UPDATED to include statement from recipients: CBS has picked 18 recipients of a previously announced $20 million donation to support the fight against sexual harassment in the workplace.
The $20 million was deducted from the exit package of former CEO Les Moonves in September under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations.
The company said the organizations “represent different critical approaches to combating sexual harassment, including efforts to change culture and improve gender equity in the workplace, train and educate employees, and provide victims with services and support.”
The donation reflects the companys “ongoing commitment to strengthening its own workplace culture,” CBS said.
Recipients include: Catalyst; Collaborative Fund for Womens Safety and Dignity (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors), re-granting; Free the Bid; Freedom Forum Institute (Power Shift Project); Futures Without Violence; Girls for Gender Equity / me too. Movement; International Womens Media Foundation; National Womens Law Center; New York Womens Foundation (re-granting); Press Forward; Producers Guild of America Foundation; RAINN; STRIVE International; Sundance Institutes Momentum program; TIMES UP Entertainment; TIMES UP Legal Defense Fund; Women in Film Los Angeles; and Womens Media Center.
In a joint statement, the groups said the funds “will make a significant impact on organizations that do critical work on behalf of survivors of sexual violence, and for womens safety and equity at work. The contributions are a step to driving real progress toward ending the national epidemic of sexual violence and harassment. Our organizations serve on the front lines of this effort every day, and we continue to see enormous need for our work. We know these funds will help us create and expand a range of important programs that advance our collective mission and help many individuals get justice. We thank CBS for these donations. We also recognize these funds are not a panacea, nor do they erase or absolve decades of bad behavior.”
It continued: “The road ahead remains long. Progress will only be possible through a sustained commitment to improve internal culture and policies. It is our hope that corporations will seize this powerful moment to create workplaces where everyone can work safely, with every opportunity to reach their full potential. In addition, we look forward to receiving the full results of the investigation into Mr. Moonves and an update on additional concrete commitments that CBS – and all organizations – will make to support lasting change.”
CBS said it will give a portion of the grant to two organizations, the Collaborative Fund for Womens Safety and Dignity (through Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the New York Womens Foundation, in order to disburse smaller grants to additional organizations.
Grant funds will go toward assisting these organizations in expanding their existing work and developing new programs that will reach new and diverse communities.
In October, CBS hired Rally, an issues advocacy and strategy firm that has worked with such advocacy groups as Times Up, the ACLU and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. The group helped CBS and Moonves select organizations that would receive grants.
The donation was announced in September during the period when longtime CEO Moonves stepped down from the company amid sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women. The former boss is still technically eligible for a $120 million exit package, pending the results of two outside law firms investigation into his behavior and the workplace culture at CBS.
The likelihood of Moonves collecting severance has lessened after the New York Times published several damning accounts based on a draft version of investigators report. And the Moonves Era continues to create problems for the current CBS management team. Just 24 hours ago, the company said it paid actress Eliza Dushku a $9.5 million settlement after she was retaliated against for complaining about sexually harassment on the set of Bull. In confirming the settlement, CBS issued a strikingly unvarnished statement. “The allegations in Ms. Dushkus claims are an example that, while we remain committed to a culture defined by a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace, our work is far from done,” it read in part.
[contf]
[contfnew]
Deadline
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
