Los Angeles, CA – Tonight, Mónica Ramírez, President of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas and Deputy Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), joins award-winning actress Laura Dern at the 2018 Golden Globes. Ramírez and Dern are attending along with other long-time gender and racial justice advocates and activists for gender and racial justice Tarana Burke, Marai Larasi, Rosa Clemente, Ai-jen Poo, Calina Lawrence, Billie Jean King Billie Jean King and Saru Jayaraman, and actresses Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep, Shailene Woodley, Emma Stone and Amy Poehler supporting victims and survivors of sexual harassment, assault and abusive workplaces. Actresses in attendance are all members of the TIME’S UP campaign, which aims to promote gender equity and end workplace sexual violence in the entertainment industry, along with other industries.
“We are incredibly honored to take part in this historic moment. It marks the beginning of the end of forcing women to endure violence in silence, to accept less than what they are worth and to believe that they will be alone if they dare to speak out. TIME’S UP on the imbalance of power,” said Laura Dern.
The TIME’S UP campaign was created in the fall of 2017 following public disclosures by women workers in their industry about the workplace sexual violence against them committed by powerful industry colleagues during their career. On November 10, 2017, Alianza published an open-letter in Time Magazine addressed to women workers in the entertainment industry, acknowledging their shared experience of suffering from wide-spread workplace sexual violence, and the paralyzing fear that triggers silence. On January 1, 2018, the TIME’S UP campaign responded to Alianza’s letter and announced their decision to create the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund to help individuals across all industries who experience sexual misconduct, including assault, abuse or harassment, to find legal representation. The campaign has also announced additional initiatives that it is launching to address this problem and promote equity for all people.
Farmworker women have been organizing against workplace sexual violence for over three decades. Ramírez and other members of Alianza are trailblazers on this issue who have engaged in significant policy advocacy, developed important tools, and accrued years of experience organizing to address and prevent this issue, not to mention support victims and survivors of violence and gender discrimination.
“Sexual harassment, assault, and exploitation are issues that are bigger than any one person or any one industry. Ending these problems requires all of us working together in a concerted, strategic manner. Farmworker women have been standing up and speaking out against sexual violence in the workplace for decades. We proudly stand in our power with our sisters in the entertainment industry and everyone committed to ending these abuses. We are unwavering in our dedication to ensuring that all people can work with dignity under safe and equitable conditions, whether they are working in the agricultural fields across our nation, on the big screen or any other place,” Ramírez said.
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