For Female Lobbyists, Harassment Often Accompanies Access Image Vanessa Alarid, a lobbyist in New Mexico, said a lawmaker tried to trade sex for his vote of a bill. Female lobbyists from Arizona to Virginia described statehouse cultures that were throwbacks to male-dominated institutions like 1960s Madison Avenue. Female lawmakers often act as witnesses to harassment. In interviews, female lobbyists said there was a power imbalance between legislator and lobbyist, and they were usually at the losing end. I couldn’t afford to lose a vote.”No Place to ReportFor many female lobbyists on the receiving end of inappropriate comments and advances, reporting the offenses has rarely been a consideration.

Source: New York Times December 08, 2017 22:23 UTC