Maria Bartiromo: I’m ‘grateful’ to the men who ‘tried to intimidate me’

Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo said in an op-ed published on Thursday that she is “grateful” to the men who have tried to intimidate her during her career. 

“I am grateful to all of those who supported the vision of democratizing information and investing but I am also grateful to the men who pushed back at me and tried to intimidate me,” Bartiromo wrote in an op-ed for Forbes. 

{mosads}”It was a great education. It forced me to channel Barbara Walters, and other leading ladies before me to hold my ground. To stand up to bullies. To know my stuff,” she continued. 

“Of course I faced pushback in the early days of broadcasting from the floor of the NYSE [New York Stock Exchange]. It was breaking tradition,” she said.

Bartiromo’s op-ed comes as women across the world celebrate International Women’s Day.

2017 and 2018 have been landmark years for women with the establishment of the “Me Too” and “Times Up” movements. 

Women across the country have come forward over the past year to accuse various high-power men of sexual misconduct. 

Various influential men including former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, former “Today” show host Matt Lauer and former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) have lost their jobs amid allegations. 

Women have also called attention to the pay gap between women and men in the U.S. 

Former E! News host Catt Sadler left the entertainment news network after she said she discovered she was making less than her male counterpart. 

A record number of women have also sought to make their voices heard through for launching bids for public office. 

Over 15,000 women have contacted She Should Run, a nonpartisan organization, since November, according to Axios. In addition, more than 20,000 women have contacted EMILY’s List, which supports the campaigns of pro-choice Democratic women.