Photo: Bill Inoshita/CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.(NEW YORK) — Time’s Up published an open letter to the board of CBS on Tuesday, urging the company to donate outgoing chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves’ pending $120 million severance package to various women’s rights organizations.
In response to allegations published in The New Yorker, CBS Corporation announced Sunday that Moonves was leaving the company, and a $120 million financial exit package for him will be withheld pending the results of an investigation.
CBS has already pledged to donate $20 million to “one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace,” but the advocacy group doesn’t think that’s enough.
The letter states in part, “That is $120 million dollars that will either go to Mr. Moonves or back into the coffers of the company that allowed the culture created by Mr. Moonves to continue. That $120 million,” the letter continues, “can create change by going to organizations — and there are many impactful organizations — that can help women of all kinds.”
The letter, addressed to the CBS directors and the company’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, calls on CBS to commit to the following:
-A full, independent investigation of any allegations of sexual harassment, regardless of whether the subject of the investigation resigns or departs. Those who come forward must also be protected from potential retaliation.
-Establishing a workplace culture that represents the values of safety, equity and dignity, with this tone set from the top of the company. The board should establish regular (not just special committee) oversight of workplace culture as a matter of corporate governance, and senior management should be held accountable with specific and measurable benchmarks.
-Establishing a hiring, promotion and retention policy that will create an inclusive workforce at all levels, and set and measure goals for achieving a workplace reflective of the American population. This includes aggressive recruitment for truly diverse management talent, as well as the pipeline for entry-level positions. As listed on the company’s website, the nine current most senior members of the CBS Corporation Executive management team and the heads of each of CBS’s Divisions are all men.
-Providing training at all levels of the company, including the board, on the company’s values, diversity and inclusion, and management skills, and commit to providing this training on a regular basis.
-Undertaking a pay equity study, and commit to closing any racial, ethnic or gender gaps.”
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