The impact of the #MeToo movement and the Kavanaugh hearings will not just be the empowerment of women and the “good” things that such a societal change will involve. The law of unintended consequences will be in full force as well. In general, the changes we see are regarding various men who are in a position of power over women and use that power to take advantage of them.
However, there are men who have power and don’t abuse it. There are also the countless men who don’t have power and can’t abuse it, but see what is happening, and are nervous. How can they stay safe from even a misunderstanding? Even decent men will react badly to keep the patterns of society the same. They will not be malicious about it, but they will circle the wagons and keep women out of the circles of influence, because of the risk of accusation.
They will follow the Pence Rule (originally the Billy Graham rule).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham_rule
Men will “avoid spending time alone with women to whom they are not married.” This rule will become the de facto advice for all men in all workplaces and social gatherings.
No one needs to justify it anymore. For men, it will be safer to be out with a chaperone, or not at all.
This is the risk that women are taking with the exertion of the power of #MeToo. Thus women will not be included in the inner circle of power because it will be more effort.
Another possibility in this climate is that of omnipresent monitoring. There will be no more meetings without with a woman present without a recording device to prove what was said or not.
Women will no longer be included in the gatherings of power due to the fear of the backlash. There will be no more one on one mentoring. No friendly advice about what should have been said in a meeting. There will be just the glass ceiling getting lower. It will take time, but women will slowly lose any power that they might have gained from this social change. It is a risk that they are taking without having thought through the possible consequences.
Random Thoughts 