2024 WMC Women’s Media Awards Recognize Leaders in Film, Television, Journalism, and Activism
Women are diverse, complicated, powerful, and resilient in the ongoing fight for gender equality and other civil rights. And in this election year, the stakes seem be to higher than ever before. That was the general consensus in speeches and conversations at the 2024 Women’s Media Center Women’s Media Awards, which were presented on September 19 at the JW Marriott Essex House in New York City.
Speaking to WMC exclusively before taking the stage to accept the WMC Carol Jenkins Award, NBC News Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor said: “I wouldn’t presume to tell women around the world what’s the most important issue to them. I think, for me, the most important thing about my job is that I go out and find the answer to that question — whether that’s abortion, whether that’s the economy, education. The beautiful thing about covering women and covering people in this country is that there’s an array of issues that are important to women across this country. And I feel honored to have that responsibility as a journalist to find that out.”
The other honorees this year included America Ferrera (recipient of the first WMC Gloria Steinem Visible and Powerful Award) and Emmy-winning director/writer/producer Donna Deitch (WMC Ahead of Her Time Award). The three recipients of the 2024 WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award — selected from diverse women leaders who have participated in the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices media and leadership training program — are Pulso founder and CEO Liz Rebecca Alarcón, MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting, and Yellowhammer Fund executive director Jenice Fountain. Chicken & Egg Pictures — a nonprofit group founded in 2005 to give funding to documentary film projects by women, nonbinary people, and gender-nonconforming people — was honored with the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award. The Chicken & Egg Pictures award recipients were the organization’s co-founders Wendy Ettinger, Judith Helfand, and Julie Parker Benello, as well as CEO Jenni Wolfson.
WMC president Julie Burton greeted attendees by thanking participants and colleagues and commenting: “The Women’s Media Center wants to see more diverse women in media, hear more diverse women in media, and read more articles by diverse women in media. We fight for this goal every day.”
WMC co-founder Gloria Steinem, who attended the ceremony, said in her prerecorded introduction for actress/filmmaker/activist Ferrera, who is the Emmy-winning star of Ugly Betty and the Oscar-nominated co-star of Barbie: “America, you are brave and you are bold. You embody so much of what I value and have fought for throughout my life. It means a lot to me personally that this first-ever award in my name is going to you.” Steinem added that Ferrera was receiving this award “for her groundbreaking portrayals of real women in film and television; for using her powerful and courageous voice to demand fairness, respect, and opportunity for all; and for shifting the culture through her work as a remarkable storyteller and a tenacious advocate.”
Ferrera could not attend the ceremony due to work commitments in Europe. Instead, she gave her speech by a prerecorded video and expressed some sadness for not being able to attend in person. Ferrera began by addressing Steinem and saying that she considers Steinem to be a personal role model. Ferrera added, “I love that my Barbie character’s name is Gloria. I hope I was able to channel just even the smallest bit of your generous spirit and unwavering commitment to do whatever is necessary to ensure that all women can fully realize their potential.”
Ferrera also shared some advice that she received from Steinem when they both attended a conference shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Ferrera privately asked Steinem what keeps Steinem motivated. Ferrera said that this was Steinem’s response: “I stay close to the people.” Ferrera said this advice “has inspired me for more days than you’ll ever know. And I have tried to pass on that incredible wisdom to as many people as I can.” She added, “I feel so lucky and so proud that I’ve had the opportunities to choose portrayals of everyday women and Latinas, in their fullness and their messiness and their complexity and their joy.”
Ferrera concluded, “It’s been a privilege to get to tell stories that defy any one notion of feminism. Instead, the stories we tell get to expand the notion of feminism to include women of all shapes, colors, sizes, and experiences. And we’re in a moment in our nation’s history where we need all of us. … We need to do like Gloria [Steinem does] and stay proximate to the issues and to the people most impacted by them. … It’s our time to stand up and fight for our future. Trust women. Center women. Invest in women.”
WMC Center co-founder Jane Fonda introduced Epting, who since 2019 has been executive director of MoveOn, a public policy advocacy group and progressive political action committee. Fonda began her introduction by saying that she recently spent time canvassing in Michigan, and she urged people not to assume that the 2024 U.S. presidential election will be an easy victory for Democrats and that all elected officials need to have their “feet held to the fire” to keep their campaign promises. Fonda then said of Epting and MoveOn: “Rahna, who is the first person of color to lead the organization, focuses on three things: countering threats to democracy, including misinformation; combating the rise of white nationalism; and harnessing the political awakening of voters who aren’t typically engaged.”
“We do this work not for awards,” Epting said in her speech. “We do this work because we truly believe in it.” She added, “As someone who was, just 10 or so years ago, a participant in the Women’s Media Center training, to be standing on this stage is somewhat surreal. I didn’t imagine this would happen.”
Epting said, “We are here at a very perilous moment in our country, a very perilous moment for our democracy. … There are very sinister forces that want to tear down the fabric of this country and the cornerstones of our democracy, all while taking away our most fundamental rights and freedoms. … We must stop them.”
Epting elaborated, “That is why the Women’s Media Center and their efforts to lift up to support and raise the visibility, the viability, and the decision-making power of those who are often represented, thereby ensuring that their stories are told and their voices get heard has always been critical. That is even more important in this moment that we’re in.”
She added that MoveOn shares a “similar mission” to Women’s Media Center: making sure that underrepresented people are heard and represented. Epting concluded with some “good news” by saying that the hateful, dark forces that she spoke of are “the minority” and that people who love democracy are “the majority.” She stated, “We are combating these forces with joy.”
WMC co-founder Robin Morgan introduced Deitch by mentioning her accomplishments, which range from directing the 1985 landmark lesbian movie Desert Hearts; directing the miniseries The Women of Brewster Place and episodes of NYPD Blue, ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and Law & Order: SVU; and establishing a scholarship fund for women of color directors enrolled in the UCLA Graduate School of Film and Television. Morgan noted: “Donna Deitch had the visionary audacity to direct Desert Hearts, the first feature film of a lesbian love story in which neither woman was killed, committed suicide, or in the end, married a man. She also produced the film, raising the $1 million budget herself through house parties with the help of Gloria Steinem and Lily Tomlin, and selling shares of the movie.”
Deitch, who won a Daytime Emmy for directing the TV movie The Devil's Arithmetic, gave credit in her acceptance speech to being inspired by her mother, Eleanor Green, a Hungarian immigrant who overcame obstacles to become a successful fashion designer. Deitch also praised Desert Hearts co-star Patricia Charbonneau (who attended the ceremony) for “being ahead of her time” for starring in a lesbian love story during an era when agents warned actresses that being in a lesbian movie would ruin their careers.
Deitch said she believes that women can achieve more by showing solidarity to each other: “We are linked, not ranked,” she said, quoting Steinem.* “That is the experience the Women’s Media Center brought to me.” She ended her speech by saying to the audience: “All of you are ahead of your time because you’re in this room tonight.” She also called the Women’s Media Center “ahead of its time.”
At the ceremony, Pulso founder/CEO Alarcón was introduced by presenter Erica González Martínez, who is WMC’s vice chair and the founding editor of WMC’s IDAR/E channel. González Martínez commented on why Alarcón was receiving WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award: “For her commitment to telling the full, authentic stories and histories of Latinos, her enthusiasm in representing her community across multiple media platforms, and her determination to ensure that millions of Latinos participate in the political process.”
Founded in 2018, Pulso is a media outlet/activism foundation whose specialty is representing Latin/Hispanic people in the United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there are 62 million Latin/Hispanic people in the U.S., or 19% of the U.S. population, and among the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the nation. Alarcón commented in her speech: “Our mission, to help us understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us, we believe, is the best way to remind Latinos that we have the power in numbers, talent, excellence, and in our votes, to build the country we deserve.”
She added, “So here’s another truth: founding Pulso six years ago and leading it through its pivots is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. As the daughter of a Venezuelan single mom, immigrant journalist to the United States, media making for my people is in my blood. But forecasting budgets … and persuading millionaires that Latinos are worth investing in was not the media making I thought I’d be doing. Since to most who are making media, my community is invisible, this is what it takes. For our stories to be shared. For our complexities to be shared. For our full humanity to be shared, we have to build it ourselves. And it is a deep honor and responsibility to be building Pulso every single day.”
WMC board chair Janet Dewart Bell, founder and president of LEAD Intergenerational Studies, introduced Yellowhammer Fund executive director Fountain by describing Fountain as “unyielding, unapologetic, and unstoppable. Jenice’s journey is a testament to what one Individual’s unwavering commitment can achieve.”
The Yellowhammer Fund, founded in 2017, is an abortion advocacy and reproductive justice organization serving Alabama, Mississippi, and the Deep South. Yellowhammer Fund executive director Fountain gave a poetic speech that began with a moving tribute to Black women, stating in part: “You gave what you had. I'll be your witness. And if tomorrow's your last, let me say I see you, Black woman.” Fountain continued her speech by saying she identifies as a queer woman, an Alabaman, a mother, a friend, a Black feminist, and a writer.
Fountain’s speech included this passionate call to action: “We fight for reproductive justice because the lack thereof is violence, regardless of mainstream media not covering it as such. When we say, ‘No justice, no peace,’ it's because lack of access to abortion is violence. When we say ‘No justice, no peace,’ it is to acknowledge that state-sanctioned family separation is violence. When we say, ‘No justice, no peace,’ it is to say that a lack of alternatives to hospitals for birthing is violence. When we say, ‘No justice, no peace,’ it is to say that there are too many oppressions but what we do know is that we more than deserve reproductive justice and joy. We are owed.”
Pat Mitchell, WMC chair emerita and Sundance Institute chair, introduced the award recipients from Chicken & Egg Pictures by saying, in part: “They had identified an urgent need in the field: more financial and creative support was required for women documentary directors who faced bias due to their gender. They put their considerable talent, expertise, and energy to work to disrupt and help dismantle these barriers.”
In her acceptance speech for Chicken & Egg, co-founder Ettinger said: “It’s a unique honor to receive this award in Pat Mitchell’s name because Pat and Chicken & Egg Pictures share a core belief that dangerous times call for dangerous women. … We believe documentaries are a potent vehicle for creating empathy and change. And we believe that the stories women have to share critically expand and enrich our understanding of the world.”
Ettinger added that the co-founders of Chicken & Egg offer the experience and perspective of being documentary filmmakers themselves: “We overcame barriers we then knew how to solve for others. Together, we forged an inclusive community we are incredibly proud of. The key is to keep the door open for others who come after you — if not to break down that door altogether.”
Helfand said in her speech: “We are not just a film funder. We never were. From their heart to their art, we care first and foremost about the person and their ability as a filmmaker to traverse in good health, career, community, family and all the unanticipated intersections in between — be it an unforeseen once-in a-hundred-year pandemic or a once-in-a-life-time retrospective celebrating an artist and their body of work.”
Parker Benello could not attend the ceremony, but her daughter Avery spoke on her behalf: “This organization has awarded $14 million in grants to date, supported over 500 filmmakers with funding, access, and mentorship, and celebrated over 70 festival premieres in the last two years alone. Several Chicken & Egg-supported filmmakers and their films have been nationally and internationally recognized with critical accolades, including Academy Awards, Emmys, duPont[-Columbia Awards], the Ridenhour [Prize for Truth-Telling], and the Peabody Award. My mom, her co-founders, and Jenni have steered Chicken & Egg thoughtfully since day one, increasing programs, budgets, and staff size sustainably in order to reach more filmmakers who have vital stories to tell and face systemic barriers to telling them. And we share pride in the fact that the organization is more ambitious and resilient than ever.
Wolfson concluded the Chicken & Egg speeches by stating: “Maya Angelou said, ‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’ There are so many filmmakers who have a story to tell, but who face bias and discrimination, one of which is gender. The dominant policies and practices of our industry often exacerbate that agony Maya speaks of. We exist to alleviate it.”
Award-winning journalist and former WMC president Carol Jenkins introduced Alcindor by praising Alcindor’s professionalism when subjected to verbal hostility from Donald Trump and highlighting Alcindor’s outstanding reporting on reproductive health issues. Jenkins said that Alcindor was receiving the WMC Carol Jenkins Award for Alcindor’s “unshakeable integrity and passionate commitment to the truth, her refusal to be intimidated or manipulated as a member of the press, and her spotlight on women and communities of color.”
Alcindor praised Jenkins for being an inspiration to her and added that she wanted to mention another Carol Jenkins, an African American woman who was murdered in an apparent racist hate crime in Indiana, in 1968. “Both of their lives represent what motivated me to get into journalism and why I do this work.” Alcindor added, “I also fell in love with journalism as a teenager [because of] the story of Emmett Till and his mother’s courage to have an open-casket funeral for her son, who was murdered by a group of racist white men.”
Alcindor continued: “Now, more than two decades after learning about Mamie Till’s decision, I find myself moved now more than ever to do what Emmett’s mom did, which is bring the hard truths of America to the forefront.” She also spoke of her mother and grandmother, who were Haitian immigrants, and how there are now Haitian immigrants “living in fear” in Springfield, Ohio, “because of lies being spread about them.” Alcindor concluded by saying the 2024 elections “require journalists to be unafraid, to ask hard questions, and to be resolved to represent the concerns of everyday Americans who will decide the future of our country.”
Also in attendance at the event were actress Kathy Najimy and actress/filmmaker Rosanna Arquette, who have been longtime WMC supporters. Arquette, one of the leading women in the #MeToo movement, was was one of the first to publicly speak out against entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein, who later became a convicted rapist.
In an exclusive interview with WMC backstage at the event, Najimy had this to say about how she thinks civil rights for women in media have changed since she started working in the entertainment industry: “Here’s the good and the bad news: I think the good news is that women are finally being lifted up and listened to. Most of the things that most have to say in this country are really important — not just in this country but other countries as well. But with that being said, even with the women who speak out, you often don’t see them published or you don’t see them on the news. They aren’t being interviewed.”
Najimy added: “I’ve been a feminist since I picked up my first issue of Ms. magazine at 15 years old at the Food Basket grocery store in San Diego, California. … I didn’t know that there was anyone else out there who was feeling the same kinds of things I was feeling. I am a mother and a feminist first, and an actress a couple of steps down. I have a daughter in her 20s. If I was a rabid, wild feminist before — now, I am on freakin’ fire!”
As for what Najimy thinks is the most important women’s issue during this election year and in any year, Najimy stated: “Choice to design a family or not, and do what works for you and what is the safest for you. You have one life, and you should design it in a way that makes you happy and brings you joy.”
Activist, writer, and Women’s Media Awards co-chair Helen LaKelly Hunt and writer Harville Hendrix, widely recognized for their work on dialogue that encourages connection and cooperation — work that Steinem has said is contributing to the next stage of feminism — also attended the WMC 2024 Women's Media Awards.
WMC co-founders Fonda, Morgan, and Steinem concluded the event with closing remarks. Steinem declared, “This event always fills my heart. I’m grateful for where we are and hopeful about where we’re going.” Morgan commented, “Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the Women’s Media Center.” Fonda wished everyone well and raised a champagne glass to toast “the Women’s Media Center community: changemakers, influencers, advocates, and supporters dedicated to making women and girls more powerful and visible in the media.”
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* “Linked Not Ranked” bracelets, inspired by Gloria Steinem, can be purchased on the feminist.com website.
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