Freshman Democratic Rep. Katie Hill (Calif.) is calling out what she calls “archaic” sexism still present in the halls of Congress.
In an interview with Washington Post publication The Lily, Hill described an interaction with a male colleague she said made a sexist comment.
She told the paper that the congressman, whose name she did not disclose, made a “sexual comment” as a “joke.”
{mosads}“We were talking about one-minute speeches on the floor. And I called him ‘Mr. One Minute’ or ‘One Minute Man,’ or something,” she said. “I didn’t even think about it that way, but he was like, ‘I can also be Mr. Five Minute Man or Mr. Whatever Minute Man You Want.’”
Hill described the comment as “just so dumb” and added, “I was just like, ‘You can’t say those kinds of things anymore.’”
Hill said that the comment was made in front of other people and that one of her young colleagues said, “Well, that took a turn.”
Hill, who at 31 is one of the youngest members of Congress, praised the culture of female members supporting one another in a work environment where they are the minority.
“You can tell female members have been supporting each other in a huge way for a long time,” she said. “We’re a small number here, so you kind of have to stick together.”
The 116th Congress has a record number of women as well as minority lawmakers.