Hire US Back™ partners with the best organizations to help survivors of sexual misconduct rebuild their lives by restarting their careers. It answers the great unmet need of the #MeToo era with a totally unique approach to understanding the victims and survivors who have too long been forgotten.
Too many hard-working women have been forced to leave their jobs, their industries and even their chosen careers because they stood their ground.
Research consistently confirms that women are reluctant to come forward and report sexual misconduct in the workplace out of fear — especially the fear of harming their careers. That has been the outcome for too many hard-working women who have been forced to leave their jobs, their industries and even their chosen careers because they stood their ground. When this is the aftermath of speaking out, the consequences to a woman’s income, health and self-esteem can be significant and often amount to another form of victimization.
While many top organizations believe their existing gender equality policies are sufficient to address this problem, survivors tell us that these conventional approaches do not address their life-changing experiences. Society is also looking for leadership by top organizations in more visibly addressing concerns arising from recent #MeToo era revelations.
While top organizations often believe their existing gender equality policies are sufficient to address this problem, survivors tell us that these conventional approaches do not fully meet their unique needs.
Hire US Back™ is a one-of-a-kind, survivor-driven initiative. Spearheaded by Kathleen Finlay, founder of The ZeroNow Campaign, it was created to fill this gap in workplace gender equity and help survivors of job-related sexual misconduct to heal. See our FAQ section for more details.
The need is clear: Too many women have paid for standing up against sexual harassment or sexual assault in the workplace with their jobs. Many have been forced to leave their positions as a result of a toxic or hostile environment created because they spoke out, or because of resentment and reprisals at the senior level. After they leave, many can’t get back into their chosen careers or find a comparable position elsewhere. Long periods of absence from the workplace frequently occur.
Survivors are typically fearful about even raising the reason why they left their previous employer. It is widely known that some organizations hold a bias against sexual misconduct victims, seeing them as potential trouble makers. It is also recognized that producing positive job references from the employer where the incident occurred can be difficult, if not impossible.
On top of this, victims are often humiliated by the experience of sexual misconduct and feel that, even if they could talk about it, it would be negatively perceived by a prospective employer who may have little understanding or training when it comes to the realities of sexual misconduct.
Survivors who have experienced sexual misconduct feel they have been left on the sidelines, unable to contribute the full value of their talent and experience in a workplace that seems to have forgotten about them. The status quo is not working.
Organizations that take the position that any victim can apply for a job in the normal way just don’t get it when it comes to sexual misconduct.
The end result is that too many women who have experienced sexual misconduct feel they have been left on the sidelines, unable to contribute the full value of their talent and experience in a workplace that seems to have forgotten about them.
Hire US Back™ was created to change this narrative. When organizations become a Hire US Back™ partner, it means they have been vetted for their commitment to, and performance in achieving, zero tolerance for sexual misconduct. It means they have built a safe workplace that values the dignity and respect of everyone, and that those values start at the top and are embraced throughout the organization.
Our partners are committed to providing a secure and unthreatening path for survivors to return to the workplace, and in a manner that best suits them, by accommodating the various emotional and structural needs they have after a traumatic encounter with sexual wrongdoing. As a survivor-created initiative that works with victims every day, we know what those limitations are and how they can best be addressed.
Our approach is unique because it is based on the first-hand experiences and teachable lessons of survivors themselves.
Hire US Back™ works with both the hiring organization and the survivor in achieving a smooth reentry into a fulfilling career path. Our role, in addition to ensuring this high standard of aspiration and compliance, is to promote the organization’s involvement in this ground-breaking initiative and work with it to implement our Hire US Back™ blueprint to support survivors and integrate them safely back into the workplace. Our approach, and the entire content of our Hire US Back™ program, is unique because it is based on the first-hand experiences and teachable lessons of survivors themselves.
We are the only advocacy organization of our kind in North America to provide this service. It is truly the next wave in the unfolding #MeToo era that is transforming society and the organizations that are part of it.
Survivors of sexual misconduct who have been frozen out of the workplace have been forgotten for too long. It is time for all of us, and especially our best organizations, to show they are valued and respected.
Standing up and with these courageous heroes of the everyday workplace and helping to rebuild their careers is the best stand any leader or organization can take when it comes to fighting discrimination and sexual misconduct.
Hire US Back™ is the gateway to the next frontier in #MeToo.
Would you like to discuss becoming a Hire US Back™ partner? Contact Kathleen Finlay here.