Vice co-founders apologize for 'boy's club' after report of rampant sexual harassment

[spaminator]

Vice co-founders apologize for 'boy's club' after report of rampant sexual harassment
Associated Press
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Published:
December 23, 2017
Updated:
December 23, 2017 9:31 PM EST
Vice Media CEO Shane Smith. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK — Two co-founders of Vice Media are apologizing for a “boy’s club” culture that fostered inappropriate behaviour after an investigative report uncovered rampant sexual harassment at the New York-based company.
The New York Times on Saturday reported that it found four settlements involving allegations of sexual harassment or defamation against Vice employees, including the current president, Andrew Creighton.
The newspaper also talked with more than two dozen women who say they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct at the company, which has grown from a fringe Canadian culture magazine to a major news outlet. The alleged episodes included groping and forced kisses.
Co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi sent a note to staff Saturday saying the company let people down in failing to create a safe and inclusive workplace.
http://nytimes.com/2017/12/23/business/media/vice-sexual-harassment.html
Vice co-founders apologize for ‘boy’s club’ after report of rampant sexual harassment | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Vice suspends top execs after sexual misconduct report
Associated Press
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Published:
January 2, 2018
Updated:
January 2, 2018 4:43 PM EST
Vice co-founder and CEO Shane Smith (right) gestures as Rogers Communications President and CEO Guy Laurence laughs during an announcement in Toronto on Thursday October 30, 2014.Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS
NEW YORK — Vice has suspended two top executives after a New York Times report on sexual misconduct at the digital media company.
Vice Media has suspended its president, Andrew Creighton, and chief digital officer Mike Germano, as it investigates allegations against them, according to a company memo sent to employees Tuesday. A Vice spokesman declined to comment.
The Times had reported in late December that it found four settlements involving allegations of sexual harassment or defamation against Vice employees, including Creighton. The newspaper talked with more than two dozen women who say they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct, including groping and forced kisses.
Vice Media co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi have apologized for the “boy’s club” culture .
Vice has grown from a Canadian magazine to a dominant online video company, expanding into TV around the world.
In the memo, the company said that Creighton and Germano were the only two people named in the Times story who were still employed at Vice.
Vice co-founders apologize for ‘boy’s club’ after report of rampant sexual harassment
The Times reported that Vice paid a former female employee a $135,000 settlement in 2016 after she said she was fired when she rejected Creighton’s advances. The Vice memo says her claims were found to lack merit at the time after a review by law firm, but a special committee of its board is looking at the matter now. It will make a recommendation on what to do before a Jan. 11 board meeting.
Cultural elements from our past, dysfunction and mismanagement were allowed to flourish unchecked.
Vice Media statement
As for Germano, the memo says Vice’s human-resources department and an external investigator are looking into the allegations. One woman told the Times that he had told her he didn’t want to hire her because he wanted to have sex with her. Another woman said he pulled her on to his lap at a work event at a bar.
The memo, from Vice’s chief operating officer and CFO Sarah Broderick, said the company will require mandatory sexual harassment training for all employees starting later this month and that the company was “committed” to having half of employees be female “at every level across the organization” by 2020. She said “pay parity” would come by the end of the year.
The reports of sexual misconduct at Vice are part of a wave of allegations of bad behaviour in media, entertainment and other industries, as well as politics, that have come in the aftermath of articles detailing Harvey Weinstein’s decades of alleged rape and harassment this fall.
Vice suspends top execs after sexual misconduct report | Toronto Sun