Hollywood top executives — including Disney CEO Bob Iger, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and WME’s Ari Emanuel — have formed and are funding a special commission to combat sexual misconduct in the industry.
The commission is chaired by Anita Hill, who made headlines with sexual harassment accusations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during Thomas’ confirmation hearings in the early 1990s.
During the meeting — which was convened by Kennedy, Nike co-chair Maria Eitel, attorney Nina Shaw and social policy philanthropist Freada Kapor Klein –leaders emphasized that safe and inclusive work environments result in stronger and more successful businesses.
“We will be focusing on issues ranging from power disparity, equity and fairness, safety, sexual harassment guidelines, education and training, reporting and enforcement, ongoing research, and data collection,” said Ms. Hill in a late Friday statement. “It is time to end the culture of silence. I’ve been at this work for 26 years. This moment presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to make real change.”
Dubbed The Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, it also includes members Bryan Lourd, Co- Chairman, Creative Artists Agency; Jeff Shell, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group; Jim Gianopulos, Chairman/CEO, Paramount; Leslie Moonves, Chairman/CEO. CBS Corp.; Carol Lombardini, President, Alliance Motion Picture and Television Producers; and Chris Silbermann, Founding Partner, ICM Partners, among others. (See full list below).
The Commission aims to “lead the entertainment industry toward alignment in achieving safer, fairer, more equitable and accountable workplaces — particularly for women and marginalized people,” according to a statement obtained by TheWrap. The goal is “to tackle the broad culture of abuse and power disparity.”
“The Commission will not seek just one solution, but a comprehensive strategy to address the complex and inter-related causes of the problems of parity and power,” Kennedy said. “The fact that so many industry leaders–across film, television, music, digital, unions, agencies, ATA, AMPAS, television academy and guilds–came together, in one room, to explore solutions speaks to a new era.”
The commission will reconvene immediately after the first of the year.
See the full list of committee members here:
Ari Emanuel, Co-Chair, William Morris Endeavor; Bob Iger, Chairman/CEO, Disney; Bryan Lourd, Co-Chairman, Creative Artists Agency; Carol Lombardini, President, Alliance Motion Picture and Television Producers; Chris Silbermann, Founding Partner, ICM Partners; David Young, Executive Director, Writers Guild of America; Dawn Hudson, CEO, Academy Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; Gabrielle Carteris, President, Screen Actors Guild / AFTRA; Jeff Blackburn, SVP Business Development, Amazon; Jeff Shell, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group; Jeremy Zimmer, CEO, United Talent Agency; Jim Gianopulos, Chairman/CEO, Paramount; Karen Stuart, Executive Director, Association of Talent Agents; Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman/CEO, Warner Bros; Maury McIntyre, President/COO, Television Academy; Mike Miller, 4th International VP/Dept. Director, Motion Picture & TV Production/IATSE; Russ Hollander, Executive Director, Directors Guild of America; Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Group; Susan Sprung, Associate Executive Director, Producers Guild of America; Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix; Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman/CEO, Sony; Julie Greenwald, Chairman/COO, Atlantic Records; Leslie Moonves, Chairman/CEO. CBS Corp., Neil Portnow, President, Recording Academy NARAS.