The Golden Globes, the first major televised Hollywood award ceremony since the #MeToo and #TIMESUP movements began, in early January were interesting to say the least. Dialogue at the award ceremony hosted and organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. centered social justice issues related to the #MeToo movement and the formation of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. Despite the fact that, for the most part, the issues of sexual harassment and abuse were front and center, Hollywood’s clarion call for social change continued to ring hollow in some aspects due to the community’s sluggishness to scrutinize certain figures.

Me Too, a movement related to the phrase used by activist Tarana Burke long before Alyssa Milano popularized it, came to international attention in 2017. The movement as forged a moment for victims of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault to publicly accuse abusers. Though the movement has affected the awards season to an extent, alleged abusers have still managed to  escape the harsh public eye. Journalist Ira Madison III, who addressed this issue in The Daily Beast, said, “It’s odd that during Hollywood’s progressive #TimesUp moment, past transgressions are brushed aside when faced with fresh ones” in reference to the Academy’s James Franco snub and Gary Oldman’s and Kobe Bryant’s concurrent nomination.

If Hollywood wants to effect real change, it must take accountability for its role in creating an environment that systematically benefits privileged men at the expense of women and minorities. This environment, while part of a larger culture of violence and discrimination, has enabled film industry powerhouses such as Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen to enjoy long, illustrious careers and can no longer continue.

The formation of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund, an organization powered by women that aims to address “the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential,” is a step forward in the road ahead for the Me Too movement.  

According to their website, the Legal Defense Fund will partner with  “leading advocates for equality and safety to improve laws, employment agreements, and corporate policies; help change the face of corporate boardrooms and the C-suite; and enable more women and men to access our legal system to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

TIME’S UP is a step forward in the move to effect real change for people who have long been victimized by a system that enables abusers.