Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Time’s Up movement set up by Hollywood actresses to counter sexual harassment in the workplace announced Tuesday that it has appointed its first president and CEO, previous WNBA leader Lisa Borders.

The announcement comes almost exactly a year since explosive reporting first appeared, bringing down Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, accused of decades of sexual harassment and sexual assault, precipitating the #MeToo movement.

“Borders will lead the organization’s work to ensure equal opportunity and protection for all working women, seizing this unprecedented moment and transforming it into meaningful and institutionalized change,” Time’s Up said.

Borders, who stepped down as president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in order to take up the new post, was previously a senior executive at The Coca-Cola Company and chaired The Coca-Cola Foundation.

“To disrupt and reinvent the ingrained status quo, we will need all hands on deck to and sustain enduring change,” she said in a statement.

“I’m thrilled to lead Time’s Up and I am convinced that together, we will shift the paradigm of workplace culture.”

Set up to address safety in workplaces beyond the entertainment industry, Time’s Up launched a legal defense fund that provides assistance to those who have experienced sexual misconduct or to help them advance their careers.

Since launching in January, more than 3,500 women and men from all 50 states have been connected to legal resources through the fund, and two thirds of those who get in touch identify as low-wage workers.

The US Olympic Committee in June named Borders as chair of a new commission set up to ensure the safety of athletes as part of an action plan developed in the wake of the Larry Nassar gymnastics sex abuse scandal.

*AFP