Besides #MeToo, one of the best-known hashtags in California right now is #WeSaidEnough.
That term was introduced in a bipartisan letter published last October in the Los Angeles Times, with signatures from more than 140 women working in California politics. It was the first statement nationwide by women calling for an end to the pervasive culture of harassment and assault within the halls of government. Their actions highlighted the fact that, even in a state as progressive as California, the Capitol community can still be an "old boys' network" that doesn't always treat women working within it with much respect.
So what happens next? What will come from the Capitol's legal investigations and legislative hearings? Should we expect specific bills on this issue, and will they have teeth? And how will the sexual harassment scandals in state government translate into policy that affects workplaces around California?
PANELISTS
* Samantha Corbin, executive director of #WeSaidEnough, the op-ed letter that turned into an equity-focused organization
* Assemblyperson Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who held hearings on this topic in her role as chair of the Assembly Rules Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention and Response
* Jodi Hicks, partner at the women-led government relations firm DBHK and one of the signers of the #WeSaidEnough letter
* Janine Yancey, an employment-law attorney and CEO of Emtrain, a HR and compliance training firm
PODCAST TIMEFRAME
* 2:05 minutes - "I get to have the privilege of speaking out without fear" -- Panelists introduce themselves
* 6:15 min - "We got 22,000 hits on the website almost immediately" -- How #WeSaidEnough got its start, and where it's going now
* 12:50 min - "I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, 'Wait, I just signed this letter . . . and I think there's a committee on sexual harassment . . . and I think I'm the chair'" -- From making Hollywood movies to holding goverment hearings on sexual harassment
* 22 min - "The Senator said, 'We might start a policy not to have drinks with female lobbyists.'" -- The negative impact of speaking out
* 28:30 min - "'I don't want anyone to see you with me" - because I'm the Sexual Harassment Fairy" -- Is it easier now or not to speak out and be a "Silence Breaker?"
* 36:20 min - "These two venture capitalists say, 'I haven't read that article. How come I'm not getting invited to these sex parties?" - How California businesses are reacting
* 42:45 min - "We're asking women to be the ones to put themselves out there, and not get to the top" -- Being guilty of not doing anything . . . and how to change that
* 53:10 min - "We can be a lot more productive, a lot more objective, and have a lot more transparency" -- How can the state legislature build a structure that has a fair process for all parties involved?
* 57:25 min - "It's one of the reasons to seize on this moment, because this may not be a hot topic in a year" -- What panelists think of the legislature's new bills that tackle sexual harassment
* 1 hr, 6:20 min - "One person thought that was highly offensive, another person asked, 'Well, was his fly undone?'" -- Is there a backlash to this movement now?
* 1 hr, 12 min - "The problem is, when you're an elected official, the accountability is hard to find" - - Why does the state legislature play by different rules on this than everybody else?
* 1 hr, 16:50 min - "Victims are looking for resources, to feel solidarity, to be connected, and to reserve the right to make decisions on a go-forward basis" - - Two panelists' new technology to combat sexual harassment
* 1 hr, 23 min - "I'm not going to act like Melanie Griffith, I'm going to act like Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien'" -- What's needed to make efforts of the past few months permanently stick
