Peering out of the cab, I wondered if the driver had heard me correctly. As if he was reading my mind, he stops, turns around and says “130 Bowery Street.” I skeptically think ‘I guess this is it.’ I step out in my black cocktail dress, heels and red lipstick into the bustling streets of Chinatown and to my relief, see my destination across the street looking out of place. Capitale, a gorgeous ballroom and “New York’s premiere event location”, according to their website, sticks out among the takeout restaurants and bodegas.
I never expected my summer internship to land me at a gala in New York City where I would stand two feet from Amy Schumer. But it did land me there, at the Women’s Media Awards hosted by the Women’s Media Center, where I spent the summer working in Washington, DC. I was here in New York City, at the gala, to celebrate the accomplishments of women who are changing the conversation for women in the media
The venue was empty, but the event planners and staff were scurrying around preparing for the throng of people to walk through the doors. The red carpet was set up on the left, the (open) bar on the right, and beyond the doors was the ballroom where in one hour, six media trailblazers and a number of my feminist heroines would take the stage.
Two of the Women’s Media Center co-founders, Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan, arrived a bit early for photos and interviews. Unfortunately, the third, Jane Fonda, could not make it because she is currently filming Grace and Frankie out west. My job was to help Gloria and Robin with anything they needed, but they are smart, independent women, so it was an easy job.
VIP guests started rolling in including Sally Field, Diane Lane and her daughter Eleanor Lambert, Pat Mitchell, CNN correspondent Sally Kohn, Debra Winger, executive producer Regina Scully, Rosario Dawson, but I was anxious for the much anticipated arrival of my new favorite comedian. The new intern in the office came up behind me and whispered “Amy Schumer will be here in fifteen,” so naturally I stood by the door and waited like the calm, cool, and collected woman that I am.
She walked right past me onto the red carpet looking more serious than I expected. It didn’t last long. Once we were all seated in the ballroom, her first words were “I’m wearing the shortest dress, you’re probably getting a photo of my clitoris right now.” All jokes aside, she had an important message for the audience. She said that in the film industry, “over 85 percent of directors, producers, writers, and editors were men.” The media landscape is a bleak place for women, particularly in Hollywood. In a ten year study of the Emmys, the Women’s Media Center found that women have received only 22 percent of the nominations for writing, directing, producing, and editing. The media is still very much a male-dominated field, which is particularly dangerous. As Gloria Steinem says, “it’s hard to think of anything except air, food and water that is more important than the media…it creates the idea of normal, especially for groups that have been on the periphery.” The Women’s Media Center, which takes initiative to correct this bias, is a nonprofit organization that works to make women’s voices more visible and powerful in the media. Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan cofounded it ten years ago when they decided that the media should not dictate our understanding of the world with 51% of the voices left out.
The Women’s Media Center works to ensure that women’s realities are covered and women’s voices are heard. To do so, they take a number of initiatives to correct the media bias including media monitoring, training women to participate in media and producing original content online, in print and on the radio. I worked for SheSource, a braintrust of female experts that journalists, bookers and producers who need sources and guests when news stories break. By providing a database of 1,000 women, women’s voices are becoming part of the conversation.
The Women’s Media Center honored six women with awards. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project was awarded the WMC Digital Media Award. Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy earned the WMC Speaking Truth to Power Award for her journalism which she has been jailed, beaten and raped for. Padmasree Warrior was awarded the WMC Carol Jenkins Visible and Powerful Media Award as the former Chief Technology & Strategy Officer of Cisco. Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, coanchors of the PBS NewsHour received the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award. Finally, Marlo Thomas, awardwinning actress and National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, earned the WMC Breakthrough Media Award.
Attending the Women’s Media Awards was an incredible experience. I am so fortunate to have spent the evening with women who I have looked up to for so long, and who have evoked so much positive change in the world for women, people of color and the LGBTQ community. It was inspiring to be in a room surrounded by powerful and passionate women who are uplifting the new generation of feminist, like myself. The energy and positivity was electric, and a beautiful reminder of why we fight the fight. When the gala ended, I was lucky enough to snag a few minutes and a picture with Gloria Steinem. I said goodbye to my wonderful boss, Kate, stuffed my bag with complimentary Georgetown cupcakes and left hoping to return in the future for my own award.