Vicki Shabo, J.D., M.A.
Bio:
Vicki Shabo, a senior fellow at New America’s Better Life Lab, is a gender equity expert, policy advocate, and coalition builder who has helped to win federal, state, and local paid family and medical leave, paid sick time, equal pay, and pregnancy fairness policies affecting tens of millions of people. She works closely with policymakers, advocates, researchers, and the private sector. Shabo also conceived of and is leading an entertainment-focused narrative and culture change practice at the Better Life Lab, which seeks to help Hollywood creatives tell more and more authentic stories about gender, work, family, and care.
Chloe Domont’s film is not just a story about terrible people doing terrible things — it’s also a commentary on the danger of abusive work cultures that dehumanize the people in them.
Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the Emmy-winning show wrapped up its five-year run by offering messages relevant to the present.
The progress Hollywood has made in recent years in behind-the-scenes and on-screen representation could be reversed if the strike is settled unfavorably for writers.
