Ahead of Comcast Shareholder Meeting, Women’s Groups Pen Open Letter to CEO Brian Roberts Demanding a Higher Commitment to Sexual Harassment Prevention & Accountability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 7, 2018
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | 516-841-1105 | brett@unbendablemedia.com
Ahead of Comcast Shareholder Meeting, Women’s Groups Pen Open Letter to CEO Brian Roberts Demanding a Higher Commitment to Sexual Harassment Prevention & Accountability
UltraViolet Urges Comcast to Hold NBC Accountable After Lackluster Investigation Concluded NBC Executives Did Nothing Wrong in Matt Lauer Case
PHILADELPHIA — Ahead of Comcast’s annual general meeting of shareholders on June 11th, women’s groups UltraViolet and NOW-NY published an open letter to Comcast CEO and Chairman Brian Roberts asking the media giant to take a deeper look into workplace culture and management at NBC. The letter comes after a lackluster investigation at NBC that cleared NBC executives of wrongdoing in the case of the Matt Lauer sexual harassment scandal.
VIEW THE LETTER HERE: https://d2486uwqr5x79k.
NBC’s investigation ultimately concluded that because there were no formal complaints against Lauer, NBC News executives had done nothing wrong. But UltraViolet argues that there is clearly something wrong with a work environment reluctant to hold high-status employees accountable.
The letter, which asks Comcast and NBC to proactively develop a safe, equitable work culture and make it easier for employees to report, and hold management accountable to address and prevent harassment. Specifically, the letter recommends:
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Do not take zero formal complaints at face value. Over the next few years, consider an increase in complaints a success because it means your workplace is getting safer for people to report harassment.
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Mandate effective anti-harassment trainings.
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Eliminate overly broad non-disclosure agreements in employment contracts.
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Eliminate mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent people from pursuing individual or collective claims in court.
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Conduct anonymous climate surveys.
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Develop multiple trusted avenues for employees to report.
Last month, UltraViolet launched a series of online ads targeting NBC employees, with a message reading, “Have You Been Sexually Harassed at NBC?” The ads directed users to a website where they can submit their accounts of sexual harassment at NBC. UltraViolet’s story submission page also connects NBC employees to legal services through the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. The TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund, which is housed at and administered by the National Women’s Law Center, connects those who experience sexual misconduct including assault, harassment, abuse and related retaliation in the workplace or in trying to advance their careers with legal and public relations assistance.
SEE THE ADS HERE: https://d2486uwqr5x79k.
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UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.