iWOMAN hosted its first “Global Spotlight on Women” thought symposium on September 19th to empower women from the C-Suite to Hollywood to address inequities that adversely impact working women. The event brought together 80 of the top women executives from the entertainment industry, business, and banking, along with several world leaders and other industries that support doing business in New York City. The Global Spotlight on Women featured panels of women at the top of their fields to make a joint pact to ensure women are treated equally in all industries, paying special attention to the jobs in media and entertainment.
On a beautifully warm fall day, women from across industries gathered together at Gracie Mansion to dissect issues related to gender-pay equity and DEI, then share solutions-based action items to highlight steps the city can take to further its women-forward agenda.
The event kicked off with a chance for attendees to meet and mingle, fostering an environment where women at the top of their game could network and get to know the other changemakers in their industries. After sparking new connections and meeting new friends, attendees filed into the ballroom to begin the day’s important conversations vital to advancing the city’s women-forward plans.
While everyone enjoyed their vegan meal prepared by Mayor Adams’ personal chef, legendary television, film, and theater producer Debra Martin Chase set the tone with an inspirational fireside chat. Alongside iWOMAN Founder Cathleen Trigg-Jones, Martin Chase spoke about her time coming up in the industry as a Black woman. Her lucrative career is a testament to how hard work pays off. But her passion for the industry and desire to see more stories on the big screen featuring people who looked like her was the driving force that led to her success.
When she got her deal with Walt Disney after her work on “The Princess Diaries,” she realized she was one of the first, if not the first, Black woman to get such a deal. It proved she really had people in important positions truly believe in her and her vision. Martin Chase continues to break barriers in the entertainment industry and paves the way for the generations that walk behind her.
After hearing about Debra Martin Chase’s story, the first panel of the day was introduced. The goal of this first discussion was to highlight gender pay equity in the workplace and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that have become vital to a successful company culture in the past few years.
Moderator and former head of DEIA at Amazon, Latasha Gillespie, started our panelists off by asking how we can take DEI initiatives seen globally and apply them more locally. Panelist Claudia Romo Edelman has first-hand experience with this aspect of DEI with her organization We Are All Human, which specifically works on creating more equitable environments for all across the globe.
A highlight of the first panel was the discussion of pay equity and “like for like” jobs. Panelists Sideya Sherman, Erika Irish Brown, and Stacie de Armas all offered up the same question: How can we have pay equity when higher paying roles are not filled with diverse candidates to begin with? Women and people of color get paid significantly less than men, and part of that discrepancy can be attributed to these women and people of color not even having the opportunity to work these high-paying jobs in the first place. Could this be because roles that are generally held by women and people of color are undervalued, therefore given lower salaries, because they are roles typically held by women and people of color?
This led into the second panel of the day, “The Action Plan. Problems cannot be solved without solutions.” The next set of panelists are experts at taking action in DEI and solving problems in meaningful and measurable ways.
Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Workforce Development & Educational Initiatives for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, discussed how New York City has done exceptional work at hiring female-led productions to shoot television and film in NYC. However, this is still relatively exclusive to NYC, and they want to work to make that more prevalent in all production locations, not just here. If people can see that the biggest city in the country can prioritize working with women and uplifting them and their businesses, then they can hopefully do it themselves.
Nadja Webb, EVP of Programming Business Operations at BET Networks, echoed the importance of having diverse teams not just on productions but in all industries. Diversity is good business, and it drives engagement.
Another changemaker on the panel was Esi Eggleston Bracey, the Chief Growth & Marketing Officer at Unilever. Her efforts to propel diversity, equity, and inclusion in her industry and beyond have been extremely successful. She was one of the driving forces in getting Crown Act legislation written and passed. The Crown Act is a law that prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on hair. Historically, Black men and women have been told their natural hairstyles are “unprofessional,” with companies forcing these employees to cut their hair or change the way they wear it to better fit with the Western European standard of beauty. The Crown Act prohibits this behavior, protecting men and women of color from being discriminated against because of their hairstyle. So far, 28 states have passed the Crown Act.
All the women on this panel strive to make meaningful changes in their industries toward more diversity, equity, and inclusion. When Shannon Steel, Founder of Steel Private Bank, found out she was not being given the same opportunities in finance as the men around her were, she took matters into her own hands. She paid for her own series, books, and capital in order to become a stockbroker. Soon, she was one of the top stockbrokers at her firm, and she now owns her own bank.
Hearing these women speak and share not only their own stories, but the stories of people around them resulted in an insightful and inspiring event. The attendees left feeling connected and empowered, eager to continue the work they are doing to advance DEI in their respective industries.
The first Global Spotlight on Women was a smash success, thanks to the collaboration of so many women and women-led companies who supported iWOMAN and Cathleen Trigg-Jones’ vision to nurture a space where women at the top of their game could come together to discuss the growing changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion across industries. These women are the leaders of the future generation and are doing a phenomenal job ensuring workplace diversity and equal pay are not just the hope for the future but a reality right now.
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