• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
LeadershipraceAhead

Why Leslie Jones’s Harassment Is a Workplace Issue

Ellen McGirt
By
Ellen McGirt
Ellen McGirt
Down Arrow Button Icon
Ellen McGirt
By
Ellen McGirt
Ellen McGirt
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 25, 2016, 12:48 PM ET
Watch What Happens Live - Season 13
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE -- Pictured: Leslie Jones -- (Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)Charles Sykes — Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

This Leslie Jones story just keeps getting worse.

Jones, the comic, SNL actor, and one of the four female leads of the Ghostbusters reboot, has once again been the target of racist and sexist online abuse.

Yesterday, her personal website was taken down after hackers apparently posted personal information about her, including her passport and driver’s license, along with nude photos, and in a particularly grotesque twist, a video of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla who was killed by zoo officials after a child fell into his enclosure.

And what has now become a ritual, famous people in her sphere tweeted words of support, like this, from Lena Dunham: “Let’s turn our anger at trolls into love for Leslie Jones and into strategies to protect all the heroines who don’t deserve this bull@#$%.”

Let's turn our anger at trolls into love for Leslie Jones and into strategies to protect all the heroines who don't deserve this bullshit

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) August 24, 2016

 

It’s just not enough, says Rebecca Carroll, in a strongly worded opinion piece for The Guardian.

“Where is the practical response to this grotesque, debilitatingly mean-spirited violence? It’s one thing to offer her digital apologies for others’ racism. It’s another to actually take a stand to help eliminate it from our society.”

Sign up for raceAhead, Fortune’s daily newsletter on race and culture here.

What strikes me about this situation, and so many others that happen online, is that it has become a workplace issue.

Jones is a public figure, and like so many even semi-public ones—like marketers, publishers, game-makers, academics, researchers, journalists, lawyers and advocates, to name a few—she needs the public spaces of the internet and social media to amplify her work and brand. Yet she is being driven from these important tools because we, as a society, are unable to wrangle the racism and bullying beast in ourselves and each other.

At least when it happens online, we can see the problem.

But for many other people, race-based and other forms of workplace harassment happen behind closed doors. Where is the practical solution for this?

In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace released a thorough—and thoroughly grim—report on harassment in the workplace.

For more on Ghostbusters, watch this Fortune video:

The report says that of the 90,000 charges of discrimination received at the EEOC during their fiscal year 2015, one-third was for workplace harassment. The report also notes that up to 60% of workers have experienced race-based harassment in the workplace, and one study of LGBT employees reviewed by the report showed 41% of respondents said they had been verbally or physically abused by co-workers.

But that’s not the whole picture. Some three out of four employees who experienced some form of harassment based on their race, ethnicity, disability or LGBT status, never told their manager, supervisor or human relations contact, studies show.

“Most employers do very little training besides a policy in their handbook that states unlawful harassment is not acceptable,” says Karen A. Young, author and HR consultant. And the training that is in place, tends to focus on legal liability—to protect the company, not prevention—which protects and educates the employees. “We charge most line managers with handling these issues, and they are even less equipped to deal with the situation.”

And yet, front line leaders, trained, supported and empowered to have difficult and meaningful conversations are an important way to maintain a respectful and productive workplace, says the report. “However, even effective training cannot occur in a vacuum—it must be part of a holistic culture of non-harassment that starts at the top.”

Read the full report here.

Ellen McGirt writes Fortune’s raceAhead, a newsletter about race and culture.

About the Author
Ellen McGirt
By Ellen McGirt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Leadership

woman yellow shirt standing in front of ring light
SuccessSocial Media
Influencer marketing isn’t an experiment anymore as companies expand their creator advertising budgets
By Tatiana SatauaJuly 24, 2026
4 hours ago
dario
AIEconomics
Anthropic’s head of economics just explained why we haven’t seen a white-collar bloodbath — yet
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 24, 2026
5 hours ago
lebron
Arts & EntertainmentSports
LeBron James, the only billionaire currently active in the NBA, signs a minimum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers
By Catherina GioinoJuly 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Wealthy man in car
SuccessMillionaires
120 millionaires have signed a letter begging the British government to tax them more: ‘We can afford it’
By Emma BurleighJuly 24, 2026
8 hours ago
This CEO once bought a bankrupt furniture company for $80,000. At 95, he’s now given away millions
Successphilanthropy
This CEO once bought a bankrupt furniture company for $80,000. At 95, he’s now given away millions
By Sydney LakeJuly 24, 2026
8 hours ago
WPP’s sweeping restructure could save £500 million—the bigger challenge might be winning over workers 
C-SuiteWPP
WPP’s sweeping restructure could save £500 million—the bigger challenge might be winning over workers 
By Sam BirchallJuly 24, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Tech
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
2 days ago
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
16 hours ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 24, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 24, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 24, 2026
14 hours ago
Turns out Dead Internet Theory was right: AI agents are eating the Web, growing by nearly 8,000% and rewiring the Internet's business model
AI
Turns out Dead Internet Theory was right: AI agents are eating the Web, growing by nearly 8,000% and rewiring the Internet's business model
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.