After a traumatic 2017 opened the Pandora’s box of sexual harassment cases in Hollywood, and subsequently the world, 300 prominent actresses, female agents, writers, directors, producers, and entertainment executives have now formed an ambitious, sprawling initiative to fight systemic sexual harassment in Hollywood and in blue-collar workplaces nationwide.
Called Time’s Up, the movement was announced on Monday with an impassioned pledge of support to working-class women in an open letter signed by hundreds of women in showbusiness; many of them A-listers, such as Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon, and Shonda Rhimes, amongst others.
“The struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard and acknowledged in male-dominated workplaces must end; time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly,†the letter says.
The initiative calls for a legal defense fund, backed by $13 million in donations, to help less privileged women from sexual misconduct and the fallout from reporting it, legislation to penalize companies that tolerate persistent harassment, a drive to reach gender parity at studios and talent agencies, and a request that women walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes speak out and raise awareness by wearing black.
The group is dedicated to creating equity in the industry, and to serve as a precedent for media industries and workplaces all around the globe against cases of sexual harassment.
