Erin Gallagher

UPDATE: I want all of LinkedIn to see the horrific comments on my post — hateful, racist, misogynist, bigoted, gaslighting comments — vitriol spewed in broad daylight, from positions of privilege and power.

I want you to look at their companies and their roles and refuse to support anyone who does not believe in human rights and equity for all.

I am not reporting and blocking these folks anymore (it’s a full time job). I want the world to see what so many of us experience on a daily basis. Just because we exist and walk through the world.

Not all of these comments are bad. The majority are good. There are amazing people of every race, gender and other intersection supporting a safer, more equitable, fair and inclusive world.

That is *all* I’m working towards.

It’s important to note that the *only* toxic comments below are from white men and white women. When we look at a 246 year old country built by — and for — white men (and the women whose experience is the closest to them), are we that surprised?

We will not be silenced.
We will not back down.
We aren’t going anywhere.

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20 minutes after I took this photo with my 6 and 3 year olds, in Highland Park, Illinois (30 min east of our home), a domestic terrorist killed 6 people and injured more than 30 (so far) at an “Independence Day” Parade.

Families who took photos just like we did lost their lives moments later.

This is NOT the America I want to live in.

246 years of unkept promises of freedom.

Have we had enough???

We must not give up or back down. We must vote the toxic, ultra-conservative cult of Republicans destroying our lives OUT. And support those who actually reflect and represent us IN.

It will take all of us. In big and small ways. But don’t sit this moment out. All of our lives depend on it.

Get involved in any, and every, way you can:

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Shannon Watts
Everytown for Gun Safety
Chamber of Mothers
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
EMILY's List
Mother Honestly (MH)
4Kira4Moms, Inc.
The Lactation Network
ACLU
NARAL Pro-Choice America
March For Our Lives
MoveOn

Please share additional orgs we should support — and get involved with — in the comments.

#gunsafety #guncontrolnow #womenshealth #womensrights #blacklivesmatter #saygay #roevswade #roevwade #prochoice #proroe

You want to take away our network shows?
You want to eliminate our federal “holidays?”
You want to remove us from a Google calendar?

Women aren’t going away.
You can’t erase us.
We will never be silenced again.

And we will continue to gather in rooms and build a bigger resistance than you ever thought possible.

Individually we make a breeze. 🦋
Collectively, we create a *her*icane. 🦋🦋🦋

The *her*icane is coming.


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I’m sharing the most beautiful post by Ayanna Pressley from IG honoring the indomitable Joy-Ann Reid.


#HypeWomen

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“I’ve written and rewritten this post so many times over the last 24 hours because it’s hard to capture the profound impact @joyannreid has had on journalism, broadcast media, and our collective consciousness.

Joy, your brilliance is undeniable. Your clarity is a call to action. Your laugh is infectious. Your essence is inspiring. You carry the legacy of Ida B. Wells and Gwen Ifill with grace and power. Every night on The ReidOut, when you took that chair, you boldly made space for Black women—and in doing so, made us all feel seen, heard, powerful, beautiful, and fly.

That’s why the cancellation of your show is so devastating. You didn’t just report the news—you told our stories, ignited righteous indignation against injustice, and called us to action. You challenged us to lean in, listen actively, learn more, think deeply, and demand more—of ourselves, our communities, and our government.

I am deeply grateful for your truth-telling, your authenticity, and your unwavering light. And I am grateful for your dedicated staff—the people behind the scenes who helped bring your powerful voice and vision to life every night. Their work mattered deeply, too.

Joy-Ann Reid, you are a real one. I’m blessed to call you sister-friend, and I can’t wait to see how God orders your next steps. Keep shining, sis. We’ll keep pushing—especially when it’s hard, especially when it’s inconvenient—because it’s necessary.”

Two 20-year old women broke something open in me this week.

And it began the healing process of almost 20 years of stored trauma.

If you missed Rebecca Stewart's ADWEEK article “Two Students File Sexual Assault Complaint Against Ad Industry Consultant in Cannes,” please read it in comments below.

In the public garden of the Carlton Hotel, the man groped them and told them they must learn to accept men’s “forwardness” if they want to succeed in the advertising field.

These women were prepared to go public with the assault but decided not to after each received a letter threatening a lawsuit, including threats sent to one of their home addresses.

Sound familiar?

Man assaults woman.
Woman stands up to man. 
Men surround the assaulter to silence the woman.

Reading this piece – and knowing that this is still happening every.damn.day to women everywhere – filled me with such rage that I finally confronted a man who sexually harassed me almost 20 years ago.

The agency world is a cesspool of predators weaponizing their power to dehumanize young women.

One of the many times it happened to me, I was a 25 year old, new to Chicago, interviewing at PR and Advertising agencies.

He was a 45 year old SVP.

After ONE interview, he took my phone number from my resume and began texting me lewd, sexually suggestive messages.

I didn’t respond.
I tried to pretend it didn’t happen.
I never got a second interview.

This was NOT an isolated incident. I have been sexually harassed and assaulted by men in the advertising / PR industry more times than I can count over my 15 year agency career

This man had the audacity to request my connection on LinkedIn years later.

And I accepted it.

Here’s the part that someone who hasn’t been assaulted or harassed doesn’t understand.

Power can be deadly.

Since then, he’s commented on my LinkedIn posts (praising me for speaking out against sexual harassment!) and sent me LinkedIn messages. He’s also connected to at least 20 incredible, highly respected and accomplished people I know VERY well. And I’m sure they don’t know a damn thing about who he really is.

All these years later, every time I saw his name, I froze again.

Until yesterday.

The courage of those two women compelled me to take back MY power. And to send him the message he deserved to receive almost 20 years ago.

I’m sick of women being brave.
I’m sick of women having to summon courage.
I’m sick of women being blamed for existing.

If you come to the comments section to …

… pressure me to publicly out him by name
… shame me for accepting his request all those years ago
… make any attempt to defend the man who sexually assaulted these women

… I will block you immediately.

Because that narrative isn’t only wrong, it’s toxic. And it’s killing women.

Stop blaming women.
Stop excusing men.
Stop defending misogyny.

Maybe I’ve overcorrected by choosing to do business almost exclusively with women.

But, can you blame me?

#BelieveWomen #metoo

For the “men who are nervous working with women“ after string of harassment claims, welcome to a fraction of the experience of every woman on the planet.

I've been sexually harassed by bosses, colleagues, clients and vendors in every place I've worked over the past 20 years.

Here's what we know about sexual harassment in the workplace...

...54% — 81% of women report experiencing sexual harassment at work
...58% — 72% of victims don’t report workplace sexual harassment
...Workplace sexual harassment costs companies $2.6 billion in lost productivity and $0.9 billion in other costs
...Half of the women (50%) who were victims of sexual harassment stated that it hurt their careers
...While 74% of workers believe their companies take sexual harassment seriously, only 30% of women strongly agree that their employer properly handled harassment incidents

If men are afraid to work with women because they don't know how to *not* sexually harass them, *they* are the problem.

Women are done laughing off lewd comments.
Women are done ignoring salacious texts.
Women are done staying silent about attacks on our bodies.

We are taking back our power, our careers and our right to exist free from harm in the workplace.

And if that makes men nervous, they ain't seen nothin' yet.

Oh, and John Allan, I believe the women who accused you of sexual misconduct.

#HypeWomen #sexualharassment #sexualharassmentatworkplace #metoo #believewomen