This spring, Bethenny Frankel was a guest speaker at a conference for women entrepreneurs. Several attendees claimed that Bethenny told the women of color in the audience that they should get a white male spokesperson for their business. Bethenny denies saying this, however the company that held the conference apologized on her behalf without getting into the specifics of what was said. We know that Bethenny has complained about store employees speaking Spanish, and we know that she’s a Trump supporter (although she hasn’t weighed on his p-ssy grabbing comments), so it’s entirely believable that she would say that. That’s what came to mind when I read her latest comments about how she doesn’t see gender.
On being the only woman in a boardroom: “I truly don’t see gender. I don’t think about it. Being in a boardroom with all men and one woman doesn’t really faze [sic] me. And I think women going into business should put the question of gender out of their minds. Good ideas are heard, passion and drive and hard work are rare, no matter who you are.”
On making sacrifices for business: “Women need to have a real understanding of how much work it takes to start a business before they dive in….Having a daughter means that if there’s a school play or if my daughter is sick, then I’m home with her. The last time my daughter was sick, I stayed home and canceled everything, and the one meeting I had was here at the house. But I’ve earned that right and flexibility because of where I am now. In the beginning, that wouldn’t have been possible.”
This reminds me of a clueless white person saying “I don’t see color.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m a clueless white person but I know that I see color and I’m trying to become more aware of that and be more open to learning instead of denying it entirely. Gender bias definitely exists, the wage gap exists, and women fight against it every day. Does she not see the problem when she’s in a boardroom and she’s the only woman? It’s like Bethenny is saying sexism doesn’t exist because she doesn’t think if affects her and she refuses to acknowledge her own bias. Also, while Bethenny may say she doesn’t see gender, she did tell women of color to get a white male spokesperson for their businesses, which would suggest she sees and notices both color and gender in her business dealings. I guess she’s talking about not putting limitations on herself by refusing to see gender, but that doesn’t seem to apply to other people.
Also, this is how she denied that incident, by saying that women have to be better than men. So if she doesn’t see gender, how does that work exactly?
Someone wanting fame vs working hard. My brand is "practical solutions for women," my mantra"be better than the men" https://t.co/jwxSUAuNhR
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) April 15, 2016
I don't care what color or sex you are. The key to success is not bottom feeding just good old hard work,passion & drive.
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) April 14, 2016
Photos credit: Pacific Coast News and FameFlynet
Would getting a white male spokesperson actually help? If it does, than maybe her advice wasn’t so horrible. It is harsh and a sad reminder of a horrible world we live in, but if it is a realistic way to get an andvantage maybe her saying that wasn’t that horrible?
And maybe Bethenny doesnt see gender, but the world does.
Agreed. Sad as it is… the problem is not having a voice in the boardroom, but being invited to the boardroom in the first place. Once you’re there, make yourself heard.
What’s the source on Bethenny being a Trump supporter? (Not saying it’s not true, it’s just that I couldn’t find anything when I tried to Google it.)
Bethenny Frankel is stupid. That is all.
Oh, actually, no. I give you this: @manwhohasitall. You guys should all look up this Twitter account which parodies a matriarchal world from the point of view of a man. It’s very funny (very, very, very funny) and CEO Claire features as a popular character. CEO Claire is currently groping her male employees and justifying it in Trumpesque gender-reversal. Perhaps Bethenny would really like to be CEO Claire?
This my current favourite tweet: http://twitter.com/manwhohasitall/status/785818388421455873
That twitter feed is brilliant – now following, thanks for the tip.
Bethenny Frankel doesn’t see gender – she is an A grade b*tch to everyone.
The clavicles are strong with this one!
Lol,yes….. yes they are. I laughed so hard that my five-year old look at me like calm it down mom!
Her new haircut is really unflattering.
Come on guys. She doesn’t ‘see’ gender. She only sees race. Get it straight.
But in all seriousness – I really cannot stand this woman. I think she’s vile. Good for her for making an empire, but holy, could it not have happened to someone who is less awful?
Agreed. I think she’s extremely annoying and a truly awful person.
Exactly. She is simply vile, and she built that career jumping off and out of the housewives only to come back to torment everyone again when her talk show didn’t work.
Also I get really sad when I hear people saying they don’t see gender, because as a society we just aren’t there yet. She’s in an incredibly lucky situation to have made it off of a show that SPECIFICALLY mentions gender (housewives y’all?) and then claims that it didn’t affect her either way, positively or negatively. She’s in a power position because her gender made her famous.
I’m not knocking her business scruples, but there is something to be said about people who literally claw their way to the top.
I think when she sees she is the only woman in the boardroom, she attributes that to her hard work as in not every woman -only a few special ones like her – have it in them to make it to the boardroom. egotist
I just want to know how she got so effing rich off skinnygirl. Who on earth is buying that stuff?!
I thought this was her “redemption” tour to counteract the negative PR from her vile behavior on RHONY. Guess that’s not working out so well. She has NO critical thinking skills and is not a deep thinker. Hence….her entire life.