CUs Tackle Anti-Harassment Policies

CUs discussing the creation of new conduct policies at conferences. (Source: Shutterstock)

Recent allegations of sexist, inappropriate behavior by some male attendees at CUNA’s 2019 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) are prompting credit union event organizers across the country to take a hard look at how conference attendees conduct themselves — a move that could set the stage for a wave of new anti-harassment policies and codes of conduct in the industry.

The scrutiny comes in the wake of a now-viral LinkedIn post in which Maps Credit Union Chief Risk Officer Rachel Pross said she witnessed a variety of offensive behaviors from several male GAC attendees, including unwelcome kissing and touching. Pross also said she was “repeatedly cut off, spoken over or blatantly dismissed” at a lunch with a male credit union CEO, and at one point during the conference, a male attendee allegedly walked up behind a female attendee and licked the woman’s bare shoulder.