--- title: Women Are Reaching a Critical Mass of Influence at Work description: Famous women calling out their harassers emboldens women. The focus paid to these scandals will help shine the light on other sectors. canonical: https://time.com/5016735/when-women-reach-a-critical-mass-of-influence/ author: Jay Newton-Small article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-09T11:13:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:10.308Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What Happens When Women Reach a Critical Mass of Influence og:description: It’s happening all across the workforce og:url: https://time.com/5016735/when-women-reach-a-critical-mass-of-influence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70ac2e376c2c042c/6988e51de76ad2c13762fe2f/what-happens-when-women-reach-critical-mass-influence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Women's March on Washington - March og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Happens When Women Reach a Critical Mass of Influence twitter:description: It’s happening all across the workforce twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70ac2e376c2c042c/6988e51de76ad2c13762fe2f/what-happens-when-women-reach-critical-mass-influence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Happens When Women Reach a Critical Mass of Influence > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: 5 Ways To Be An Active Feminist [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Ways To Be An Active Feminist](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x17JAkMb.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2017-01-11. 5 ways to be an active feminist according to the co-organizers of the Women's March on Washington_  by [Jay Newton-Small](https://time.com/author/jay-newton-small/)  ## Jay Newton-Small Nov 9, 2017 11:13 AM UTC  A view of demonstrators marching on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017. A view of demonstrators marching on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017. Noam Galai—WireImage/ Getty Images  by [Jay Newton-Small](https://time.com/author/jay-newton-small/)  ## Jay Newton-Small Nov 9, 2017 11:13 AM UTC If it seems like the structures that enable sexism are exploding, that’s because they scientifically are, according to the theory of critical mass. When women reached 20% in the Senate, they went after the Pentagon to [reform the military’s sexual-assault protocol](http://time.com/3615627/military-justice-improvement-act-sexual-assault/). When they reached 25% of Hollywood producers, they [took down Harvey Weinstein](http://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/) and his casting-couch culture. And when they reached a third of the White House press corps, Fox’s Roger Ailes, NPR’s Michael Oreskes and other serial harassers in the media began to get called out. Somewhere in that zone, when women comprise 20% to 30% of an institution, things begin to change. Critical mass has its roots in physics: it’s the amount of material needed to sustain a nuclear explosion. Accumulate enough, set it off and there is no other outcome but boom! The concept has been used in sociology for decades. After the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, experts recommended that a minimum “critical mass” of minority students be integrated into schools. Later, in the 1970s, after the Navy was required to integrate its ships following a 1978 district court decision, it began with one woman and then a handful of women. It was a disaster for all involved. Through trial and error, it struck upon the idea of critical mass. Now all ships are required to have at least 20% women on board. Studies show that when corporate boards reach critical mass, companies become more efficient, make more money and have to restate earnings less frequently. And having a critical mass of women on group courts has led to many more cases of bias being considered, studies show. But the media and Hollywood are two of the highest-profile occupations in America, and fame has benefits. Famous women calling out their harassers by name emboldens women across the country. The focus and attention paid to these scandals will help shine a light on other sectors. This is only the beginning. Women first stormed the workforce as Rosie the Riveters during World War II. The U.S. would not have won that war if women hadn’t brought in the crops and built the weapons. And it will be economic necessity that will bring women fully into the workforce. By 2030 the baby-boomer generation will have fully aged beyond retirement eligibility and America will be short 26 million workers. Two obvious ways to address that shortfall: bring in a ton of new immigrants, which is hard to imagine in this political climate, or bring women up to full employment, which would add 23 million more workers to the workforce. Parity. What can we do to help? Count ourselves. When I was researching my book, Broad Influence, I had to go to all 15 departments of the government, the White House and four labor unions to figure out that women made up 30% of the upper levels of the civil service and political appointees. We think there should be plenty of data out there about women, but the truth is there isn’t. Hollywood has the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which tracks Tinseltown. But there’s almost no official tracking of newsrooms. (My one-third number is an unofficial head count taken by me looking around at my colleagues.) And other industries are worse. Consulting groups like McKinsey and Ernst & Young track women in the workforce, but their numbers are reported in aggregate and companies are guaranteed secrecy when they participate. In recent years people have begun to wake up to the dearth of data on women. Melinda Gates, Generation W and the Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project have all recently launched data-collection initiatives. So what comes next? Ask your company how many women they have in management and report it. Ask your local police force how many female officers they have. Look around you: school boards, zoning commissions, local corporations–few of these have holistic gender-data collection. Until we know where we stand, it will be hard to know how close to critical mass we are and when things can go boom! _For more on these stories, visit_ [time.com/ideas](http://time.com/ideas) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] There are so many organizations that exist. They need to be strengthened, they need more resources, they need bodies, they need people, new blood, new energy. And they're just waiting for you. The movement is happening. So if you are a person who has the resources to donate, you should. And also just know who your elected officials are. Often times I travel. World country and I do organizing training. And I tell people raise your hand if you know who your local city councilman Alderman is, who's your state legislator. And people will honestly say they don't know. So you have to know who these people are cuz they are representing our interest right. Just stay informed because if you do not know something really horrible could happen on your watch if you are not Also consider leadership roles for yourself at the local level because we don't have to wait four years. There are so many seats up for grabs in 2017 at the local level and 2018 in congress. We can make changes from the bottom up and make it more equitable. And achieve more parody for women and our allies in leadership positions across the country. You don't have to be an expert. Bob is somebody who works in fashion. Other women are yoga teachers, bakers, you know, and we're all working together collectively to build collective power. It's really digging Looking deep into the core of your heart and figuring out what do you love, what do you care about and how can you give back. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5016735/when-women-reach-a-critical-mass-of-influence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5016735/when-women-reach-a-critical-mass-of-influence/"},"headline":"What Happens When Women Reach a Critical Mass of Influence","datePublished":"2017-11-09T11:13:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:10.308Z","description":"Famous women calling out their harassers emboldens women. 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