The Time’s Up initiative — spearheaded by powerful female executives, writers, producers, directors, and Hollywood actresses — aims to address systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace and hopes to empower more men and women to hold wrongdoers accountable.
The initiative was formed in the wake of the #MeToo movement that began after one of Hollywood’s most powerful men, Harvey Weinstein, faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment.
All over the world, women began sharing their stories of being sexually harassed as part of the #MeToo movement. Since then, many high-profile men in media, politics, business, and entertainment have either been fired, suspended, or forced to resign after being accused of sexual misconduct.
Time’s Up has called for more women to be hired in positions of power, and for equal representation, benefits and pay across industries. It also called for greater representation for women of color, immigrants and women in the LGBTQ community, “whose experiences in the workforce are often significantly worse than their white, cisgender, straight peers.”
The initiative’s prominent members included actresses Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, America Ferrera, and Rashida Jones among others.
More than 500 donors, including Witherspoon, Rhimes, Steven Spielberg, and Meryl Streep, have raised $ 13 million for the legal defense fund as of Monday.
