A coalition of meetings industry associations has formed to combat sexual harassment.
Led by Carrie Abernathy, past-president and co-founder of the Association for Women in Events, and Kiki J. Fox, president and co-founder of the Association for Women in Events, the group counts AWE, ASAE, EIC, IAEE, IMEX, JMIC, MPI, PCMA and SITE as members.
The coalition will identify tools and develop resources to assist in educating individuals and the events industry about sexual harassment, according to the coalition, with a goal of eradicating sexual harassment in the events industry and in the workplace.
“It's imperative that our organizations present a united front against sexual harassment in the industry,” Fox said. “Together, we are declaring zero tolerance for behavior that harasses or discriminates.”
Fox is organizing action items and driving this initiative, and said the group’s next step is to produce a webinar that features experts on the topic.
The effort grew from the efforts of individual associations to address sexual harassment, with the realization that combining their efforts would be more effective.
“All the organizations came together because the ethical concerns and human rights would be better served working together, so we can stop sexual harassment from occurring in the industry,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV.
Meetings industry association leaders who have joined the task force are as follows:
- John H. Graham IV, president and CEO, ASAE.
- Susan Robertson, executive vice president, ASAE, and president, ASAE Foundation.
- Bob Skelton, chief administration officer, ASAE.
- Kiki J. Fox, president and co-founder, AWE.
- Carrie Abernathy, past-president and co-founder, AWE.
- Johnnie White, treasurer, AWE.
- Julie Sullivan, vice president, AWE.
- Nicole Unger, secretary, AWE.
- Karen Kotowski, CEO, EIC.
- Cathy Breden, COO, IAEE.
- Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX.
- Rod Cameron, executive director, JMIC.
- Amanda Armstrong, chair, MPI.
- Sherrif Karamat, president and CEO, PCMA.
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