News and Announcements

When Male Unemployment Rates Rise, So Do Sexual Harassment Claims

Aug 14, 2017 / Media Coverage

Despite all the mandatory trainings on sexual harassment that have taken place in American workplaces over the last two decades, the problem seems to be getting worse. Sex discrimination claims made to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are up about 10% in the last 20 years. Some of that is surely due to increased reporting, but some is also the result of changing gender dynamics in society. Women’s progress towards economic parity may present a threat to the way that men understand their own roles in their workplaces and in society in general, and sex discrimination is one...

Sheryl Sandberg Says Firing Offenders of Sexual Harassment Would Stop it Happening in Future

Aug 9, 2017 / Media Coverage

Companies should have a zero-tolerance policy to sexual harassment, with offenders losing their jobs, Facebook's (fb, -0.04%) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said Wednesday. “I think it’s great when people lose their jobs when it happens, because I think that is what will get people to not do it in the future,” Sandberg said in an interview for Bloomberg Television . “And I think this is a leadership challenge. As a leader of a company, there needs to be no tolerance for it.” Her comments come as a series of sexism scandals have rocked Silicon Valley. One of the most high profile of...

Eric Bolling has been suspended from Fox News amid sexual harassment allegations

Aug 5, 2017 / Media Coverage

"Fox News Specialists" host Eric Bolling has been suspended from Fox News amid allegations that he sent unsolicited photos of male genitalia several years ago to at least two colleagues at Fox Business Network and at least one colleague at Fox News, Mediaite reported on Saturday. The claims were first reported by HuffPost , which cited a dozen sources. "Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway," Fox News said in a statement emailed to Business Insider. The probe is being conducted by the law firm Paul Weiss. The women who made the...

Disney Channel Exec Says She Was Fired for Reporting Sexual Harassment

Aug 2, 2017 / Media Coverage

A former Disney Channels Worldwide executive filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging she was subjected to a two-year campaign of retaliation, and was ultimately fired, after reporting her boss for sexual harassment. Jocelyn McDowell, a former director of multi-platform research, says that she reported her boss, Jimmy Blackburn, for making sexist and inappropriate remarks to two other women in February 2015. Though she was told her reports would be confidential, McDowell says that Blackburn identified her as a source of the complaints and flew into a rage. According to the suit, Blackburn told her...

Sexual Harassment Isn’t Just A Silicon Valley Problem

Jul 13, 2017 / Media Coverage

And it’s much harder for women in lower-paying industries to fight back. Silicon Valley has been rocked by scandal in recent weeks as investor after investor has resigned amid allegations of sexist behavior and harassment of women. A former Uber employee’s blog post about the company’s toxic culture caused an internal investigation that contributed to the eventual resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick and set the stage for other women in the industry to come forward about their experiences. Before the tech sector, it was the media industry that was in the sexism spotlight, as first Roger Ailes...

Why Sexual Harassment Is More of a Problem in Venture Capital

Jul 12, 2017 / Media Coverage

The only thing that surprises me about the recent furor over sexual harassment by Silicon Valley venture capitalists is that people are surprised. We have been watching these stories go viral for a long time. When I give speeches in Silicon Valley about gender bias, I can’t tell you how many times female entrepreneurs have shared their stories with me about being treated by venture capitalists (VCs) as sexual opportunities rather than investment opportunities. It’s ironic that my whole life lately seems to be spent explaining why the college-educated elite should not dismiss the concerns of...

Startup workers see sexual harassment on 'breathtaking' scale in Silicon Valley

Mar 1, 2017 / Media Coverage

Haana was so repulsed by what happened to her, she covered up her mirror so she wouldn’t have to look at herself. The Silicon Valley tech worker said that after drinks with startup colleagues last year, a male executive at her company put his hand up her shirt and groped her while they walked down the street. “I felt disgusted for months after that,” said Haana, who requested that the Guardian not include her full name or identify the small tech startup where she used to do marketing. “It affects me on a level that I wish it didn’t.” According to Haana, the CEO refused to fire him, and she...

Gretchen Carlson of Fox News Files Suit Against Roger Ailes

Jul 6, 2016 / Media Coverage

Gretchen Carlson, the longtime Fox anchor, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday saying that Roger Ailes, the powerful chairman of Fox News, fired her from the network last month after she refused his sexual advances and complained to him about discriminatory treatment in the newsroom. The startling accusations immediately transfixed the world of television news, where Mr. Ailes is a hugely influential figure known for demanding absolute loyalty from his employees. A spokeswoman for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit — filed in Superior Court in New Jersey,...

What HBO's Confirmation Says About Sexual Harassment Today

Apr 20, 2016 / Media Coverage

It’s taken 25 years to make noticeable progress. Today, sexual harassment is an outdated phrase, as offensive language and actions against women in the workplace are both explicit and subtle. Take for instance a friend of mine who told me about a VC who suggested getting a meal to discuss her new startup. Not long before they were scheduled to meet, he texted her to ask, “What are you wearing?” That question would certainly offend most women today, which is unlike how many women would have responded years ago. Twenty-five years have passed since Anita Hill testified against Clarence Thomas in...

America's Top Public University Has a Major Sexual-Harassment Problem

Apr 20, 2016 / Media Coverage

When news broke last month that the dean of the University of California-Berkeley School of Law was being sued by his assistant for sexual harassment, faculty and students weren't the only ones caught by surprise—so was the president of the University of California system, Janet Napolitano. "I know you appreciate my level of concern about this situation, and my unhappiness in learning about it through the media," Napolitano wrote to UC-Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks. Within two days, the dean, Sujit Choudhry, had resigned. Eight months had passed since the university had found that he...

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