The fight against sexual harassment in workplace is taking on US healthcare
Image: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Stay up to date:
Gender Inequality
A campaign that began amid the #MeToo movement to battle workplace sexual harassment launched a new effort on Thursday to fight misconduct in the giant U.S. healthcare industry, organizers said.
Time's Up Healthcare will promote policies to make healthcare leadership more gender-balanced and accountable and address workplace discrimination, harassment and abuse, said the leaders of its parent organization, Time's Up, in a statement.
Time's Up was launched at the start of 2018 by actresses, writers and others in the entertainment industry to broaden efforts to fight sexual harassment in the workplace beyond Hollywood and fund expenses for people taking legal action.
It was set up following multiple accusations in late 2017 of sexual misconduct against actors and filmmakers, fueled by the #MeToo social media movement that has since engulfed the worlds of politics and business.
Healthcare workers are the second-largest group of people who have contacted Time's Up seeking legal help, after workers in arts and entertainment, the group said.
Women hold four out of five jobs in healthcare but only one in 10 of its chief executive jobs, it said.
"We are well represented in this workforce but not in positions of power," said Dr. Esther Choo, one of the founders of Time's Up Healthcare, in a statement.
A study presented at a recent an annual meeting of medical professionals - said 58 percent of women surgeons had experienced sexual harassment in the preceding 12 months of the research, compared with 25 percent of male surgeons.
Most women surveyed said they did not report the incidents, citing a fear of retribution or a negative impact on their career, the study said.
More than 13 million people are employed in the U.S. healthcare industry, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit group that focuses on national health issues.
Time's Up's first chief executive, Lisa Borders, resigned earlier this month after her son was accused of sexual assault.
Its legal fund for victims of workplace sexual harassment raised more money - more than $20 million - on the popular GoFundMe online site than any other cause last year.
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Forum Stories newsletter
Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.
More on Equity, Diversity and InclusionSee all
Ira Martopullo and Paulo Neves
May 30, 2025
Thelma Obiakor and Bisong Anthony Ekpang
May 23, 2025
Victor Dzau and Paula Bellostas Muguerza
May 21, 2025
Silja Baller
May 15, 2025
Tea Trumbic and Dhivya O’Connor
May 13, 2025
Harrison Lung and Hatem Bamatraf
May 7, 2025