‘They thought I was so low’: Women say they were harassed, bullied, ignored at powerful water agency – Los Angeles Times 2/12/21
In interviews with 20 current and former staffers and reviews of hundreds of pages of district records, court documents and audio recordings, The Times found a pattern of complaints alleging harassment and bullying of women who enrolled in the apprentice program, which trains workers who operate and repair the water pumping stations and treatment plants of the Colorado River Aqueduct and other district facilities. It is a crucial pathway into higher-paying, skilled jobs.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director, Restore the Delta:
Restore the Delta stands in solidarity with the women at MWD. Women in the Delta face at times, similar inequity and harassment. We find ourselves up against institutions that silence women and frankly, most public input across the board, including on policy and spending decisions.
In the article, Ellen Mackey describes being treated like “colonial possessions.”
We concur. This is how Delta residents describe their relationship with MWD, now a major landowner in our region.
Oppressive workplaces are often a reflection of institutional culture. As Delta anglers say, “The fish rots from the head.” But sadly, this culture is also holding back the modernization of our public institutions, like the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.