In the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, addressing workplace harassment has never been more important or timely, including in the events industry. To address this pressing issue, the Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force will be hosting its first webinar on Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. ET, which is free and open to the public, with attendance within the events industry encouraged.

Titled “Understanding and Eliminating Workplace Harassment,” this interactive webinar will define workplace harassment, review the different types of sexual harassment and give participants a chance to make judgment calls on a variety of scenarios and mini case studies. In addition, strategies will be covered for curating events and work environments to mitigate workplace harassment issues. 

“The Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force wanted to make sure that we didn’t lose momentum on the #MeToo topic, and so we worked to put out engaging and compelling education as soon as possible,” explained Carrie Abernathy, chair of the Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force, past-president for the Association for Women in Events (AWE) and vice president of thought leadership and strategy for the Convenience Distribution Association.

She continued, “The webinar is the first of our offerings and we are working with an expert in the field to tackle the subject of not only identifying but eradicating sexual harassment in the workplace. While there may be training that exists for those in the hospitality industry, we want to open this up as a free offering to anyone – no affiliation with an organization required. By providing a free course backed by several industry organizations, we hope to gain the greatest reach in the events and hospitality realms.”

Launched in May of this year, the Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force is a coalition of industry organizations dedicated to eradicating sexual harassment in the events industry and comprises leaders and executives from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE); AWE; the Events Industry Council (EIC); IMEX Group; the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC): Meeting Professionals International (MPI); the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).

To learn more about the Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force, go HERE.

Sponsored by AWE, IMEX, MPI and SITE, with content support provided by MPI, and hosted by Martin C. Lowery of OpusVertex International, the webinar is an integral part of the Task Force’s mission to identify tools and develop new resources to assist in educating individuals and the events industry about sexual harassment. 

“Let’s share our stories, learn from each other and create safer environments at work and onsite at events,” said Amanda Armstrong, chair of the international board of directors at MPI and assistant vice president of Enterprise Holdings. “We look forward to Martin Lowery’s webinar that will share facts, identify common scenarios and suggest professional ways to handle occurrences.”

To sign up for this complimentary webinar, go HERE. The conversation can also be followed on social media using the hashtag #MeetingsToo.