The year was 1991. George H.W. Bush was president, and Clarence Thomas , who was then a federal judge, had been nominated to replace Justice Thurgood Marshall, who was retiring. We all know what happened next: I vividly remember watching Anita Hill testify in October of that year about her experiences working with Thomas at the United States Department of Education. A detail I will never forget is my daughter sitting next to me as we watched it together on television. I remember feeling truly shocked and horrified at the way Professor Hill was treated by the all-male Judiciary Committee . Here was a woman who had come forward to be honest and open about her experience of being sexually harassed — and instead of being listened to and respected, she was treated like she was on trial. She was grilled, cross-examined, attacked, undermined, disrespected, and ultimately ignored. It was disgusting.