Don Lemon’s Comment About Women

As printed in the New York Times

To the Editor:

Re "CNN Anchor Is Rebuked for Remarks on Women" (Business, Feb. 18):

Don Lemon, CNN's morning-show anchor, has been widely criticized for his assertion that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate, "isn't in her prime."

When challenged by his female co-anchors, he replied: "I'm just saying what the facts are. Google it."

So I did. The first hit says "in your prime" is an idiom that means "in the best, most successful, most productive stage," so clearly Nikki Haley is in fact in her prime.

There continues to be rampant discrimination against women in the workplace not only with respect to compensation, but also with respect to appearance.

"Lookism" — the importance of appearing youthful — hurts women far more than men. In an AARP poll, nearly two-thirds of women age 50 and older report age discrimination.

Mr. Lemon's comments underscore the need for continued workplace training on implicit bias, with the goal of promoting a culture of meritocracy. Effective leadership comes from people of all ages, all genders and all races.

Kathleen McCartney
Northampton, Mass.
The writer is the president of Smith College.