Fidelity deals with fallout after sex harassment allegations
The financial world may have its own problems with sexual harassment.
The manager of Fidelity Investments' stock-picking unit held an emergency meeting last week to reiterate the firm's policies against sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, a person familiar with the matter said.
The meeting followed the departure of two portfolio managers earlier this month after one was accused of sexual harassment and the other of making inappropriate comments, the person said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
Allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is raising questions across many industries about sexual harassment and how women are treated, especially in male-dominated industries like finance, technology and transportation. Ride-hailing app Uber came under fire for a sexist company culture after engineer Susan Fowler wrote in a blog post about her boss' unwanted advances, while the company's human resources department failed to act on her concerns. Uber ultimately ousted its CEO and made several management changes following the allegations.
The Fidelity meeting and allegations were previously reported by the Wall Street Journal. The firm has hired a consultant to review its employee behavior, the newspaper reported.
"Fidelity's policies specifically prohibit harassment in any form," company spokesman Vincent Loporchio said. "When allegations of these sorts are brought to our attention, we investigate them immediately and take prompt and appropriate action."
