Journalist, reporter and news anchor Shannon Bream, host ofFox Corp.'sFOX Fox News Sundayweekly program, took to Twitter in August 2022to recount being fired from her first TVgig by a man who told me I was the worst person he'd ever seen on TV.
BeginningSept. 11, Bream will become the flagship Sunday morning political talk shows first permanent female anchor, as well as continuing in her role as Foxs chief legal correspondent. The role was formerly held by Chris Wallace, who departed for CNN last year. CNN is owned by Warner BrosDiscovery IncWBD .
What Happened:On Saturday, Aug.13, 2022, Bream offered inspiration to her 620,000 Twitter followers by sharing the process of how she overcame the harsh critique byher boss, who also told Breamthat she would"never make it in this business."
I was humiliated. I cried … a lot. I prayed … a lot, Bream wrotebefore admittingthat man did me a favor.
Bream spent months looking for other jobs in TV, struggling to get anyone to return an email or a call while watching her tapes. There is always room for improvement, she said, and believe me I needed it.
I watched my tapes and got real with myself, Bream said.
Bream also turned to her faith for guidance during the healing process. I got a healthy serving of humility, and learned that God often allows us to walk through valleys for our own good, she said.
The series of tweets, which went viral, also highlighted the difficulties women continue to face in the workforce, not only juggling paid employment and responsibilities at home but the outright discrimination and abuse some women are forced to deal with, working in roles where the top executives and board members are mostly male.
See Also:Mark Zuckerberg Tells Employees 'Self-selection Is OK With Me,' Wants Those Who 'Shouldn't Be' At Meta To Leave
The Challenges Women Face: The work-from-home transformation that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, three years after the #MeToo movement captured the public psyche, have helped to keep the problems women face in the workforce from the shadows.
While studies have shown women overwhelmingly prefer flexible employment with the ability to work from home, juggling work, household duties and children often all at the same time has added a huge amount of stress.
Deloittes 2022 Women at Work survey showed 53% of the 5,000 women surveyed reported higher levels of stress than a year ago, and "awhopping 46% felt burned out, and 33% had taken time off to deal with their mental health. Among women actively looking for a new job, 40% of women cited burnout as their main reason," according to Bloomberg.
On the positive side, working from home has allowed women the freedom to steer clear of the gender-based harassment commonly present in the male-dominated workforce. Women also enjoy the ability to be more present for their children, commute less and focus less on their appearance.
The Benzinga Take: The common thread between Breams account of losing her first job and the issues women continue to face in the workplace, evenas the landscape continues to change, is perseverance. The fight for equal pay, equal opportunity and mutual respect is far from over, and Breams story provides encouragement to the millions of women who face unfair treatment and unnecessary obstacles based solely on being female.
In the end, Breams experience empowered her to make the personal changes she felt were required to fight for her dreams and become successful at what one man said shed always fail at. Although Breams story is sensational, women around the world who have or will face and overcome similar challenges can certainly relate.
This article was originally published on Aug. 16, 2022.
Photo:Alan Santos/PR via FlickrCreative Commons
