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It’s been months since celebrities first wore “Time’s Up” pins on the red carpet, but the advocacy group hasn’t stopped fighting for women facing harassment.
On Sunday, Ronan Farrow published another explosive investigation in The New Yorker. In his latest reporting, six new women have accused CBS CEO Leslie Moonves of sexual misconduct.
Moonves, one of the highest-paid CEOs in the United States, resigned hours later but remained hopeful that his former employer would eventually be compensated.
“As of a few days ago, they were still discussing the possibility of letting him go and offering a very generous exit package of up to $100 million,” Farrow told CNN. “A lot of women feel very, very much about this. Frustrated. They felt this board was letting a powerful man who made a lot of money for this company ‘get away with it.'”
Moonves rumored to be getting multi-million dollar ‘golden parachute’ package, Time’s Up, issue a statement Demand “real change”.
Instead of a rumored $100 million payout, Moonves and CBS will now donate $20 million to support the #MeToo movement and other groups fighting for workplace equity. For women. The money will be deducted from the severance package Moonves ultimately receives, and CBS promised that any payment to Moonves “will be contingent on the outcome of CBS’ ongoing internal investigation.”
time up Replied to a tweet: “Donating $20M is the first step in admitting you have a problem, @CBS. But it’s far from the solution. You set aside $180M to pay Moonves’ salary. Use that money to help women. Cleaning up this toxic corporate culture requires real systemic change.”
progress made
Since January 1st, Time’s Up has been working on making some changes.
In October 2017, shocking allegations against Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein sparked a nationwide reckoning on sexual harassment. Over the next few months, Time’s Up formed a coalition to advocate for victims of sexual harassment across all industries.
During awards season, stars hit the red carpet wearing “Time’s Up” pins, and most memorably, they wore all black to the Golden Globes.
Since then, the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund has raised more than $22 million to help women fight sexual harassment cases. The fund, established and administered by the National Women’s Law Center, has so far received more than 3,000 requests from women seeking help dealing with harassment in the workplace.
The women reported a variety of issues to the legal defense fund: Some were battling unresponsive human resources departments, others were struggling to report retaliation.
“We’re seeing an influx of people asking for help,” said Sharyn Tejani, director of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. “These are people who were harassed or assaulted at work years ago but finally come forward, these are people who have had something happen to them at work and just don’t know what to do about it…so this is across the map and we’re seeing it.”
Since then, more than 700 attorneys have partnered with Time’s Up to provide victims with free initial consultations, Tejani said. In some cases, Time’s Up works with attorneys to help fund these cases before they go to court.
There is still progress
But even if high-profile cases fade from the headlines, the #MeToo movement has no end date, according to its leaders. “I think there are a lot of people waiting for this to be over,” Time’s Up founding member Nina Shaw said at SXSW in March. “This is never going to be over.”
In the months since, the Legal Defense Fund has continued to fight for the rights of low-wage workers. This summer, it announced outreach funding for organizations that support disadvantaged communities. These grants educate workers about their rights and reporting procedures regarding sexual harassment.
“What’s important is that it started with these women in Hollywood and then made connections that turned it into something broader, bigger, and broader than that,” Tejani said. “While it may have started in one place, the focus is really on low-wage workers.”
CNN Business (New York) First published September 10, 2018: 5:33pm ET