In the wake of the #MeToo movement three years ago, the Hollywood commission, a non-profit aimed at ending sexual harassment and bias in the entertainment industry, was born.
Chair of the commission, lawyer and professor, Anita Hill, has some experience with the subject. In 1991 she testified that her former boss, then-Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, sexually harassed her.
Ms. Hill joined us with the results of a new survey by the commission that indicates that the problem persists.
The survey was anonymous and had 110 questions. The results say that 65 percent believe that influential individuals will not be held accountable, and less than half believe that things are any better than before the #MeToo movement.
"I was not entirely surprised, unfortunately, because we continue to hear the stories of people who are still experiencing harassment. In terms of accountability, we understand people are not being held responsible for their behavior," said Hill.
Many of the people who took the survey said they did not report because of the fear of retaliation or the concern that nothing would happen.
"Those are real concerns because in many instances the people who they would be reporting against, would have an ability to either fire them or make their lives miserable, or make sure that they didn't get a job elsewhere in the industry," added Hill.
Accountability has been a big theme in 2020, not just regarding sexual harassment, but also concerning police brutality and how COVID-19 is being handled.
"When we were looking at the survey results, we weren't just looking at sexual harassment. We realized that the workplace is full of all types of behaviors that can put people at disadvantages and inhibit production and creativity. We also realized that diversity, inclusion, and getting rid of bias in the entertainment industry is going to help creativity and production. It will also make the workplace safer for everyone. Our findings are equally as disturbing because we found gaps in what people perceive in terms of bias in the Hollywood industry, as well as a failure to value diversity and inclusion," said Hill.
"We are concerned, how do we make sure that everyone sees the bias that's there? Because what we found is that when it comes to white men, who are the least likely to experience that, are the ones who don't perceive that it's happening. And, so we have people functioning in the workplace, and they are experiencing different. What we are trying to raise awareness when it comes to bias to allow people to come to terms with what we are missing because we allow bias and discrimination to exist," said Hill.
"I read comments from the survey, and a lot of them describe racism and sexism as inherent and insidious in the Hollywood industry. Then people tell victims that you're supposed to suck it up. But, what we have now is an opportunity to go in and do an assessment of our hiring. We need to assess how these leftover vestiges of our culture are still playing a role in who gets in, who doesn't get in, who gets to lead, and who doesn't get to lead. To confront this, awareness and accountability have to increase because if these two don't happen, nothing is going to change," said Hill.