…By Jack Sylva for TDPel Media.
New CBI Director-General, Rain Newton-Smith, has said she “acted on” sexual harassment allegations and “supported staff who needed to raise them”.
Ms Newton-Smith began her new role on Wednesday and addressed the allegations of misconduct against former director general, Tony Danker.
More than a dozen women who worked for the CBI claimed they had been victims of sexual harassment, with two women alleging they had been raped.
Companies, including John Lewis, BMW, and Virgin Media O2, have left the CBI in light of the allegations.
Ms Newton-Smith, who had previously served as a chief economist at the organisation, has faced questions over her suitability as the new leader.
The CBI is one of the UK’s most prominent lobby groups and claims to represent 190,000 businesses.
Ms Newton-Smith said she didn’t feel there was a toxic culture within the organisation but acknowledged that staff members were “hurting” and “need time to heal”.
She hopes to hold an emergency meeting with remaining members in early June and stated that the company needs to “earn back that trust over the coming weeks and months”.
The decline of the CBI began in March when The Guardian published allegations of misconduct against Danker.
The publication revealed in April that more than a dozen women had approached it claiming they had been sexually harassed by colleagues at the CBI.
One woman said she had been raped.
In light of the allegations, dozens of UK companies, including Tesco and John Lewis, cancelled their membership of the CBI.