A snapshot of what we have achieved this year

2019 Year in Review

California, Changing Companies, Changing Culture, Changing Laws & Policy, Corporate Policy, Equity, Federal Policy, New York, Power, Safety, State Policy, TIME'S UP 2020, TIME'S UP Advertising, TIME'S UP Entertainment, TIME'S UP Healthcare, TIME'S UP Impact Lab, TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund, TIME'S UP Tech

Nearly two years ago, women in Hollywood, across industries, and across the globe came together, determined to turn their pain into action. In this short amount of time, we’ve already made real progress changing culture, companies, and laws, to realize work that is safe, fair, and dignified — and we’re just getting started.

The kind of transformational change we’re pushing for takes time — and we are not wasting any of it.

Changing Culture

We Insisted on Representation and Diversity Among the Gatekeepers of Culture

TIME’S UP Entertainment. With research from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative showing that 78 percent of Rotten Tomatoes critics were male and mostly white and only four percent of the top 1,200 studio films were directed by women, TIME’S UP Entertainment began work on three initiatives:

  • The Critics Initiative, including CRITICAL, an opt-in database of over 400 entertainment critics and journalists that will allow studios, talent, film critics associations and representatives to more easily find and contact entertainment journalists and critics from underrepresented groups.
  • The 4% Challenge: a pledge taken by more than 100 major players in the entertainment industry to announce a feature film project with a female director in the next 18 months.

  • Who’s in the Room, a program designed to increase the presence of people from a variety of economic and cultural backgrounds in the producer and executive ranks of the entertainment industry. Over 50 percent of our 2019 mentees were promoted within the first six months of program launch.

TIME’S UP Advertising. At Cannes Lion in 2019, TIME’S UP Advertising joined influential brands — such as Procter & Gamble and Facebook — and mission-aligned organizations to discuss how to achieve greater inclusion and diversity across the industry and harness the power of advertising to shape culture and uproot stereotypes. Our participation was recognized by Cannes Can: Diversity Collective, a group of intersectional leaders committed to increasing diversity across the industry and acknowledged in its 2019 Diversity, Inclusivity & Accessibility Report.

And TIME’S UP Advertising contributed to AdWeek’s historic 40th Anniversary issue by calling the industry in on its need for structural change.

It’s time for agencies and brands to take gender equity seriously by transparently adopting new policies and affirming a commitment to safe and respectful environments for all workers. Christena J. Pyle
Executive Director, TIME'S UP Advertising

We Brought Safety and Equity to the Forefront of Medicine

Since launching in March 2019, TIME’S UP Healthcare has pushed for increased representation of women of all kinds at healthcare panels, conferences and events — and this advocacy is having an impact.

Thus far, over 50 organizations — including schools of nursing and medicine, health systems, and community health centers — have joined as signatories. And in December, TIME’S UP named Dr. Lauren Powell as the new executive director of TIME’S UP Healthcare.

We Seized Opportunities to Bring Critical Issues into the National Spotlight

Time’s Up, Pay Up. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s success in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup drew massive international attention on the issue — culminating in chants of “equal pay” when they beat the Netherlands in the World Cup Final in July. TIME’S UP proudly joined forces with the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association to raise awareness about the fight for equal pay across industries and through federal and state legislation.

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The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players are unstoppable, four-time World Champions. And yet they are still paid a fraction of what their colleagues on the men’s national soccer team are paid. . But here’s what’s amazing: Not only are the @USWNTPlayers fighting to be paid their worth, but they’re using this moment to join @TIMESUPNow and fight so that every woman is paid her worth. . This fight takes resources, and we’ll need you every step of the way. Join me (and the amazing women of @USWNTPlayers) in supporting the #TimesUpPayUp campaign. Whether it’s $5 or $50, your donation today is so powerful. Link in bio. Thank you. (Also can you tell how much I’m geeking out to be with these people?)

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Presidential Debates. Starting with the Democratic primary debates, TIME’S UP Now has demanded that the issues affecting women most take center stage. TIME’S UP asked debate moderators to include questions on pay equity, sexual harassment, child care, and paid leave and urged networks to ensure their debates are inclusive and relevant.

Within the first 15 minutes of the first presidential primary debate of the 2020 cycle, a question on pay equity was asked of the candidates and in the fifth presidential debate of the cycle, history was made when Kristen Welker asked the first primary debate question ever about policies to reduce sexual harassment and violence.

“Survivor” Admits Mistakes and Commits to Change. After the television show “Survivor” drew heat from TIME’S UP and others for its handling of contestant Kellee Kim’s claims of inappropriate behavior by a fellow castmate, millions of viewers witnessed an unprecedented cultural moment in television history when the host Jeff Probst publicly acknowledged that the show failed Kim. In doing so, the show used its cultural influence to take responsibility and have an honest and direct dialogue about a serious, systemic problem that has been ignored for far too long.

Changing Companies

We Held the Media Industry Accountable

When allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination emerged at CBS and NBC, TIME’S UP ramped up public pressure via petitions, press, and social media. Most recently, we launched a petition urging NBCUniversal leaders to take Gabrielle Union’s allegations seriously and take concrete steps to foster a safe and equitable workplace.

We Pushed Nike to Do Better by Pregnant Athletes

After reports surfaced in May 2019 that Nike was discriminating against pregnant athletes, TIME’S UP showed solidarity with athletes speaking out by posting on social media and communicating directly with Nike about where they were falling short.

In August 2019, Nike announced it would no longer reduce pay or end contracts for 18 months when athletes are pregnant or parenting.

We Launched a New Innovation Center

The TIME’S UP Impact Lab, a project of the TIME’S UP Foundation, will pioneer research driving toward public policy, private sector, and culture change to address sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination, as well as broader systemic inequality and injustice at work.

The TIME'S UP Impact Lab is a critical initiative to ensure that the workplace becomes what it should be: a place where everyone can thrive, not a barrier to safety and success. Melinda Gates
Founder, Pivotal Ventures

We Supported McDonald’s Workers in Their Fight for Safe Workplaces…

TIME’S UP Now released an open letter to McDonald’s leadership calling on them to make systemic changes. The letter was prompted by 23 additional complaints of harassment, abuse, and retaliation against the company, supported by the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund;  a class action lawsuit soon followed.

A photo of Jamelia Fairley, one of dozens of McDonald’s workers whose cases are being supported by the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund
I was thinking about my daughter. What if she has to work for McDonald’s one day and something like this happens to her? JAMELIA FAIRLEY
Photo Credit: Eve Edelheit / The New York Times

In response, McDonald’s announced a new restaurant and engagement initiative in August 2019 to address workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. And in November 2019, the company showed further signs of progress when they fired CEO Stephen Easterbrook for having a relationship with an employee.

…and the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund Helped Thousands of Workers, Across Industries

The TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund has connected nearly 4,000 workers facing sexual harassment to attorneys and public relations support. Those reaching out to the fund come from every industry, and two-thirds identify as low-wage workers. More than one-third identify as women of color. The TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund has committed over $10 million helping everyone from FBI recruits to Comcast workers to nursing school students seek justice.

In the lead-up to Harvey Weinstein’s trial, we have continued to show survivors we have their backs, no matter what attacks his defenders throw at them.

In partnership with NowThis, we created a video honoring survivors throughout the month of October.

Changing Laws

We Helped Pass the TIME’S UP Safety Agenda in New York

Artists, activists, business leaders, and attorneys across New York state identified ways to strengthen New York’s sexual harassment and assault laws. 

TIME'S UP artists and activists joined Governor Andrew Cuomo in September 2019 when he signed a new law lengthening the statute of limitations for rape in the second- and third-degree. © Devan King/TIME'S UP Now

Collectively, these policies became the TIME’S UP Safety Agenda, and after a year and a half of advocacy, the package of bills passed the New York State Legislature in June 2019 and was signed into law this fall. All told, TIME’S UP supporters sent more than 55,000 messages to their state lawmakers urging them to pass the legislation — and lawmakers listened.

To help New Yorkers understand the groundbreaking sexual harassment protections, the TIME’S UP Impact Lab released a toolkit, Know Your Rights, New York (also available in Spanish), that explains the provisions of the new law and informs workers of their rights if they face harassment or other types of discrimination at work. The toolkit also explains how this law differs from prior legal requirements.

We Helped Expand Protections for California Workers

TIME’S UP leaders and allies joined Equal Rights Advocates to fight for three critical bills aimed at increasing protections for California’s workforce, legislation to: extend the filing deadline for harassment and discrimination claims; ban retaliatory “no rehire” clauses in settlement agreements, and  prohibit employers from requiring workers to sign forced arbitration agreements.

The bills were passed in October 2019 following a letter from 100 members of the TIME’S UP community and allies urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign them into law.

This historic progress is not a flash in the pan: 15 states have enacted new legislation strengthening sexual harassment laws in recent years after #metoo went viral and TIME’S UP was founded.

We Helped Advance National Legislation to Establish Safety and Equity at Work

From the BE HEARD Act to the Paycheck Fairness Act, we are in solidarity with leaders and allies across the country to help ensure all people are treated fairly and equitably at work — and have the support they need on and off the job to work and care for their families. Most recently, we joined with national and state groups for the Paid Leave for All Campaign — a coalition fighting for inclusive paid family and medical leave.

Supporters gather at the BE HEARD Act Rally in Washington, D.C. in September 2019
Ingrid Vaca, an advocate with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, rallies supporters in favor of the BE HEARD Act in Washington, D.C. © Devan King/TIME'S UP Foundation

Thank You for Being on this Journey

We are saying goodbye to 2019 stronger and more determined than ever to build on this momentum in the year-ahead. Whether you are someone who has come forward for the very first time, a seasoned advocate, or a business leader who wants to do right by your employees, stick with us for what’s yet to come.