Special Edition: MAKERS: Keep Going – Clearing the Career Path for Women

I want to give a special thanks to the Maker's conference sponsors, PNG, Price Waterhouse Cooper's an official wellness sponsor Lulu Lemon. Now. We launched the Seneca Women podcast Network about a year ago with founding partner PNG and I Heart Radio with the goal of amplifying the voices of women around the world. You probably know that podcasting is a fast growing industry, with over fifty sent of podcast

audience being women. But what you may not know is that only twenty of top podcasts are hosted by women. We want to change that, so we are launching dozens of women focused and women led podcasts. So if you have a show where you want to collaborate on a show, reach out to us at info at Seneca Women dot com Now. It gives me great pleasure to introduce our guest host for the Keep Going series, Amina Brown. Amina is a spoken word poet, author and host of the

podcast Her with Amina Brown on the Seneca Women Podcast Network. Amina, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks Kim, I'm so honored to be the guest host of this special series and collaboration with makers. So much brilliance, so much inspiration, and so many helpful ways we can all affect change. We have another great conversation today from the Maker's Conference. We'll be listening to Katie Kuric, journalist and founder of Katie Kurrik Media, talking with actress, director, and act of

ist Olivia Wilde. They'll be discussing why it's so important that women get the opportunities that lead to a successful career. After that, I'll be joined by the incredible Tiffany R. Warren, Executive vice president, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Sony Music Group. Tiffany and I will talk about what we've heard and she's going to give us some fresh, creative suggestions we can bring back to the workplace. Okay, let's listen to Katie Kurik and Olivia Wilde and I'll be right back

after with Tiffany our Warren. Well, you know, you talk about the industry sort of the opportunities for women, and according to the Center for the Study of Women in TV and Film, women comprised only of all the top roles including directors, writers, and producers who worked on the top one grossing films in two thousand nineteen. But what is taking so long, Olivia to get those numbers at a higher level. I think it in order to change those numbers, we have to change the way people are hired.

I think when hiring, when anyone in a position of power is basing their decisions on resume, what they will, of course end up doing is perpetuating the system, because when women haven't been given as many opportunities to take on those leadership roles, their resumes are not as long.

Even I now in the position of hiring let's say production designers, I can look at the resume of a man who has done fifty movies, won tons of awards, and he seems like the more valuable option than the woman who might be brilliant to have a great take on the on the on the concept, but her resume looks so thin next to this guy, So I guess I'll just go with this guy. And if we continue to do that, then we will perpetuate the system. So

I think it's embracing a meritocrats. I I did an hour for National Geographic as part of this series called American Side Out on gender inequality in Hollywood and Silicon Vale only, and I went to the set of The Handmaid's Tale and the director said, you know, she said, it's so hard to get your first your first break, and men just hire these guys because they have more faith and trust or confidence in them. And as you said, they can build up this list of credits which helps

them achieve more and more and more. But if you don't get those first few things under your belt, you're kind of host. That's why I think it's about empowering women to make their first films by having more grant programs. I really benefited from a short film grant program that Glamour magazine used to do they should keep they should do it again. It was called Glamour Real Moments, and they gave a pretty great budget for a short film

to a bunch of women every year. And it was the first time I had been kind of given the steering wheel, and I so enjoyed the process that I thought, that's it, this is all I want to do. And then I started directing music video so that my real continued to grow and I learned until I earned the the opportunity to directive feature. But even at that point, it was a female studio executive, Megan Ellison at Annapurna, who recognized that I was ready and she took a

huge risk in hiring me. And to this day, it feels that the riskier choice is the unproven woman, because we are used to this narrative of the scrappy young film school guy who's who knows it could be the next Steven Spielberg. So given this chance, there aren't as many examples for those people in positions of power to draw from of women who out of the gate had something that worked, and therefore it's harder to take a

risk on them. So we need to empower more women to have their first film made right, And I know you believe deeply in sort of this idea of once you are in that spot, you have to start mentoring other women and do what the men have done for years, which is give the job to their buddies or someone who looks just like them. That's right exactly. Caitlin Deaver, who stars in our movie, just directed her first music video and I am very proud of her because she

has wanted to direct for a long time. And she said, live, I don't know how to get going, I don't know how to start this. And she has a band, and I said, you have an easy way to start this. Direct your video, start building your reel. I think it's about mentoring and encouraging, and it's also about helping them get the job, making the calls, helping people get in

the room. For a long time, I feel like for one woman to feel she was succeeding in breaking through all the barriers and the class ceiling, there was a sense of I must go out it alone because if I bring others with me, it'll be harder to get through this small crack in the ceiling. Lots to discuss from this conversation. I am delighted to welcome Tiffany our Warren, Executive vice president, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Sony Music Group. Tiffany,

thank you for joining us. Thank you so so much. I'm honored to be here. Okay, Tiffany, I want to I want to jump right in here because Katie brought up in this conversation between Katie and Olivia, they brought up an interesting phrase, which is a first break. And in your experience in the entertainment industry, you have experienced both being the one in need of that first break and being the one to provide others with their first break into the industry, their first entrance into the room,

so to speak. What are your thoughts about how we can improve that hiring process so that women aren't excluded and even more so for women of color. It's such a great point. Um. And you know this idea of first break, and I often say I've built a career doing things first. It's not that I wanted to, it's just the path that I chose. Um. You know, I'm in my third first job or my third first break, meaning I'm the first to do this particular job, and then I feel like I'm the director of first breaks.

Because that's kind of a little unknown secret. You know. I don't think it's secretive, but that when you're chief diversity officer, you have a responsibility, whether it's in your job description or not um to clear the pathway for people to have first breaks, to clear the barriers, to take down the wall so that people can walk into rooms and sit at tables without any impediments. Um. I saw recently that privilege is not privilege is not having

an advantage, it's actually having a lack of impediments. And so how do I understand and create an environment where privilege is not something that becomes an impediment for those that have the talent um? You know, I think about why often and she said this phrase of it's still a risk to give an opportunity to an unproven woman. We'll take that even deeper. What does that mean for

women of color? What does that mean for someone of color, someone of difference If it's a risk to give a first break to a woman, and you think about the other underrepresented groups, and so when you think about the hiring process, I feel like one of my my main jobs, and the jobs of those that are involved in the hiring process is to really look very specifically at the impediments and the barriers and the walls first and foremost that that people of difference had to break through to

get in front of you for that position. And so it may not be on their resume, but what's what should be on there is perseverance, overcoming adversity, um, almost having a mcdiver like you know, personality, figuring things out, doing less with more, as Arlen Hamilton, who's a maker, famously said, And so that presents an opportunity to say, if they possess all of that, a first break is

table sticks. I will give them that first break because they've already proven that they've broken through things already first um. And so that the hiring process and paying attention to it, and she had so many jewels in terms of Olivia said. One of those responsibilities too is she said about mentoring, which I've heard put this way before, but for some reason, when she said it, it was like, okay, the bells ring. It's not just having you know, because I think people

have Instagram moments with mentoring. This is my mentor, check out my mentor mentor a proud mentee moment, right you know. Um, I have a mentor who's just menty, who's just recently been installed as a president of an advertising agency. And I met her as an intern, and I think about, you know, a quote that I said at her that the dinner celebrating her, and I looked around the room and I said, your success has made us a family.

And I think about the village it takes to raise an executive, the village it takes to raise an award winning Oscar winning director. You know, when you look at that woman, if you just look a little bit slight to the left, it's a long line of people that to help break down those impediments, in those barriers so they could stand there and shine. And you know, the line may be shorter or it doesn't. You know, that's

not really what the question is. But I just like this idea of you know, really understanding what they already had to break to get in front of you for their first break. Yeah, and even when you were talking just now about the impediments, right, And I'm trying to think about people who may be listening, Tiffany, that are in their own respective workplaces, maybe in the entertain entertainment industry, arts media, but also business that may not even be

connected to entertainment. Right. We're talking about people who have the talent, who have the skills, who need to gain experience and access. What would you say as advice to folks who are in similar positions to be able to hire, to be able to revise some of these first breaks. How can we make sure that women and in particular, in particular ways women of color are able to gain this experience, are able to get this access so that their careers can progress to the place that they wanted

to go. How can we be the village? Yeah, you know, I I myself created a village in two thousand and five, you know, called ad Color UM. I didn't know that it was going to be a village that was uh, you know, an informal leadership development training program, but that's what it's become. And what I love seeing is that the leadership alumni, so those are young professionals who have served on our advisory board, or who were named one

of our futures, or simply were volunteers. The way that they use their experience at ad Color to jump start and go to their next opportunity because unfortunately they're not getting those leadership opportunities at work. Those opportunities have been cut, the training programs have been uh put to the wayside um leadership and development seems to be held for the top of the um of the company, UH for executives.

That's why you know, when I would attend makers, I would always think about, like, I have five or six tickets. I'm a proud board member, and I would make sure that it would be distributed amongst junior and senior um and the senior were far through thin the junior because I knew the importance of what it meant for me when I was taken into certain rooms or galas or award shows. And it seems kind of superficial, but there's a really good study of power when you go to

those events. And so you know, I'd be at these events and get to meet people in an environment that was not about title. Maybe it was about which table you were sitting at, but it wasn't about a title, and having them embraced me and and asked me questions about what do you want to do and where do you want to be, and then seeing them outside of that gala, in a meeting or at another event, them remembering me and saying, hey, why don't you join me

at this. There's all these different ways that you can support the leadership of people who may or may not have the opportunity to be in rooms where you're at. And so I learned that lesson pretty early in my career and was giving the opportunity to be in those rooms. And immediately when I got in those rooms, I turned around and brought other people in and sometimes too the consternation of like the people who gave me the invite. You know, I'd be like, can I just get extra

two tickets? Or can I just you know, get an extra um registration? Because I knew the power of those corridors of power, particularly in a creative industry. And so, you know, I think it's about taking a step back, you know, And it's something as simple as if you receive that that that important invite, can you make space, can you make room for someone else? Or if you are someone who's in a position to underwrite an additional registration to an industry conference and then be that per

since sharp or mentor while you're there. Um, these are things that I promise you accelerate the success of an up and coming person. I've seen it. I've seen the power of it. It's a beautiful thing and it's super simple that anyone who has privilege or power or position can do because what people that go to is you know, can I invite someone to my house or things that, yes,

they can do. UM, but that's highly personal. Use your power that you've been given in your position the minute you get it to turn around and be able to bring as many people as possible. And she did say earlier, you know, some women feel like they must go it alone because it's harder, they think too um achieve what

they need to achieve. And that's you know, I don't know, I don't think that's a gen X thing, but I've heard that a lot from you know, women in my generation that you know, they felt this responsibility to go and break that ceiling and then pull people along. I would is taught pretty early to bring them along with me. Peer mentoring. I look at my peers that I grew up with, you know, a senator, a mayoral candidate, and I can go down the list. We all pulled each

other along. We never left any one of us behind. UM. And I don't know if that's a cultural thing, but that's something that I grew up with and I took into the workplace. UM. And you know a lot of ad color is predicated on that idea of like, let's go further together, not alone. UM, so it's sad to hear you know that some women may feel that they have to go it alone because it'll be harder. Um. Hopefully we're coming out of that. I'm hoping. Yeah, me too, Tiffany,

Me too, Tiffany. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, for giving us some practical things we can do. I love I love what you said about the village, that we can all be a part of someone else's village to help them get to the place where they need to get. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Thank you. Who yes, Tiffany, Yes, Tiffany gave us some excellent recommendations for the workplace. So

here are three questions to ask yourself. What are the barriers and impediments for women and women of color in your workplace? And how can you clear the way for them to gain the opportunities they need to progress in their careers. When you review a resume from a person of difference, how can you practice reading between the lines to recognize the obstacles that the person had to overcome to get to where they are today, such as perseverance,

or being the first or the only. Finally, Tiffany talked about exposing junior employees and mentees to the experiences and events that will give them the connections, access, and perspective they need to succeed. When you receive an invitation to an important conference, seminar, meeting, or event, how can you extend that invitation or secure extra tickets or chistration to include women and women of color who are junior employees

or mentees. There are many women who have been able to break through so many barriers, and we have even more barriers to break. But we will do our best breaking of barriers when we work together to be the village that gets someone else access to the career they want by helping remove the obstacles and impediments that may

be standing in their way. You're listening to Seneca's Conversations on Power and Purpose brought to you by the Seneca Women podcast Network and I Heart Radio with support from founding partner p And Listen to Seneca's Conversations on Power and Purpose on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For more information on Seneca Women, follow us on social media or visit our website at Seneca Women dot com