Was That Sexual Harassment? How to Create Healthy Workplaces
Watch the recording of the webinar: https://youtu.be/mimSc050-OQ
Confused about what constitutes sexual harassment and what doesn’t? Do you want to do the right thing, but unsure of how to proceed? Are you wondering if the #MeToo movement means that any romantic relationship at work is automatically considered sexual harassment?
During this webinar, national experts explain the nuances of sexual harassment in layman terms.
Attorneys and advocates also describe tools and tips to create harassment-free cultures in diverse settings.
What are the additional considerations when the victim is a woman of color or gender nonconforming?
What if the victim is undocumented?
Learn how to go beyond legal requirements to create cultures where every employee is treated with respect, and therefore better performing. Q&A afterward.
Moderator
Jerin Arifa
NOW Young Feminists and Allies
Founder and President
Jerin Arifa is a formerly undocumented activist who changed millions of lives. Jerin spearheaded the sexual harassment, assault, domestic violence and anti-stalking policy for the third largest university in the U.S. — while undocumented! Now, as an American citizen, Jerin trains activists across the U.S. as the Founder of the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) inaugural virtual chapter, Young Feminists and Allies. She engineers safe spaces for marginalized groups, such as sold-out events for LGBTQAI+ Muslims. When not training activists, Jerin leverages 14 years of successes in corporate and nonprofit communications strategies—along with expertise in ending gender-based discrimination—to provide proven sexual harassment solutions to reduce employee turnover and increase productivity. A multi-talented leader, Jerin’s award-winning work ranges from cutting-edge cancer research to community organizing. President Obama’s White House chose her out of 10,000 nominees to attend the historic United State of Women Summit. Her work has appeared in diverse outlets from The New York Times to Cosmopolitan, and she presents regularly to local, national and international audiences.
Panelists
Maya Raghu
National Women’s Law Center
Director of Workplace Equality and Senior Counsel
Maya Raghu is Director of Workplace Equality and Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center. She leads federal and state policy development and advocacy, litigation, education, and stakeholder engagement focused on women’s economic security and employment opportunity, including equal pay, pregnancy discrimination, and sexual harassment. Prior to joining NWLC, she was a senior attorney at Futures Without Violence and a senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), focusing on economic security, gender discrimination, and gender-based violence, with an emphasis on immigrant and low-income women. Her work encompassed litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, public education and training, multi-sector initiatives and cross-movement collaboration. Maya was also previously an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and a law clerk to the Hon. Vanessa D. Gilmore of the Southern District of Texas. She is a graduate of Trinity University and Georgetown University Law Center. Maya has appeared in a number of media outlets, including PBS Newshour, NPR, and The New York Times.
Shanon Lee
Writer, Journalist, Host & Survivor Activist
Shanon Lee is a Survivor Activist & Storyteller that has been featured on BBC Radio, National Geographic, HuffPost Live, The Wall Street Journal, TV One and the REELZ Channel’s Scandal Made Me Famous. She is a Contributor for The Lily at The Washington Post and her work appears in publications including Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Good Housekeeping, ELLE, Marie Claire, Refinery29, Woman's Day, Women's Health and Redbook. As an official member of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Speakers Bureau and the National Speakers Bureau for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), Shanon advocates for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Since the #MeToo movement began, she has produced and contributed to stories on early US anti-rape movements, reproductive justice, media retraumatization, sexual assault and disability, gendering sexual violence and sexual harassment in the military. Shanon currently leads a trauma writing workshop for The Writer’s Center.
Allegra L. Fishel
Gender Equality Law Center
Founder and Executive Director
Allegra L. Fishel is the Founder and Executive Director of the Gender Equality Law Center (“GELC”). GELC is a nonprofit legal and advocacy whose mission is to advance laws and policies that will combat gender-based discrimination and stereotyping. Allegra oversees all aspects of GELC’s legal work, organizational strategies, public training and community outreach. Allegra has been a civil rights lawyer for over two decades years, focusing on advocating for the rights of women and the LGBTQ community. During that period of time she counseled and represented hundreds of women facing workplace sexual harassment and assault. Before founding GELC, Allegra was affiliated with Outten & Golden LLP and was a founding partner of Beranbaum, Menken, Ben-Asher & Fishel, both plaintiff-side employment and civil rights law firms. Allegra is a frequent lecturer on gender-based discrimination and through GELC has conducted legal and community-based trainings to the private bar, public advocates and to a variety of nonprofits and community groups. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University School of Law.
We’re very sorry that Ms. Echo-Hawk had an emergency and could not participate on the webinar. Please check out her and her organization’s great work here: http://www.uihi.org/
Abigail Echo-Hawk, MA
Urban Indian Health Institute
Director
Abigail Echo-Hawk, MA is an enrolled member of the Kitkehahki band of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. She is also a member of the Upper Athabascan people of Mentasta Village, Alaska. She was born in the heart of Alaska where she was raised in the traditional values of giving, respect for all and love. She is a graduate of the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and Minor in Human Rights, and a Master of Arts in Policy Studies. She previously served as the Co-Director and Tribal Liaison for Partnerships for Native Health at Washington State University-Spokane. In this role she oversaw the implementation and dissemination of 24 NIH funded grants with topics ranging from suicide prevention, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and more. Ms. Echo-Hawk focuses on policy advocacy in areas such as: maternal and child health, domestic violence, sexual assault, youth prostitution and educational disparities. Her greatest accomplishment however, is her place within her extended family. She is a wife, a mother, an auntie, a daughter, a granddaughter, a friend and a community member. Abigail strives to serve them with love and to be a small part of ensuring a great future for the next generations.
