The video news company NowThis announced an exclusive media partnership with the advocacy organization Time’s Up yesterday. NowThis is publishing news videos across its social platforms that feature policy initiatives affecting women in the workplace and challenges and successes of women across industries. They will feature issues including workplace gender inequity, paid parental leave, diversity in tech and the pay gap.
“Telling important stories about equality and justice is at the heart of what we do at NowThis, which is why we’re so excited to partner with the change makers at Time's Up,” says NowThis Chief Content Officer Tina Exarhos, “Together, we will shed a light and provide important information on the issues facing women in the workplace across all sectors.”
“Time's Up exists today because women from across industries — from actresses to farmworkers – bravely shared their stories. We’re thrilled to partner with NowThis so that more people from every background have a platform to raise their voices about the challenges they face at work,” Rebecca Goldman, interim CEO of Time's Up, said in a statement. “We know that impactful storytelling opens minds, touches hearts, and fuels social change, and we are excited to see what Time's Up and NowThis can accomplish together.”
Time's Up was started by a group of women in the entertainment industry in January 2018 and they've since expanded to include groups in a variety of industries nationwide. With a focus on helping women of all socioeconomic backgrounds, Time's Up partners with advocacy groups representing farm workers, restaurant workers and domestic workers. The organization launched the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, housed and administered by the National Women’s Law Center, which connects people who experience sexual misconduct at work with legal and public relations assistance. Time's Up recently launched Time's Up Healthcare to create a community for women in the male-dominated industry, provide resources for people impacted by sexual misconduct and advocate for policies that will help mitigate discrimination.
NowThis was started by Kenneth Lerer and Eric Hippeau, the founders of the venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau, in 2012 with a $5 million Series A from their firm. The 116-person team publishes dozens of videos a day across verticals including news, politics, food, sports, entertainment and money. The team says that NowThis reaches more than 115 million people and has 2.5 billion video views a month, making it one of the most-watched video news platforms on social media. Group Nine Media, a digital-first media holding company started by Ben Lerer in 2016, owns NowThis, The Dodo, Seeker, Thrillist and a branded content studio.
The first videos of the NowThis and Time’s Up partnership include pieces about how Time’s Up is fighting to close California's gender and racial pay gap, a 2019 Glassdoor gender pay gap study and an interview with the first woman to coach men’s professional rugby in the U.S., Tiffany Fa’ae’e.
