Former Obama Advisor TINA TCHEN Helps Power Time's Up, the High
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THE TIME IS NOW Former Obama advisor TINA TCHEN helps power Time’s Up, the high-profile movement fighting sexual assault and harassment in the workplace diversitywoman.com Fall 2018 DIVERSITY WOMAN 37 THE TIME IS NOW THE TIME IS NOW n the wake of the sexual assault allegations The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund is and not just race, but also gender identity especially focused on providing services and disability,” she says. “Our success at against Harvey Weinstein in late 2017, a group to low-income people facing sexual ha- workplaces comes down to making sure of women working in Hollywood began talking rassment. Two-thirds of those who have that everyone can thrive and reach their reached out for help self-identify as low full potential. That’s not just good for about how they could use the moment to drive income, including domestic workers, fast- workers. It’s really good for businesses.” sustainable change. They set out to combat sex- food restaurant employees, and big-box With women making most household retail workers. “Lots of folks, sadly, have purchasing decisions, and the buying ual harassment and gender imbalance in the en- come to us too late because the statute public becoming ever more diverse, she tertainment industry, but as the conversation of limitations is so short in these cases says, companies with employees who un- and they’ve never had access to resourc- derstand those markets are the ones most evolved, they realized that they could use their es before,” Tchen says. “But many have positioned to succeed. platform to support women in all industries. said that, even if they didn’t have legal As organizations examine their work- recourse, at least they were able to talk place culture, men must play a key role. By Around the same with legal counsel and also send a signal to someone who believed them and who “Diverse workplaces mean we want men time, attorney Tina that there are finally resources to support walked them through the process, so they and women, people of all ethnicities, all Kimberly Tchen, former ex- these victims of sexual harassment. understood what was going on.” gender identities, abled and disabled work- I ecutive director of ers to be able to flourish together,” Tchen Olson the White House A moment becomes a movement Reimagining workplaces says. “We need men not to think that the Council on Women best way to confront the current news is and Girls under The formation of Time’s Up moved quickly. While supporting victims of sexual ha- to avoid being in situations with women, President Obama, From those early conversations, momen- rassment and sexual assault is a core goal, because that’s not the key to success here. was in Los Angeles tum grew and some of Hollywood’s big- Time’s Up also has a broader vision to The key to success is having open and sup- to help plan the upcoming United State gest names joined the cause. On January support initiatives—from legislation to portive workplaces and discussions with of Women Summit, focused on gender 1, 2018, the collective—now comprising corporate policy and hiring practices— one another about hard issues.” equality. She happened to be in meetings hundreds of women including director that help women realize their full poten- alongside some of the Hollywood women Shonda Rhimes, producer Ana DuVernay, tial at work. The leadership divide involved, discussing the legal issues that and actor Reese Witherspoon—placed a The time is ripe, as many organization women confronted. full-page ad in the New York Times to of- leaders are eager to push their culture One specific issue being addressed by “I was realizing that we needed to create ficially announce the launch of the Time’s forward. “At the White House, a lot of Time’s Up is the leadership gender gap. a place where women could get legal re- Up initiative. Beginning “Dear Sisters,” it companies came to us and said they got In Hollywood, for example, 96 percent sources,” says Tchen, who is now a partner was a powerful message of solidarity with it—they got that they would be more of film directors are men, as are 81 per- at the law firm Buckley Sandler LLP. “Both all women—from waitresses to agricul- profitable if they were more diverse, and cent of board members and 76 percent for women who were starting to be sued ture and factory workers—declaring, “The knew they needed the talent that women of writers. The gap is especially pro- by the powerful men they were speaking struggle for women to break in, to rise bring to their businesses,” Tchen says. nounced for women of color. So Time’s out against and had no recourse to get up the ranks, and to simply be heard and “CEOs who were meeting with us were That practice is focused on helping or- now seeing the downside risk. You have Up has joined forces with 5050by2020 to lawyers to help them, and for women— acknowledged in male-dominated work- struggling: ‘How can I do better? How can ganizations prevent, investigate, and ad- to manage this risk like any other threat achieve gender parity at all levels of the low-income women in particular—who places must end; time’s up on this impen- I address this?’” dress workplace harassment as well as to your enterprise. I think companies are entertainment industry by 2020, and to had their own employment claims for sex- etrable monopoly.” Those questions were at the forefront gender inequity and discrimination in the really seeing that now.” push Hollywood studios and talent agen- ual harassment but no access to lawyers to As a key part of the initiative, Tchen of Tchen’s mind when she joined Buckley workplace. “I come to this not as an em- Tchen is especially proud that the or- cies to include as decision makers more bring them.” launched the Time’s Up Legal Defense Sandler. “When I got here in September ployment lawyer but as a corporate gov- ganization is addressing intersectionality women, people of color, members of the From those meetings came the launch of Fund (see sidebar), partnering with at- of last year, we agreed that we would ernance lawyer, because I believe we need between race and gender head-on through LGBTQ community, and people with dis- Time’s Up, a movement and organization torney Roberta Kaplan of Kaplan Hecker start a Workplace Culture Compliance to treat these issues as core business im- its Women of Color working group, led abilities. to support victims of sexual harassment & Fink LLP. The National Women’s Law practice, which we did,” she says. “So peratives,” Tchen says. “Your talent in this by women including Ava DuVernay and Beyond Hollywood, women also contin- and sexual assault. It includes the legal de- Center, a 45-year-old women’s rights or- when the Harvey Weinstein story broke, economy is the key to your business suc- Lena Waithe. “They’ve been connecting ue to face challenges rising up the ranks— fense fund Tchen helped to create, which ganization, became the fund’s administra- we were already building a practice on cess, as much as the latest technology or folks and are making sure that we pay at- in business and academia, in unions and would provide women in the workplace tive home. these issues.” piece of equipment might be. And we’re tention to those intersectional issues— government. Tchen says that removing 38 DIVERSITY WOMAN Fall 2018 diversitywoman.com diversitywoman.com Fall 2018 DIVERSITY WOMAN 39 THE TIME IS NOW TIME’S UP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND hen Gina Pitre started women, especially low-income women, Summit on Working Families in 2014. working at Walmart in who have experienced sexual miscon- “We had a whole policy agenda around WD’Iberville, Mississippi, in duct including harassment, assault, or paid family leave, as the starkest exam- 2016, she enjoyed her job. Then a abuse, or related retaliation. ple,” Tchen says. “We are one of only two manager began making suggestive Since the fund launched on January 1, nations in the world that does not have comments and touching her inappro- 2018, more than 2,600 women have some form of paid maternity leave. We’re priately. Feeling angry and degraded, been connected to legal resources. the only industrialized country without she began to dread going to work. Meanwhile, 21,000 donations any paid family leave as a national policy, so we are behind our global competitors Pitre reported the harassment to have flooded in to fuel the fund. The in the global marketplace.” Walmart’s ethics department, but fol- donations—ranging from $5 to $2 They also championed the Paycheck lowing an investigation, she was told million—have come from men who Fairness Act, which would help resolve the matter was closed. Pitre earned want to support their wives or moth- gender pay disparity by banning pay se- $11.50 an hour, so attorney fees simply ers, from numerous businesses and crecy rules in the workplace, for example, weren’t in her budget. But when she industries, and from all 50 states and and providing negotiation training for learned about the Time’s Up Legal more than 50 countries. workers. When Congress didn’t pass the Defense Fund, she reached out for More than 500 lawyers have signed legislation, the White House modeled help. The fund connected her with an up with the fund to provide pro bono the policies within the federal workforce attorney and is helping to fund her ha- or reduced-cost legal services.