Women’s Whisper Network Raises Its Voice
“Of course, our conversations would revert to sharing facts we knew about the men we worked with,” recalled Ms. Sherry, who spent
nine years at Bear Stearns before leaving in 2000, adding, “yes, it was mostly the same men who preyed on young women.”
For women who had to interact with some of the most notorious sexual harassers, Ms.
Sherry said she recommended they stay on the trading floor — a very public space.
At Bear Stearns — which was sold to JPMorgan Chase in 2008, during the financial crisis — the Glass Ceiling Club would warn others about the senior manager who had a history of affairs
and a tendency to relocate his previous liaisons to remote offices, recalled Ms. Sherry, who last year published a semi-autobiographical novel, “Opening Belle,’’ about her experiences.
Social media helps retain and spread what Ms. Graves, of the National Women’s Law Center, calls “institutional memory.” A written story is
easier to pass along than a spoken one, even if the original teller is anonymous, based in another office or leaves the company, she said.
The women in the whisper network “weren’t best girlfriends,’’ Ms. Sherry said.
