Women’s Media Awards Honors International Activists, Pioneers in US Media, and More

Women's Media Awards in Pictures

For the first time since 2019, hundreds of people gathered in person last night to celebrate the 2022 WMC Women’s Media Awards at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. This year’s hosts and honorees urged WMC supporters to take lessons from and stand in solidarity with feminist activists from around the globe, from the uprising in Iran and the recent “Green Wave” of reproductive rights wins in Colombia.

The Women’s Media Awards opened with an introduction from WMC President Julie Burton, in which she acknowledged the historic announcement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the long-time Democratic leader would be stepping down, and a poignant WMC Solidarity Tribute to the women’s revolution in Iran. WMC co-founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem delivered powerful pleas to support the Iranian women and girls who have spoken out in the wake of the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini by the country’s “morality police.”

“The Women’s Media Center calls on women everywhere to move in solidarity with Iranian women, and with this women’s revolution, and with the men supporting these women,” said Steinem. “Use whatever social media you frequent: Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and even Twitter, to get this story out, because it continues. We must, each of us, exert heavy pressure on our own governments worldwide to in turn stop Iran’s government from its murderous practices.”

Andrea Mitchell, who currently serves as chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and host

of MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, received the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award. Mitchell is also the author of the best-selling book Talking Back … to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, and spoke candidly about the trials and triumphs of her storied career in news media. She discussed her experiences as a “copy boy” in Philadelphia, an energy beat reporter who was sidelined by a paternalistic boss during the Three Mile Island incident, and as a fierce friend and ally to other change-making women in the newsroom.

“Now, we have women executives at the highest levels in our news division: 50 percent of our staff are women…but there is a lot left undone for women here, and around the world,” said Mitchell, turning her attention to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “Surely, none of us who came of age in the 1960s thought that a right embraced by the Supreme Court nearly a half century ago could ever be taken away. How many of us were totally shocked, and shouldn’t have been?”

She concluded her remarks with a quote from Maya Angelou, emphasizing the importance of equality for all: “We recognize that no nation can boast of balance until each member of a nation is equally employed and equally rewarded.”

The WMC Visible and Powerful Award was bestowed upon Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC’s Good

Morning America, president of Rock’n Robin Productions, and best-selling author of multiple books. Reflecting on her years as a sports journalist with ESPN, Roberts had a concise and nuanced message for attendees on the difference between diversity and inclusion, particularly the importance of the latter: “Diversity is being on the team, which is great. But inclusion is getting in the game.”

Each year, the Women’s Media Center runs its renowned WMC Progressive Women’s Voices program, the alumnae of which have gone on to become powerhouse voices in the media. This year’s Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award winners, Mariana Ardilla Trujillo, Loretta J. Ross, and Salamishah Tillet, are great examples of how outstanding graduates of the program have gone on to do incredible work.

Mariana Ardila Trujillo is not only a lawyer and professor, but also one of the leaders in the successful movement to decriminalize abortion in Colombia. She formerly served as the managing attorney of Women’s Link Worldwide, a women’s legal advocacy group, and was recently appointed transitional justice director of the Ministry of Justice and Law in Colombia.

“Tonight, I want to honor the strong women who have brought me here,” said Trujillo. “The women of

my family, whose care work is still not valued or paid. They, especially my grandmothers, did not have the same privileges and opportunities that I had. They were resilient in the face of violence and discrimination.”

Trujillo also acknowledged those who laid crucial groundwork for the recent reproductive rights victories in Colombia. “I also want to honor the feminists who came before me, especially those who shaped Latina feminism. Their tireless work to turn injustice into action is why there is a great green wave in Latin America.”

Loretta J. Ross, a reproductive justice and human rights activist reframing reproductive rights within a broader context of human rights, as well as a recent MacArthur Fellow, spoke about the desire to serve those who have been through trauma: “I am forever surprised when someone notices that we have given our lives to the movement … because we do it because that’s who we are. We don’t serve them because of who they are. We serve them because of who we are.”

Another IMPACT Award honoree was Salamishah Tillet, Pulitzer prize-winning contributing critic-at-large for The New York Timescovering popular culture, gender, sexuality, race, and politics. She is an author, scholar, and activist, and Henry Rutgers professor of Africana studies and creative writing at Rutgers University. Of her experiences with WMC, she said, “It was, as it is now, an institution that promotes accessibility, visibility, and accountability.”

Loreen Arbus, president of The Loreen Arbus Foundation and The Goldenson-Arbus Foundation, producer, author, media pioneer, and activist, was honored with the WMC Leadership Award for her decades of work as a fierce advocate for women and for people with disabilities, among others. Arbus co-founded the Media Access Office to increase employment and improve depictions of people with disabilities, and to raise consciousness regarding disability. She spoke at length about the continued fight for equality, concluding her address by saying, “As I look out into the audience tonight, I see an extraordinary group of women who are more than up to the challenge of continuing our work towards parity. To be recognized by the Women’s Media Center…is truly meaningful to me, and I thank you so much.”

The WMC Carol Jenkins award was given to Maria Martinez, chief operating officer at Cisco. A transformational leader, Martinez is the executive sponsor of Cisco’s innovative mentorship program, The Multiplier Effect. One of a very small number of Latina executives at the nation’s largest companies, she has served as an executive at SalesForce, Microsoft, Motorola and more, creating opportunities and guidance to young women who might not have considered a career in technology or engineering. “Thank you for seeing our work,” said Martinez. “And thank you for seeing me.”