Newsletter: Annual Appeal
Dear Friend,
As we approach the end of 2021, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support, your commitment to equity within our communities and workplaces, and your partnership as we work to ensure survivors own their stories and truths.
Our mission is clear: create safe work environments for everyone – our family, friends, and neighbors – so they can pursue their careers and make a living in a tolerant, respectful workplace. But to do this, we must eliminate the mechanisms that restrict workers' ability to speak out about their own experiences and perpetuate toxicity.
As we look ahead to 2022, we hope to count on your support to continue our mission.
In the two years since our founding, thousands of survivors have spoken to us about being silenced after experiencing workplace toxicity such as harassment, assault, discrimination or misogyny. Through our work at Lift Our Voices, we are reminded time and again that our experiences at FOX News were not unique, and that's why we are more dedicated than ever to creating lasting change. We do this work to lift up the single mom earning minimum wage, fired for being pregnant, and stripped of her right to speak out forever in exchange for a paltry severance. We do this work to lift up the woman sexually harassed by her boss, pushed out of her job simply for standing up for herself, and silenced by an obscure clause in her contract that prevents her from talking about her trauma, if she so chooses, with family, friends or colleagues, who could be impacted by similar experiences. We do this for those in the LBGTQ+ community who are afraid to come forward out of fear of being discriminated against at work.
We are proud of Lift Our Voices' significant accomplishments in a short amount of time.
Most recently, advanced federal bipartisan legislation in Congress in Congress that would prohibit the use of forced arbitration in cases of sexual assault and harassment. This process prevents survivors from having their day in court and holding employers accountable for abusive workplaces.
Supported the passage of the Silenced No More Act in California, signed by Governor Newsom in September, which further protects survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and workplace discrimination.
Advocated on behalf of legislation in Massachusetts that would ban nondisclosure agreements for sexual assault and harassment in public agencies.
Welcomed our first executive director, Sarvenaz Bakhtiar, to help lead the organization.
We are proud of our accomplishments, but we are just starting to scratch the surface. In 2022, we plan to:
Pass the federal bipartisan legislation in both the House and the Senate to end forced arbitration.
Work to ban NDAs for toxic workplace issues in additional states.
Launch a robust data and research project to quantify the depth and breadth these silencing mechanisms have on workforce retention, especially among communities that are all too often ignored or silenced.
Continue working with major corporations to encourage an end to nondisclosure agreements that silence employees and prevent them from speaking out to protect others who might also experience harassment in the workplace.
With your help today, we can end the silencing pandemic that protects predators at the expense of survivors. Will you consider a personally meaningful gift today? You can make your year-end gift to Lift Our Voices here, or or here is a donation form that details that details how to send your donation.
Let's work together to ensure that Lift Our Voices has the resources to advocate on behalf of everyone who has been silenced in the workplace. Let's hold abusers accountable and end the use of these silencing mechanisms once and for all.
Warm wishes for a healthy, happy, and more just New Year.
— Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky | Co-Founders, Lift Our Voices