The Women’s Media Center Celebrates Women History Makers: Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, Gloria Steinem Toast 21 Years of Feminist Journalism and Activism

New York, NY: (March 6^th, 2026) — THE WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER hosted their 21^st Anniversary WOMEN’S MEDIA AWARDS on March 5^th at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City.

The WMC AWARDS were presented to outstanding leaders and champions for women in media. This year’s WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards honorees were:

• Margot Wallström, Sweden’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the first United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, was honored with the WMC Robin Morgan Sisterhood is Powerful Award.
• Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, President & CEO, Knight Foundation, was honored with the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Barbara Kopple, two-time Academy Award-winning, Emmy-winning director, producer, and activist, was honored with the WMC Ahead of Her Time Award.
• Paola Ramos, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and author, was honored with the WMC Carol Jenkins Award.
• Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director, Voces de la Frontera, was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award.
• Julie F. Kay, Founder and CEO of Reproductive Futures, was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award.
• Chandra Childers, Senior Policy and Economic Analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award.

WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER Co-Founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, Gloria Steinem, and WMC President & CEO Julie Burton spoke or presented awards at the gala. WMC Board Chair Janet Dewart Bell, WMC Board Co-Chair Emerita Pat Mitchell, WMC Board Vice Chair Erica González Martínez, and WMC Board Members Soraya Chemaly, Donna Deitch, and Lauren Embrey, also helped celebrate the honorees at the gala.

Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, gave virtual opening remarks via video.

The Women’s Media Awards Co-Chairs were: Loreen Arbus, Donna Deitch, Kiehl Friedman Family, Mellody Hobson, Cindy Holland, Carlene C. Laughlin, Cynthia McFadden, Michelle Mercer & Bruce Golden, Pat Mitchell, Susan Pritzker, Sheryl Sandberg, Regina K. Scully, Alexandra Shiva, and Mary & Steven Swig.

Additional support for the WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards included the Artemis Rising Foundation, Christensen Fund, Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, Abigail Disney, Lauren Embrey, and Jenny Warburg. Proceeds from these awards support the work of the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER.

Attendees for the WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards included past WMC Award honorees S. Mitra Kalita, Maria Hinojosa, Lauren Embrey, Donna Deitch, and Pat Mitchell. Other attendees included Arianna Huffington, Vanessa Vadim, Christy Tanner, and Georgia Levenson Keohane.

Julie Burton, President, and CEO of the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER, said “When we started the Women’s Media Center 21 years ago, we framed the future with a clear mission: we wanted to see more women in media, hear more women in media, and read more articles by women in media. We have made progress, but change doesn’t come without a fight. We at the Women’s Media Center stand firm in our work for equality and opportunity for women in media and beyond. This year, our Women’s Media Awards celebrate 21-year milestones for women’s representation in media and honor champions for women who set the standard for what media should look like when it gives voice to the female half of the country.”

Past WMC honorees include: Luvvie Ajayi, Yamiche Alcindor, Christiane Amanpour, Loreen Arbus, Amma Asante, Laura Bates, Samantha Bee, Ursula Burns, Aliyah Chavez, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Katie Couric, Donna Deitch, Abigail Disney, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Mona Eltahawy, Lauren Embrey, Rahna Epting, America Ferrera, Jane Fonda, Jenice Fountain, Fatima Goss Graves, Mariska Hargitay, Maria Hinojosa, Cindy Holland, Sarah Hoye, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Weijia Jiang, Sheila C. Johnson, Dr. Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ashley Judd, Gayle King, Maria Teresa Kumar, Laura Ling and Lisa Ling, Dahlia Lithwick, Lara Logan, Eva Longoria, Zerlina Maxwell, Karen Lincoln Michel, Andrea Mitchell, Pat Mitchell, Samhita Mukhopadhyay, Rebecca Nagle, Martha Nelson, Soledad O’Brien, Salma Hayek Pinault, Elianne Ramos, Joy Reid, Robin Roberts, Loretta J. Ross, April Ryan, María Elena Salinas, Anita Sarkeesian, Regina K. Scully, Mary Thom, Marlo Thomas, Salamishah Tillet, Mariana Ardila Trujillo, Barbara Walters, Padmasree Warrior, Lindy West, Fredricka Whitfield, and Maggie Wilderotter.

About the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER (WMC):

Founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER (WMC) is a feminist organization that works for gender representation and equality in media. The WMC mission is to make women visible and powerful in the media.

WMC programs address unequal representation and misrepresentation of women in media through interconnected strategies to: 1) Research, document, and produce reports in the WMC Media Lab that highlight the status of women in U.S. media, equip activists with evidence, and create benchmarks to hold media accountable; 2) Train women leaders and experts to be effective in media and increase their thought leadership through WMC Progressive Women’s Voices and customized training and leadership programs; 3) Recruit and promote women experts to the media through WMC SheSource; and 4) Investigate, report, and publish original online and on-air journalism to expand women’s voices and representation.

For media information about the Women’s Media Awards, contact James Grant at JGPR: james@jamesgrantpr.com.

For more information about the ongoing work of the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER, go to: www.womensmediacenter.com.