CBS Corp.’s board of directors is allowing CEO Leslie Moonves to remain at the helm of the company amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Out of the 15 leaders serving on the majority white and male board of directors, of which Moonves is the chair, only three are women. The directors decided in a meeting on Monday that Moonves would continue to lead its 100 percent male executive team as an investigation takes place.
The company said in a statement, “Its Board of Directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting.
“Additionally, the board determined to postpone CBS Corporation’s 2018 annual meeting of stockholders that was previously scheduled to be held on Aug. 10, 2018.”
The New Yorker published an article last week detailing the accounts of the six women accusing Moonves of sexual harassment between the 1980s and ’90s.
“Four described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, in what they said appeared to be a practiced routine,” according to the magazine.
Two said, “Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers. All said that he became cold or hostile after they rejected his advances, and that they believed their careers suffered as a result.”
Moonves has acknowledged he had made mistakes in making advances to some women but denied using his position to harm anyone’s career.
“He has gotten away with it for decades,” writer Janet Jones, one of the accusers, told The New Yorker. “And it’s just not O.K.”
