I added my name to the TIMESUP Letter of Solidarity

300 leading women across the entertainment industry just launched a wide reaching campaign to combat sexual harassment and support disenfranchised women on the receiving end of unwanted advances. Entitled TIMESUP, the initiative does three key things:

• Provides a $13 million legal defense fund to help women in blue-collar jobs and farm work
• Drafts of legislation to punish companies that tolerate sexual harassment and to discourage nondisclosure agreements in such cases.
• Pushes to reach gender parity in Hollywood studios and talent agencies; and a call for women walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes to wear black as a sign of protest and solidarity.

This is an important step in the right direction, particularly in its support of women without the power or platform to stand up to abuse. The campaign was launched via a full page open letter in the New York Times. I just added my name to the Letter of Solidarity and donated to the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.  It feels like a powerful way to start the year.

7 Things Men Can Do To Combat Sexism In Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley has imploded over the last couple of weeks, after several women came forward to publicly share their stories of being sexually harassed by senior figures in the industry.  I'm awed by the strength and bravery of these women and hope the ensuing outrage and various resignations, signal a sea change in the way the tech industry treats women. Various solutions have been put forward to try and combat the rampant sexism that exists in tech, but the most practical of these and the most likely to produce lasting change can be found in this blog post by Claudia Iannazzo, founder of AlphaPrime Ventures who suggests the following steps: 

1. Hire more women to create a more balanced and realistic workforce

2. Set diversity goals 

3. Amplify women's voices

4. Facilitate the introduction of founders to potential funders 

5. Make the panel pledge and refuse to speak on panels unless women are represented 

6. Make the column pledge which as above, ensures women are represented and quoted in articles concerning the tech industry 

7. Support the professional development of women, through training and sponsorship 

Read and share and lets make this mistreatment of women a thing of the past.