UltraViolet: Signet Jewelers’ Half-Measures Are Unacceptable, Board Must Fire CEO Mark Light Immediately
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 10, 2017
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com | 516-841-1105
UltraViolet: Signet Jewelers’ Half-Measures Are Unacceptable, Board Must Fire CEO Mark Light Immediately
Yesterday, in response to outrage over reports that hundreds of employees at Kay Jewelers and Jared Galleria, both owned by Signet Jewelers, were subject to systematic sexual harassment and assault by Signet employees, including CEO Mark Light, Signet Jewelers said they would be forming a board committee and hiring an independent consultant to review their policies and focus on the advancement of its female employees.
In reaction to the announcement, Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet issued the following statement:
“Signet Jewelers announcement of a new board committee and the hiring of an independent consultant to address decades of serial sexual abuse at the company makes it clear that they still are not taking the extent of these accusations seriously. It is exactly half-measures like these that allowed the Board to consistently promote an accused sexual predator, CEO Mark Light, and foster a culture of sexual abuse in their stores.
“For decades, female employees at Signet Jewelers’ companies like Kay Jewelers and Jared Galleria, have been subject to systematic discrimination and sexual abuse by the company’s male employees, including CEO Mark Light. Signet Jewelers tried to hide the full extent of abuse and sexual harassment at the company’s brand by forcing female employees into private arbitration, hiding their stories and allowing a serial sexual predator to become the head of the company.
“If the board of directors were serious about protecting their female employees, they would fire CEO Mark Light immediately and release all former employees from arbitration agreements – so that they can seek justice in our Courts.
“Anything less is unacceptable.“
Currently, more than 69,000 former Signet Jewelers employees (from more than 1500 stores) are engaged in a class-action lawsuit against the company alleging pay discrimination. Hundreds of these women also claim that they were sexually harassed or abused by company employees.
According to numerous female employees at Signet stores, the culture of harassment was a company-wide problem with no accountability. One woman manager said “preying” at company events “was done out in the open and appeared to be encouraged, or at least condoned, by the company.” Another said that male executives “prowled around like dogs that were let out of their cage and there was no one to protect the female managers from them.”
UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy group, launched a petition after the story broke demanding that Signet Jewelers CEO Mark Light be fired immediately. The petition has been signed by over 44,000 people since it launched.
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