Project WHEN’s Thought Leadership
The following collection of blog posts highlight recent contributions from our board of directors and staff on the topics of harassment in the workplace and also may feature interviews of Project WHEN in the media.
Keep scrolling further for a curated presentation of inspirational & pertinent quotes that speak to the necessity of employers and our society changing how we treat others in the workplace and beyond.
Other Inspiring & Pertinent Quotes
“Do I think that the Me Too Movement is here to stay? Yes!” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
“Thank you to the brave women coming forward and sharing their stories. You are saving the women who may have come after you.” – Amy Schumer
“Time’s up on sexual harassment in all work places. Time’s up on blaming survivors. Time’s up on empty apologies without consequences. And time’s up on the pervasive culture of silence that has enabled abusers like Weinstein. These abusers that make it unsafe for women to go to work every morning, to take a business meeting, to report a crime without retaliation.” – Rosanna Arquette
“I think at times we feel or we’re made to feel that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think whether we’re talking about gender inequality, or racism, or queer rights, or indigenous rights, or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice. We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use, and exploit another in impunity.” – Joaquin Phoenix
“Everyone deserves the right to work, be safe and go home.” – Joyce Gilliard, founder of iSAFE! TV and Film
“Talent is not an excuse or a justification for sexual assault or misogynistic slander.” – Alexandra Waterbury, New York City Ballet
“Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.” – Lady Gaga, The Born This Way Foundation
“I don’t think anyone could have anticipated this incredibly moving ground swell of survivors—women and men coming forward in industry after industry.” – Ronan Farrow, investigative journalist, lawyer, and former government adviser
“I think we’re in a new era because the #MeToo movement has done two things. The first thing is it has raised awareness about this being an epidemic. And the second thing is it’s empowered two new generations—Millennials and Gen Zers—to look at the situation and say, ‘No, I am not going to take this as normal.” – Caroline Heldman, TV Commentator & Survivor Advocate
“This isn’t just about women in the entertainment industry. There isn’t a culture, a race, a religion, a politic, a workplace that hasn’t been affected by it. I have been so inspired by all women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Here is an opportunity for powerful growth, but how do we use this moment to elevate what is happening, instead of continually victimizing ourselves?” – Oprah Winfrey
“Leaders must take responsibility for creating more respectful work environments, where relationships are healthy and appropriate, where harassment is less likely to flourish and where people feel more comfortable challenging bad behavior. The more we can do to equip our managers with the skills to be able to navigate healthy relationships with their colleagues the better chance we will have in creating workplaces where people are able to flourish and where the scandals that have plagued many of the world’s largest corporations are avoided.” – Race, Mary-Clare (2019). Navigating the Toxic Triangle: Bridging the relationship between supervisor and report is a difficult but worthwhile journey. Workforce Strategy Management & Magazine, May/June 2019.
“Organizations are more worried than ever before, and not just a function of the #MeToo age, but also a result of living in a reputational economy, where collective perceptions are recorded and broadcast nonstop. We used to say that it takes people a lifetime to build a strong relationship but a few seconds to destroy it, and this is even truer in organizations now.” – Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology, University College London and Columbia University.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disageree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs
“I don’t think that anybody can grow unless he really is accepted exactly as he is.” – Fred Rogers
“Preventing harassment from occurring in the first place is far preferable to remedying its consequences.” – U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace.
“We have to make the choice—every single day—to exemplify the truth, the respect, and the grace that we wish for this world.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The cost of permitting harassment (which is the effect of not doing all that can be done to prevent it) is over thirty-one times higher than the initial cost of prevention.” – Myrtle P. Bell, James Campbell Quick, and Cynthia S. Cycyota, “Assessment and Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Employees: An Applied Guide to Creating Healthy Organizations,” International Journal of Selection and Assessment 10, no. ½ (March 2002): 160-67.
“Those who observe or perceive mistreatment of others in the workplace can also suffer from psychological and even physical harm.” – Kathi Miner-Rubino and Lilia M. Cortina, “Beyond Targets: Consequences of Vicarious Exposure to Misogyny at Work,” Journal of Applied Psychology 92, no. 5 (September 2007): 1254-69, https://doi.org/10/b8983w.
“Women who have been harassed are 6 ½ times more likely to leave their company than those who have not been harassed.” – McLaughlin et al, Gender and Society, 2017.
“Our goal must be decency and respect for every human we encounter.” – Oprah Winfrey, on staying positive in the face of hate.
