Silicon Valley veteran to run women’s advocacy group

NEW YORK — A former Silicon Valley CEO is taking the helm of a prominent organization dedicated to the promotion of women in the workplace, saying the #Metoo era is a “fantastic time” to champion gender equality.

Lorraine Hariton has become CEO of the group Catalyst at a time when sexual misconduct scandals are ensnaring corporate executives. The departure of Pepsico’s CEO highlighted the tiny number of women leading Fortune 500 companies.

Hariton, whose appointment was announced Monday, said the #Metoo movement has pushed the spotlight on gender equality like nothing she has seen since she began her business career at IBM in the 1970s.

“Not only are women in the workplace on the front page, there is a major shift in attitude that allows us chart the future of the next generation,” she said.

Support has risen for policies designed to encourage both parents to remain in the workforce through policies that allow flexible hours and extended family leave.

Finding policies that work, though, has been touch-and-go.

And only about 5 percent of leadership posts at Fortune 500 companies are held by women, according to Catalyst.

Women are also being left behind in the proliferation of tech startups. Catalyst points to a 2017 study by Babson and Wellsley College that found 97 percent of venture capitalist money goes to companies led by male CEOS.

That issue is of special interest to Hariton, who said she raised

$50 million in venture capital during her time at Silicon Valley. She said promoting diversity in male-dominated venture capitalist firms needs to be a priority.

“The culture in technology is moving so fast that you end up with a young culture that is more like a frat environment, which makes it more difficult for women,” she said.