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A special commission to combat sexual harassment in the entertainment and media industries will be chaired by lawyer and academic Anita Hill, the BBC reported.

The first meeting of the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace was attended by a wide range of industry giants.

Spearheaded by female executives, including ‘Star Wars’ producer Kathleen Kennedy, it will reconvene in 2018.

It comes after a string of allegations made against dozens in Hollywood.

The group was announced on Friday following a meeting convened by Ms Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, Nike co-chair Maria Eitel, lawyer Nina Show and venture capitalist Freada Kapor Klein.

A wide range of industry leaders attended the first meeting, including the chairman of Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony and Universal.

The commission said it will meet in the New Year to define its scope and priorities in the wake of weeks of allegations against prominent industry figures, including Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

“The commission will not seek just one solution, but a comprehensive strategy to address the complex and inter-related causes of the problems of parity and power,” Ms Kennedy said.

Anita Hill brought sexual harassment to national prominence in the US in 1991 when she publically testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her boss at the Department for Education and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She is now a professor at Brandeis University in Boston.