#MeToo in the Workplace: How Have Things Changed?
BY Quinisha Jackson-Wright December 20, 2019The progress of the #MeToo movement has come in waves, starting in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke and then growing substantially in 2017 with the explosion of revelations about high-powered perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment. Now comes a fitting time to take stock of what could be the third wave: the real impact of the movement on everyday workplace behavior. “The biggest change I’ve seen is people willing to subtly say, ‘No that’s not acceptable,’” said Rebecca Port, VP of talent at Netflix. “Whereas they might have tolerated some inappropriate behavior or microaggressions [before], more people will stop and say that they’re uncomfortable.” Port was among the speakers on a panel at the From Day One conference in Los Angeles, moderated by Stacy Perman of the Los Angeles Times, who has covered the issue in the entertainment industry. Perman asked panelists about the role of human-resources professionals in reporting cases of abuse, and whether employees should view their respective HR representatives as allies or enemies. The full panel: moderator Stacy Perman of the Los Angeles Times, Zev Eigen of Syndio, Jessica Childress of the Childress Firm, as well as Meidav, Port and McLaughlin “HR has a responsibility to protect the company, first and foremost,” said Mandy Bynum McLaughlin, director of global diversity, equity, and inclusion at New Relic. “We as managers also have the responsibility to drive revenue and performance and sometimes those two things clash.” McLaughlin shared an experience in which she was unable to report to HR about a manager who was inappropriately touching other employees. Over the course of a few months, she had to gain trust from sales-team members who confided in her and eventually built a case that resulted in the manager’s termination. Netflix’s Port added that corporate culture plays a big part in what type of behavior is or isn’t tolerated. “People [at Netflix] are very candid,” Port said. “We don’t shy away from exiting people. We pay people to leave all the time and don’t tolerate certain kinds of behavior. Because of that, [our employees] trust that HR will take action right away.” Neta Meidav, founder of Vault, a company that empowers victims to report misconduct in the workplace, shared her experience of harassment, and how it would eventually prompt her to start her company to give a voice to individuals who are afraid to speak out. “At my first job out of university, I was harassed by a very powerful man,” Meidav said. “I never considered reporting it. I didn’t want my career to be crushed before it even started, so I left.” Federal law covering sexual harassment, noted Childress, “is not a civility code” Months later, Meidav received a call from a fellow colleague who disclosed that she had been assaulted by the same man. It changed Meidav’s perspective on the significance of reporting harassment and she realized that coming forward can prompt multiple survivors of abuse to do the same and bring strength in numbers. Jessica Childress, founder of the Childress Law Firm, addressed issues on the legal aspects of reporting and whether the law will keep pace with current workplace dynamics. “The law has to reform to create a code of conduct which is going to be commensurate with what’s in your [workplace] code of conduct,” Childress explained. She continued: “The Title VII Civil Rights Act, which is what governs sexual harassment, is not a civility code, so the law doesn’t require your workplace to be civil. However, all of us would say a core value of your company should be civility. The law is not likely going to change in my lifetime–however, civility does need to be a core value and companies should train on what it means to be civil.” The discussion then turned to new concerns of men who are uncomfortable mentoring or even interacting with women, for fear of being accused of misconduct. While reports of sexual harassment have declined since the second wave of the #MeToo movement, some researchers have detected a backlash. Perman, the moderator, is an enterprise staff writer at the Times, covering the entertainment industry Zev Eigen, founder of Syndio, an HR analytics platform, said that he believes anyone who makes claims of discomfort because of the #MeToo movement, should be called out. Refusal to interact with a female colleague, he said, detracts from the seriousness of the matter and shows a lack of accountability for displaying appropriate behavior in a work environment. “I don’t think it’s a valid thing to say,” Eigen said. “I think it’s designed intentionally as a rhetorical device and not a valid response to this, and it doesn’t seem to come from a genuine place of wanting help or not knowing what to do.” Panelists also gave their thoughts on what progress needs to be made in the near future. Eigen said that technology will have a significant impact on providing solutions to many workplace issues, and encouraged employers to utilize these resources, rather than take the passive approach of “admiring the problem.” “I’ve been on a lot of panels with people who don’t have actionable solutions that they can implement today to start solving problems,” he said. “I invite you to check out all of the opportunities in front of you within the [HR and diversity & inclusion] space.” Quinisha Jackson-Wright is a journalist who has contributed to the New York Times, Business Insider, and The Muse. She is a U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis
How a Social Scientist Measures Kindness in Life and Diversity on Screen
BY Quinisha Jackson-Wright December 19, 2019“Why now, for kindness?” The question stems from buzz around the recent launch of UCLA’s Bedari Kindness Institute, which will conduct scientific research on kindness and its outcomes among members of society. “We live in very polarized times, and we have lots of questions plaguing us about how we treat our fellow human beings,” explained Prof. Darnell Hunt, dean of social sciences at UCLA and head of the department overseeing the new institute. “There are issues with immigration and what’s been happening at the border, and with women and how they’re treated in society,” Hunt told the audience at From Day One’s conference in Los Angeles. “These are long-standing issues, but we’ve reached the point where these things are critical in terms of importance and we need to look at them in structured, measured ways.” But if kindness can be better understood, is it a quality that can be promoted? Maybe so. Hunt shared thoughts on what he described as “contagious pro-sociality,” a theory studied by Daniel Fessler, an evolutionary anthropologist and inaugural director of the Kindness Institute. “[Fessler] does a number of experiments to understand the conditions under which people are kind to one another,” Hunt explained. “Under certain circumstances, when you see someone engaged in a random act of kindness, others will copy that behavior.” “If you want to remain profitable, you need to tell stories that resonate with where your audience today and where the audience is going,” said Hunt, who was interviewed by conference co-founder Steve Koepp Hunt pointed out that kindness often creates a domino effect and gives individuals the sense of participating in something greater than themselves. On the other hand, he mentioned that harmful behavior can also be copied in environments where people are given permission to do so. “If it becomes common to treat people as less than human, that opens the door for them to carry out acts they wouldn’t have before,” he explained. “We’re studying the conditions where it’s more or less likely for these things to happen and make recommendations about policies that will encourage pro-sociality as opposed to negative treatment.” Along with scientific research, Hunt said that the goal of the Bedari Kindness Institute is to collect findings and share them in terms that the general public will understand. After conducting its research, he said the institute’s internal team will work with policymakers to develop guidelines that will ideally create more humane societies. A related question, said Hunt, is why members of society may lack incentive toward being kind to one another. One example he gave focused on genocide and specifically, how seemingly “good” people participate in harmful acts. “I have a colleague in sociology who studies the Holocaust,” he shared. “She found that certain authority figures give people cover to do things they otherwise might not do. If someone in a position of authority says it’s okay to do [bad] things, you’re much more likely to do it.” He said cultural norms shape the way we interpret any situation. Especially in business and politics, ruthless or competitive behavior is often rewarded more than consideration of one’s counterparts. The conversation segued into Hunt’s work on the annual Hollywood Diversity Report (HDR), based on a study he has conducted for seven years, which tracks diversity trends in television and film. He described how his studies on diversity in Hollywood began, and the initial task of convincing major decision makers that more diversity would have a positive impact on the bottom line. “Bringing the two conversations together [of social impact and making money], the report was able to show that diversity does sell and it’s okay to be inclusive,” Hunt said. “In fact, if you’re inclusive, you stand to make more money.” Before his report arrived on the scene, the nature of Hollywood was less than welcoming to individuals who did not fit the traditional image of what would sell in television and film. However, the findings of the first HDR, Hunt said, encouraged kinder and more inclusive work environments for women and people of color, among other marginalized groups. While major strides have been made since the first annual report, Hunt admitted there is a long way to go. In a workshop session at the conference, Stacie Mallen, principal consultant at Executive to Win, used Post-It notes to illustrate some of her points He said diversity is now driving the market, whereas it used to be an afterthought. However, there is still a disconnect between what Hollywood looks like onscreen and off-screen. Hunt offered some final thoughts on what needs to be done to bridge the gap and make continuous progress toward true inclusivity. “If you want to remain profitable, you need to tell stories that resonate with where your audience today and where the audience is going,” Hunt said. He added: “That means not only putting [diverse] people in front of the camera, but behind the camera, in the writer’s room, directing, and in the executive suites.” Quinisha Jackson-Wright is a journalist who has contributed to the New York Times, Business Insider, and The Muse. She is a U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis