After decades of being left out of Hollywood’s halls of power, women are taking more and more leadership positions at studios, networks and other major companies in the entertainment industry. But even in the C-suite, the specter of impostor syndrome can still appear.
Six Hollywood executives discuss their feelings of self-doubt as well as their pressure to bring more women into leadership roles at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica. Panel moderator and TheWrap business reporter Raquel Harris cited a KPMG report that surveyed women executives and 75% said they felt incompetent for their jobs due to outside pressure, despite being overqualified. felt.
Elizabeth Wright, EVP and CFO of Paramount’s Direct to Consumer division, said combating self-doubt is a daily process, always reminding yourself what you did to get where you are now.
“I know a lot of women are in roles where they can be one of the only women in the C-suite, and I think that certainly can be intimidating at times,” she said. “And I think it’s worth reminding yourself that if you hadn’t put in all the work and improved yourself, you wouldn’t have been given that role.”
Wright was joined on the panel by Aisha Summers Burke, EVP and Head of Creative at BET Studios; Jackie Hayes, EVP and General Counsel at Warner Bros. Discovery; Kayleen Walters, head of franchise development for the hit video game “Minecraft”; Melody Hildebrandt, Chief Information Security Officer at Fox and President of Blockchain Creative Labs; and Rahva Ghebre-Ab, EVP and Chief Legal Compliance Officer, Lionsgate.
The group also talked about the importance of networking horizontally and how reaching out to others at the same stage in their careers, especially in a non-transactional way, can help women find leading roles in companies in Hollywood and beyond. May be important to raise. Burke and Ghebre-Abe talked about how they first met nearly a decade ago at a brunch created by Burke to help women of color in Hollywood network, and how the relationship that’s lasted ever since Began with conversations that had nothing to do with work.
“We talked about what people want to do on the weekend, where they’re from, what they want to do outside of this job. And then I think by the end, I think we did [the brunch] Maybe for two or three years. There were about 60 women there. And it was so inspiring to see women of color all working in television on all different platforms,” Burke said.
“Continue to meet people and talk about things organically,” Ghebre-aib said. “Ask about what they’re interested in, not what you can do for me.”
Hayes also said that with the boom in videoconferencing since the pandemic, he has seen an increase in executives and other professionals networking via 15-minute Zoom meetings to exchange ideas about business. He advised attendees that the best way to make a good impression in the eyes of executives so that one day they may be remembered for years of job openings is to show open curiosity about how showbiz works. .
“People love to talk about themselves, so if you simply acknowledge that you are interested in learning more about the business, you convey curiosity and genuine interest… Very happy to do what they do and share insights,” she said.
power women summit (PWS) is the largest annual gathering of the most influential women in entertainment, media and technology. The objective of the event is to inspire and empower women in the landscape of their professional career and personal life. This year’s PWS provides two days of education, mentoring, workshops and networking around the world to promote this year’s theme “A Time to Unite”. Learn more here: thewrap.com/pws.