The first set of recommendations will be released at the end of next month

A new task force has been formed to identify and eliminate sexual harassment in the advocacy industry. The Force to End Harassment in Advocacy group was created by six organizations representing lobbyists and other government affairs professionals: H Street Group, Hispanic Lobbyists Association, National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics, Q Street, the Washington Government Relations Group and Women in Government Relations. The first set of recommendations is targeted for release at the end of September.

"We really want to make progress. We want to make sure that people understand the issue and we want to give people real honest-to-goodness recommendations on how to move forward and eradicate sexual harassment," said task force Chair Stephanie Craig, founder and president of the Apeiron Strategy Group. "I have first-hand knowledge of friends—men and women—who have had their lives and careers affected by this. We hope our recommendations will be widely adopted by advocacy community."

Changing a toxic workplace can be difficult, and only 32 percent of Americans say that their employers have taken steps to eliminate sexual harassment at work, according to a recent survey by the American Psychology Association.

"The #MeToo movement has given business leaders an opportunity to finally take real action addressing a complex problem that has been pervasive for generations," said David W. Ballard, director of APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, which is not participating in the task force. "Avoiding the issue is bad for employee well-being and business, but so, too, is a narrow, compliance-based approach. We know from psychological science that relying solely on mandated training designed primarily to limit the organization's legal liability is unlikely to be effective."

Craig said that 40,000 people are currently being surveyed by email within the legal, media, lobbying and grassroots advocacy professions and the results will be released with the first batch of recommendations. The task force is planned to be a permanent group that will meet on a monthly basis.

"As we go down this path, we will refine [the task force recommendations]. We all keep learning how to affect change," Craig said. "Sexual harassment happens, and we are trying to do something about it."

The members of the task force are:
—Kyle Coleman, director of federal and government affairs for the National Restaurant Association
—Nicolette Davis of AFLAC
—Larry Gonzalez of Raben Group and president of the Hispanic Lobbyists Association
—Dena Graziano, director of federal government affairs at Symantec
—Kimberly Hayes Pollard of We Strategies and a member of Women in Government Relations
—Jocelyn Hong, a principal at 21st Century group and board member of H Street Group, an association representing the Asian-American lobbying community
—Denise Krepp of KDRKrepp Consulting
— Marcus Mason of the Madison Group and president of the Washington Government Relations Group, an association for African-American GR professionals
— Paul Miller of Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies and president of the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics
—Kristen Nicholson, director of government affairs at Congress Too, an organization of former Hill staffers
—Jodi Richardson, a public affairs advisor for Holland and Knight
—Priscilla VanderVeer, deputy vice president for public affairs at PhRMA
—Lauren Wilson, vice president at PACE, LLP, and a board member of Q Street, an association for LGBT lobbyists and public policy advocates

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