanne, Sarah, and Hope — those are all pretty big positions, … but there’s a constant feeling anyway of being just minimized,” the staffer said, adding, “Like if you have an idea it’s just like, ‘Ha-ha-ha that’s nice.'”
Sanders disputed this account and told Yahoo News she has “never felt minimized” at the White House.
“I think if you talk to other women in the White House you would find the same response,” Sanders said.
Sanders specifically cited Conway, Hicks, deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters, deputy director of communications Jessica Ditto, and director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp as women in the White House who would counter the “boys’ club” claim.
“That is not my experience,” Ditto told Yahoo News on Friday evening. “I have never felt minimized for my gender while serving in this White House. We treat each other with mutual respect and work hard every day in service to the President and this Nation.”
Conway, Hicks, Walters and Schlapp did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
A female adviser from Trump’s campaign echoed the idea there was a “boys’ club” surrounding his White House bid. She suggested this likely contributed to the White House’s decision to defend Porter even amid an intense national conversation about sexual harassment in the workplace.