The Women's Media Center announced this morning that Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) will join the Women's Media Center Board of Directors and will give Closing Remarks at WMC 2018 Women's Media Awards on November 1st at Capitale in New York City.

WMC AWARDS will be presented to outstanding leaders and champions for women in media, including Lisa Borders, Abigail Disney, Fatima Goss Graves, Cindy Holland, Maria Teresa Kumar, and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Soledad O'Brien, three-time Emmy-winning anchor and producer of “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien,” founder and CEO of Starfish Media Group, and a past WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER honoree, will host the WOMEN’S MEDIA AWARDS.

Racial disparities in the job market not only disproportionately impact how much money black women earn — it can affect our career trajectories, too, leaving us with less opportunity to advance in the job market. For example, I’m a journalist, and have been for six years. According to a report from Women’s Media Center, women make up 32 percent of staff in U.S newsrooms, but women of color represent just 7.95 percent.

Most kids want to see more female superheroes and superheroes that look like them.

According to a new study by the Women’s Media Center and BBC America released Monday, most girls believe there are not enough female role models, strong female characters and relatable female characters on film and television. Both girls and boys agree that they’d like to see more female superheroes on-screen.

The world still needs more superheroes who are women, according to the findings of a report from BBC America in collaboration with the Women’s Media Center. The science fiction genre is not inclusive enough, says the study, which looked at how the depictions of women on screen affect young women and girls and presented its findings in a series of infographics.

“Media tells us our roles in society,” the report’s introduction reads. The bottom line: Children believe there is not enough representation in the superhero and sci-fi genres, and they want more superheroes and role models who look like them.

A new study suggests the gender gap in onscreen representation in superhero and sci-fi films and TV series can have real-world effects on even the youngest consumers of such media. Teenage girls are less likely than boys to describe themselves as confident, brave and listened to, and nearly two-thirds of girls 10-19 say they don't see enough role models or strong and relatable characters of their own gender onscreen. The study, titled SuperPowering Girls and conducted by BBC America and the Women's Media Center, says better onscreen representation can help close the confidence gap for girls and allow them to see themselves as leaders and heroes.

The number of articles on sexual assault has increased more than 30% between May 2017 and August 2018, according to a study of the content of headlines, bylines, and articles on 15,228 pieces of news conducted by the Women’s Media Center. When articles focused solely on the#MeToo movement are added, total coverage has increased 52%, according to the report.