Creating and shaping the television industry’s future, building legacies and staying focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts are all themes that will resonate throughout September Diversity Week festivities in New York.

The WICT Network’s Leadership Conference, the 37th Annual NAMIC Conference and The Walter Kaitz Foundation’s Annual Fundraising Dinner — all of which will take place during the week of September 18 — will seek to build on last year’s return to an in-person celebration by emphasizing the industry’s valuing of DEI efforts as a way to stay competitive in an evolving entertainment marketplace, organizers said.  

“The industry is doubling down on DEI, given everything that is going on in our industry with the shifts in companies and the economic environment in which our business is operated,” NAMIC president and CEO A. Shuanise Washington said. “We’re way too invested in DEI and what it means to the industry. For the most part, our CEOs are clear that DEI is not a feel-good proposition, but it actually ties itself to the bottom line.” 

WICT Kicks Off Week

The WICT Network will open Diversity Week on September 18 with its annual Leadership Conference. Under the theme “Co-Create the Future,” conference organizers said the two-day event will feature more sessions and networking roundtables than previous iterations.  

WICT will dole out honors during its opening day Touchstones Luncheon, including for its “Women of the Year”: Comcast executive VP and chief diversity officer Dalila Wilson-Scott and Paramount Global president and CEO of International Markets, Global Consumer Products & Experiences Pam Kaufman. The organization will also honor three “Women to Watch”: Charter Communications senior VP of billing strategy and design, customer operations Stephanie Babin; A+E Networks senior VP, legal and business affairs Kelley Drukker; and Listing Central LLC founder and CEO Nicole Nixon. 

“The industry’s commitment to DEI is stronger than ever,” WICT president and CEO Maria Brennan said. “Our conference promises an opportunity for established and emerging leaders to gain the insights, strategies, and inspiration that are essential for navigating the ever-evolving challenges of our time.”  

The 37th annual NAMIC Conference, under the theme “Our Legacy, a Mosaic of Possibilities,” will look to provide attendees — through numerous interactive sessions and networking opportunities — with actionable solutions to advance diversity and inclusion within their companies, Washington said.   

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt will headline the NAMIC conference, which runs over two days beginning September 19. During the conference, NAMIC will also honor NBCU News Group’s Jose Diaz-Balart with the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award during the September 20 Awards Luncheon. Other confirmed NAMIC conference speakers include film producer Will Packer and best-selling author Steve Pemberton.

“The conference is really about embracing our 40-plus year legacy of being focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and exploring what the possibilities are in terms of going forward,” Washington said. 

Kaitz Keeps DEI in Focus

Comcast’s Wilson-Scott, along with Revolt CEO Detavio Samuels, will co-chair the 40th anniversary Walter Kaitz Foundation Annual Fundraising Dinner on September 23. With its theme of “Staying Focused,” the fundraising affair will acknowledge the DEI progress that the industry has made through the foundation’s partners and supporters, Kaitz officials said.

Charter Communications will sponsor a pre-dinner reception, including a silent auction of “a carefully curated collection of items and experiences,” Kaitz said.

This year’s Diversity Week output will not include the industry’s joint NAMIC and WICT diversity employment study, released every two years. 

Last year’s report concluded that female representation in the workforce increased by 5 percentage points since the prior report in 2019, even as the pandemic had a significantly greater impact on the employment of women overall. Workforce representation by people of color fell by 7 percentage points, dropping to 37% from 44% since the 2019 survey. 

Workplace representation for women in the cable and communications industry has increased since 2019 while the representation of people of color fell in that period, according to a joint NAMIC and WICT diversity employment study released Tuesday.

The executive summary of the 2022 AIM/PAR Workplace Diversity Survey — unveiled at a Town Hall meeting in New York in conjunction with the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference — reflects the impact of the pandemic as well as social-justice movements in the country since the last survey was conducted in 2019, the organizations said. 

Also: Departing Kaitz Foundation Head Michelle Ray on Diversity Efforts: ‘There’s Always Going to Be More to Do’ (Q&A)

The 2022 survey — which generated participation from 18 organizations representing 69% of the industry workforce — reported that female representation in the workforce increased by 5 percentage points since the 2019 tally, even as women overall were significantly more impacted by the pandemic in terms of employment. Overall, women made up 51% of the workforce at programmer companies and 31% of the overall MSO workforce, according to the survey.

Women also comprised 47% of all new hires in participating media, entertainment and technology companies, up 1 percentage point from 2019. Women and women of color saw increases in professional, manager and executive/senior manager roles, according to the survey. People of color were promoted (14%) and transferred within (8%) the surveyed organizations at slightly higher rates than overall rates within the industry. 

“Despite the Great Resignation and she-cession, our industry has created environments where women are able to thrive, while also highlighting challenges to overcome,” WICT Network president and CEO Maria E. Brennan said. “As we continue to navigate new ways of working, we will use this data to help companies strengthen their practices to ensure that women remain on a trajectory to achieve parity with men.”

The industry employment and representation picture for people of color was not as positive. People of color experienced a 7 percentage point reduction in workforce representation, dropping to 37% from 44% since the 2019 survey. The biggest losses were employees at the junior level professional and manager ranks at cable MSOs, while people of color found employment gains among participating content companies, according to the survey. 

National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) president and CEO A. Shuanise Washington told Multichannel News that she hopes the participating companies will learn from the results and find ways to attract and recruit people of color to their companies. 

“Once they look at their individual results, they will do an internal assessment of what happened, and whether there are things that they could be looking at more intentionally as it relates to people of color,” she said.

Washington added that the results of the survey are vitally important to the industry's ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. “The fact that this industry measures itself is critical — I don’t know any other industry that does that,” she said. “What gets measured gets done and we always need to be focused on that.” 

The AIM/PAR survey is administered by PwC and funded by the Walter Kaitz Foundation, which holds its annual fundraising dinner Wednesday night at the Marriott Marquis. ■  

The WICT Network (formerly Women in Cable Telecommunications before a 2021 rebranding) said its Pacific Northwest and Southern California chapters have been named chapter of the year, part of the organization's chapter awards for 2021.

Terri Rice, of The WICT Network: Heartland, was named chapter president of the year and Rob Stoddard of The WICT Network: Washington DC/Baltimore, was named chapter advisor of the year. Rice is senior manager of marketing for Cox Communications Inc. Stoddard recently retired as senior VP of industry and association affairs at NCTA-the Internet & Television Association. 

The WICT Network said chapter awards measure important aspects of the Model Chapter Business Plan (MCBP) and chapters earn points for performance that meets or exceeds guidelines provided in the MCBP. Chapter of the Year honors go to the top performing chapters as measured by MCBP scores in areas such as programming, marketing and communications, governance and membership. 

"Our 24 domestic and international chapters are integral to achieving our mission of developing women leaders," Kristin Edwards, The WICT Network's VP, member and chapter development, said in a statement. “In the face of an ongoing pandemic, their dedication has been exemplary and inspiring to witness. We are proud to highlight their contributions.”

The WICT Network also recognized other chapter honorees:

-- Chapter Leader of the Year went to Renee Uram, general manager, Armstrong Group, who served as Membership Chair for The WICT Network: Greater Pittsburgh.

--Chapter Volunteer of the Year, awarded to an individual who has shown exemplary volunteer support of The WICT Network, went to Raquenel Garcia, director of product insights, Charter Communications, who served as sponsorship chair for The WICT Network: Rocky Mountain.

--Most Improved Chapter, for chapter growth and development from the previous year, went to The WICT Network: Pacific Northwest. 

--Chapter Programming Excellence went to The WICT Network: Southeast for first place, Heartland for second place and Carolinas for third place.

--Chapter Mentoring Excellence for chapter achievements in substance and implementation of an impactful mentoring program went to The WICT Network: New York for first place, Midwest for second place and Greater Philadelphia for third place.

--Community Service Award, for a chapter that demonstrated an outstanding commitment to giving back to their local communities, went to The WICT Network: Greater Ohio.

--Inspire and Others Will Follow Award, for chapters that helped their members achieve their full potential by earning 90 or more points on the 2021 Model Chapter Business Plan, went to The WICT Network: Carolinas; Florida; Greater Chicago; Greater Ohio; Greater Philadelphia; Greater Pittsburgh; Heartland; Midwest; New England; Pacific Northwest; Rocky Mountain; Southeast; Southern California; Virginia and Washington DC/Baltimore.

The WICT Network is a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to create women leaders that transform the cable and telecommunications industry. Founded in 1979, it now has more than 10,000 members. ■

Multichannel News has announced the newest Wonder Women of New York, to be honored at an in-person luncheon on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

They will be joined at the gala event by ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz, who was previously announced as MCN’s Woman of Influence.

“These 15 women have accomplished much for their companies and blazed trails in both traditional media and new forms of entertainment and communication,” William Gannon, VP and global editor-in-chief of Multichannel News, said. “We are pleased to recognize their accomplishments and to help bring their colleagues together to celebrate them in the best way possible, in person.”

“Wonder Women is an important institution that, for more than 20 years, has highlighted the key roles women have played in the evolution of media,” Kent Gibbons, content director for Multichannel News, added. “This group in particular demonstrates the effectiveness of women leaders and their role in advancing diversity and inclusion in the industry and in the entertainment we all consume and enjoy.”

Here are the 2022 Wonder Women of New York, in alphabetical order with links to their biographies on the Wonder Women home page:

--Karen Bailey, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Starz.

--Tonya Cornileus, Vice President, Development, Inclusion and Wellness, ESPN.

--Katrina Cukaj, Lead of Ad Sales and Client Partnerships, WarnerMedia.

--Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO, GLAAD.

--Latasha Gillespie, Executive Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Amazon Studios, Prime Video and IMDb.

--Amy Israel, Executive Vice President, Scripted Programming, Showtime.

--Kim Kelleher, President, Ad Sales and Partnerships, AMC Networks.

--Jo Kinsella, President, TVSquared. 

--Mina Lefevre, Head of Development and Programming at Meta.

--Wonya Lucas, President and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks.

--Laura Molen, President, Advertising Sales and Partnerships, NBCUniversal.

--Roxanna Sherwood, Senior Executive Producer, Longform Content, ABC News.

--Courtney White, President, Food Network and Streaming Food Content, Discovery Inc. 

--Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corp. & President, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation.

--Joella Wind, Group Vice President, Sales Operations, Spectrum Enterprise.

For more about Wonder Women, please visit mcnwonderwomen.com. Multichannel News, sister publication Broadcasting+Cable and streaming-TV site Next TV are part of Future plc. ■

As we approach 20 months of living and working in a global pandemic, the data coming out amid this new She-cession points to troubling setbacks for women in the workforce. More women have lost jobs than men, more are considering leaving the workforce or downsizing their careers and more are disproportionately shouldering pandemic-era burdens, including childcare responsibilities. According to the World Economic Forum, it will now take 135 years to close the global gender gap instead of the 99 years previously projected pre-pandemic. 

Knowing the data is important. The landscape has dramatically changed, especially for women, and we must pay attention. But the real question we need to be asking ourselves is, what are we doing to address this? 

The pandemic has made clear the need for major course correction across organizations and industries to support, recruit, retain and advance women. Being relevant and remaining a leader in the marketplace means not being afraid to change, instead embracing it. After all, our industry thrives on change and disruption; both of which often lead to innovation. 

As diversity and inclusion (DEI) advocates, corporate leaders and individuals must ask what we need to be doing differently to right wrongs, to be more diverse and inclusive, to earn back the gains lost during the pandemic and to build on them. 

When we asked ourselves at WICT — Women in Cable Telecommunications — what we should be doing to meet this moment, we realized it was time for action, time for change within our own walls. And while WICT has always adapted our business model to ensure we remain relevant, WICT’s name has not kept pace with the times. As a result, Women in Cable Telecommunications no longer speaks to the full breadth of who we are and where we are headed. Recognizing that meant it was time to dig in and let data inform some sound decision-making, because at WICT, we love data! 

Engaging some of the top branding experts there are, we met, we gathered, and we listened. In doing so, we realized we not only needed to evolve our brand to build a stronger WICT; we knew we had an added obligation to be more inclusive than ever given how much ground women lost in the workplace during COVID-19. 

We also know that the more women we can connect and support now, the better for our industry, and frankly the better for the communities our member companies serve. This introspection helped us realize that for all the benefits WICT provides to our members and the industry at large, there is one thing that reigns supreme - it’s all about our network.

So, starting Oct. 20, Women in Cable Telecommunications is The WICT Network: Empowering Women in Media, Entertainment & Technology. We are being intentional with our name, logo and actions widening the circle of our network. 

Women want to be connected to one another and data shows wide developmental networks help female leaders rise in their careers. We are in a position to help make that happen. So we’re going to do just that.

Updating our brand and name isn’t a revolution. It’s an evolution. For over 40 years, The WICT Network has provided an unparalleled peer-to-peer and B2B network through member resources, educational events and diversity research. We’re still doing that and more. Our new name and tagline is a reminder that we’re also going to be doing more than ever to reflect the companies and individuals we serve.

Change like this isn’t about optics. It’s about something far more fundamental — the business case for diversity, equity and inclusion. Prioritizing women in your workforce isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s good business. The data is very clear. Diversity in organizations increases innovation, profitability, recruitment, retention, employee satisfaction and more. According to McKinsey’s Diversity Matters, company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well-represented at the top. And that’s just one of many studies. The WICT Network website will point you to an abundance of compelling research demonstrating that workforce parity is the bedrock for becoming a better, stronger, more profitable company. 

While our new name and logo is an exciting step in our evolution, there is so much more for all of us to do. The pandemic did a lot of damage in a very short amount of time, so it is reasonable to believe we can undo the damage in just as short a time. We’ve made a course correction within our own organization. Ask yourself, is there more you can do within yours?

Women in Cable Telecommunications extended its condolences to Michael Powell, president of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, on the death of his father, Colin Powell.

Colin Powell, former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday of complications from COVID-19. He was reportedly fully vaccinated. He was also battling cancer.

“General Powell, first Black U.S. Secretary of State and youngest chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serves as a role model for generations of individuals who aspire to greatness,” WICT said. “Our love and prayers go out to the entire Powell family during this time of sorrow.”

NCTA also stated a message of condolence to the Powell family. Dave Watson, President & CEO Comcast Cable and NCTA Board Chair, said: “On behalf of the staff of NCTA and the Board of Directors, we would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Gen. Colin Powell, including our dear colleague and friend, Michael Powell. Today, America lost a trailblazing leader who always put his country first and led with compassion, dignity and grace. We join with the rest of America in mourning the loss of this remarkable human being.”

Colin Powell was also founding chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, an alliance of various groups that advocates for effective education and opportunities for youth, as well as safe and supportive, all issues that implicate broadband given the internet's role in education, opportunity, and virtual environments. Michael Powell is vice chairman of the group.

“Americans will remember Gen. Colin Powell for a long time as a model soldier, diplomat, White House advisor and a voice of wisdom and reason who reassured the country that it can meet any challenge by living up to its best ideas," said ACAC Connects President Matt Polka. "Gen. Powell leaves a remarkable record that we are proud to honor and recognize as so many others around the nation are properly doing today.

“We want to express our support and prayers for Gen. Powell’s family, including NCTA-The Internet & Television Association President & CEO Michael Powell, on the loss of this fine man. They should know that America is a great country because people like Gen. Powell led her with unselfish devotion.”

Also weighing in was the association representing the nation's public/educational ,media. 

America's Public Television Stations (APTS)  President Patrick Butler said millions of children had benefitted from Colin Powell's work with America's Promise. "[Powell] ensured that the welfare of children was a priority not only for parents, teachers and government agencies but also for some of the nation’s largest corporations, foundations and community organizations," said Butler, adding: "“It was my honor to serve briefly with General Powell during Senator Howard Baker’s tenure as White House chief of staff for President Reagan, and it was such a pleasure to know that the wise, humble, sensible, profoundly decent man the public saw over five decades in public life was just the same in private."

President Biden said of Powell: "He led with his personal commitment to the democratic values that make our country strong.  He repeatedly broke racial barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow, and was committed throughout his life to investing in the next generation of leadership.  Colin Powell was a good man who I was proud to call my friend, and he will be remembered in history as one of our great Americans."

NAMIC will look to shine a light on the advancement of the cable industry’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts during its virtual 35th annual NAMIC Conference, which launches Tuesday (Oct. 5) as part of the industry's Diversity Week festivities.

The theme of the three-day conference is “Removing Obstacles. Magnifying Opportunities” and will feature a lineup of industry leaders and experts discussing the pressing DEI issues facing the communications and cable industry, according to NAMIC.

The conference will open Tuesday with its L. Patrick Mellon Mentoring session featuring a discussion with Music World Entertainment president Mathew Knowles. Other conference highlights include NAMIC’s annual Next Generation Leaders and Luminaries Awards; the “Meet the Execs” panel session featuring Walt Disney Company VP, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Christian Divino, Kishshana & CEO CEO Kishshana Palmer, and Arrington Coaching LLC COO David Arrington; and the” Setting the Course of International Allyship” panel featuring WarnerMedia SVP, Equity and Inclusion MyKhanh Shelton and A+E Networks EVP, Corporate Brand Strategy and Chief of Staff Juliana Stock.   

NAMIC president and CEO Shuanise Washington spoke to Multichannel News about this year’s virtual NAMIC Conference goals and objectives and provided an early look at plans for the diversity organization’s in-person NAMIC Conference in 2022. An edited version of the interview appears below. 

MCN: What are your goals for this year’s NAMIC Conference? 

Shuanise Washington: Our 35th annual conference will provide a global platform for emerging and thought leaders to discuss topics ranging from culturally competent marketing to racial equity. Attendees will engage in professional networking sessions, delve into best practices with industry leaders, and learn the emerging industry trends that will shift the future of cable and communications. 

MCN: Has going to a virtual format for a second straight year helped or hurt attendance sign-ups? 

SW: Our registration numbers have already exceeded last year and people are still registering. A virtual format has expanded our ability to reach more people and in turn allowed more people to be a part of our conference. We are thrilled that the cable, media and entertainment  industry continue to rely on NAMIC and our annual conference for tools, strategies and professional connections to empower diversity, equity and inclusion in their companies. 

MCN: Has the virtual format made it easier to secure key speakers? 

SW: In some ways, it has. We have been able to expand the breadth and depth of our speaker pool because we do not have to contend with travel and a fixed timeframe, so to speak, as many of the sessions are pre-recorded. I am really excited about so many of our sessions and speakers this year, like the L. Patrick Mellon session on mentoring with Dr. Mathew Knowles. Dr. Knowles and Julissa Bermudez, television personality and actress at CLEO TV, will engage in a lively discussion about the importance of mentoring in establishing a successful career and legacy.  They will tackle issues many underrepresented employees feel might have already existed within their companies—even before the COVID pandemic: isolation, lack of support, barriers to access, and so on. 

MCN: Will you continue to feature virtual elements at next year's conference when it's back to in-person status? 

SW: Yes. The virtual format has been quite successful in expanding our reach and in making the conference more accessible. Accessibility is central to our mission. We are exploring ways to enhance the virtual experience so that we can draw attendees from every state in the nation—and from people committed to DEI work in the media, entertainment and cable industry around the world. 

The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) will launch its joint AIM/PAR Workforce Diversity Survey in November, with plans to release the findings during Diversity Week 2022.

The two-year joint workforce survey, which focuses on the current state of ethnic and gender diversity within the media and entertainment industry, was delayed from going out to industry companies earlier this year due to the pandemic, according to NAMIC and WICT officials. 

The 2019 AIM/PAR survey saw an increase in representation of people of color and women in executive and senior-level management positions by 3% and 2%, respectively, compared to the 2017 survey. Also, hiring rates for people of color exceeded the rate for white people by roughly 15% compared with the last survey, while hiring rates for women exceeded the rate of men by nine percentage points.

Read Also: WICT, NAMIC Surveys: Women, People of Color Increase Representation at Senior, Executive and Board Levels 

Leading up to the survey launch, NAMIC, WICT and the Walter Kaitz Foundation will kick off the Commit to be Counted campaign to garner awareness and a commitment from survey-eligible companies. The campaign will reinforce the value of participation in the survey and demonstrate how the data is a critical tool for the industry to improve its efforts to create inclusive workplaces, said the companies. 

Cox Communications CEO Patrick Esser’s decision to retire at the end of the year — he will be succeeded by company veteran Mark Greatrex — was met throughout the industry with equal parts regret at losing yet another of cable’s old guard and good wishes that one of the good guys gets to end his decades-long cable story on his own terms. 

Esser got his start in the cable business in 1979 as a pole climber for a small cable operator in Waterloo, Iowa. According to an interview he did with this reporter back in 2013 after receiving the industry’s highest honor — the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership — Esser packed up his belongings and drove 1,000 miles to Hampton Roads, Virginia, the site of Cox's latest system buy. The catalyst? One of his sales managers in the Waterloo system was a former Cox employee who couldn’t stop talking about what a great company it was to work for. The then 20-something Esser decided to see for himself.  

“I knocked on the door of the cable system and I got a job as the public-access director,” Esser said at the time. “Everything I heard about Cox was true from the moment I stepped on the property.”

Esser’s first job at Cox was officially director of programming at the Hampton Roads system, and he was part of the management team that pioneered Cox’s advertising sales division now known as Cox Media. In 1991 he was named corporate vice president of advertising sales, rising to vice president of operations for Cox’s Western Division in 1999. A  year later he was promoted to senior vice president of operations and in 2004, Esser was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

In 2006, Esser was tapped to succeed CEO James Robbins, who had said earlier that he would retire that year. Robbins, who died in 2007,  said in a July 2005 interview he couldn’t have hoped for a better person to take the reins.

“Pat has absolutely been the home-run selection,” Robbins said in that July 2005 interview. 

Esser didn’t just have an impact on his own company. While he spearheaded and pushed along efforts to diversify Cox’s workforce and bring the company into the information age, he also enthusiastically waved the cable banner wherever he went. Throughout the years he served as chairman of  NCTA: The Internet & Television Association;  C-SPAN; CableLabs; adviser to the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and on the national Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

“Pat Esser’s contribution to our industry has been invaluable,” said NCTA: The Internet and Television Association CEO Michael Powell in a statement. “He’s a true cable success story, rising through the ranks from local executive to company CEO. Throughout, he has represented the heart and soul of our industry, always committed first to the welfare of Cox customers and employees.”

Through his journey throughout the industry, Esser has worked closely with other cable and telecom CEOs. He serves on C-SPAN’s board with Charter Communications chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge and has served with Mediacom Communications founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso on the C-SPAN and NCTA boards. 

“Pat’s had a great career starting at entry level and rising to the top,” Rutledge said in a statement. “I’ve enjoyed working aside him on Industry efforts at NCTA and CableLabs.  Pat’s contribution to the industry is unmatched.  I have been personally lucky to work with Pat in an industry where long term business success has kept us on the same team for decades.  It’s been a pleasure.”

National Cable Television Cooperative CEO Lou Borrelli has known Esser for years, dating back to their early days in cable. Borrelli has logged 43 years in the cable business, beginning with UA-Columbia Cablevision in 1978. Borrelli also was a founding partner of Marcus Cable in 1986. 

"I had the good fortune to meet Pat back when our cable careers were getting off the ground," Borrelli said in a statement. "His energy was infectious and his word was his bond. Through numerous CTAM collaborations, Pat never ran out of ideas and always was up to the challenge. His track record at Cox is a testament to his work ethic and his ethics in business and life. Good luck and godspeed."

Esser also helped drive Cox forward as the industry changed, building on its decades-long reputation as the “gold standard” for the cable industry and unafraid to invest in new businesses like broadband.

“During Pat’s 15 years at the helm, Cox Communications became the gold standard of U.S. telecom companies,” Commisso said in a statement. “Through his many operational successes at Cox and his leadership within NCTA, Pat motivated us all to make the significant private investments necessary to turn our collective broadband networks into America’s most powerful technology platform.   I thank him for his tremendous contributions to our industry and wish Pat and his family all the best in the years ahead.” 

Powell also pointed to Esser’s history as a champion of the NCTA, leading its board of directors and trade show several times, and his commitment to diversity, both at Cox and throughout the industry. 

“Pat has been a leader and innovator in cable marketing; a visionary in cable operations and technology; an ally and champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion; and a thoughtful, forward-looking President & CEO of his company,” Powell continued. “As one of our industry’s most trusted and authentic voices, Pat has immense credibility with policy makers. He has helped provide a strong presence for our industry here in Washington and always has committed Cox Communications to the public good. I will miss Pat enormously as a friend, mentor, and advisor on all of our critical issues. We wish only the very best for him in his next chapter. We’re looking forward to working with Mark Greatrex, another formidable presence in our industry who will be a positive force as we move into the future.”

Esser has served as chairman of C-SPAN for about two years but has been a member of the organization since 2005. The Cox chief has also been a regular video contributor, participating in trade show forums broadcast on the channel ranging from the future of the cable business to Open Internet and consolidation. 

“You can't ask for a better chairman than Pat Esser,” C-SPAN said in a statement. “He is passionate about C-SPAN's mission and shares that enthusiasm throughout Cox. Over the past two years, he has been readily available with strategic guidance and encouragement as our network navigates a changing marketplace and we are confident we can continue to call on his wise counsel into the future.”

In 2006, Cox was first named in DiversityInc's listing of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and in 2020, reached its highest ranking at No.11. Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) regularly recognizes Cox among the top operators for women.

"Pat Esser is an industry legend — 15 years of exemplary leadership at the helm of Cox and countless beneficiaries of his dedication to the industry and its DEI efforts,” Maria E. Brennan, WICT President & CEO, said in a statement. “We likewise congratulate Pat’s accomplished successor at Cox, Mark Greatrex, and look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Cox leadership team."

The 2021 Diversity Week event will again be held virtually, but will resume with in-person activities in 2022, according to WICT, NAMIC and The Walter Kaitz Foundation. 

The 2021 WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference will be held online beginning Oct. 4. In a joint press release the organizations said that they hope to build on the success of 2020’s virtual Diversity Week conferences, which were held online due to the pandemic. 

Read Also: Diversity Week Spurs Virtual Conversations

WICT’s annual Leadership Conference will kick off this year’s Diversity Week festivities Oct. 4-5. “WICT is excited to usher in Diversity Week 2021 with its Leadership Conference. We plan to feature a mix of live networking activities and seamless presentations, panels and interactive sessions, which proved to be a highly-successful formula last year,” said WICT President & CEO, Maria Brennan in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with our diversity partners at NAMIC and the Walter Kaitz Foundation to provide the industry with a first-rate virtual experience.” 

NAMIC will hold its annual National Conference, titled Removing Barriers. Magnifying Opportunities, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8. “As people around the world continue to navigate these challenging times, NAMIC is exploring important new ways to build diverse and inclusive workplace communities,” said Shuanise Washington, President and CEO of NAMIC. “Our theme is bold, intentional, and recognizes the moment we are in societally and the role that all of us collectively can play. I’m confident that Diversity Week 2021 will be educational, engaging, energizing, and entertaining.” 

The Walter Kaitz Foundation, which will not hold its fundraising dinner for the second straight year, will host a virtual event to celebrate the industry’s collective and future-focused efforts. “In the spirit of unity, we are excited to be part of Diversity Week 2021 which renews our industry’s efforts in support of equity and inclusion,” said Walter Kaitz Foundation Executive Director Michelle Ray.

Ray added that the organizations are looking forward to a return of in-person events in 2022.  “Knowing how much we all crave personal interaction, and with an optimistic eye towards global progress, we are thrilled to be planning the return of a spectacular in-person Dinner in New York City on October 12, 2022.”

Read Also: Michelle Ray Keeps Inclusion Efforts Top of Mind 

If there’s one thing the global COVID-19 crisis has made plainly clear, it’s that the world is a better place when we are treated as equals. And while equality for all people is the law of the land, there is also compelling research which demonstrates that parity is the bedrock for becoming a better, stronger, more profitable company.

Women’s History Month and International Women's Day provide the perfect opportunity to remind corporate leaders of the benefits companies reap when they place a premium on workplace equality. As the oldest and largest organization dedicated to empowering and advancing women in the cable media industry, Women in Cable Telecommunications understands well that our industry is fueled by data. That is why WICT is passionate about highlighting the data that supports the business case for gender diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), placing it front and center in our communications. 

We’re in good company, because many experts believe that stronger DEI is vital to a faster economic recovery in the face of the ongoing pandemic.  Organizations that treat DEI as a business imperative will enjoy demonstrable benefits. 

A way to do that is to follow the Four Pluses of Parity — increased innovation, profitability, recruitment and employee retention. 

Front-Line Workers

In our industry, many women are on the front lines of this pandemic helping to fortify and galvanize workforces. Women must have a seat at the table, in good times as well as bad, for companies to innovate at a faster rate than homogenous companies. According to human-resources consultancy Bersin by Deloitte, inclusive companies with women in all their ranks are more than one and a half times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market. And Boston Consulting Group found that companies with above-average diversity within their management teams have innovation revenue of 45% versus 26% for those with below-average leadership diversity. 

To experience a significant jump in innovation revenue, leadership teams need to be at least 20% female. And that increase jumps even higher when the percentage of diverse leaders increases.

When it comes to profitability, as noted in the World Bank’s 2020 Women, Business and the Law report, “Equality of opportunity is good economics.” In fact, it is estimated that women’s lagging participation in employment and entrepreneurship costs the global economy about 15% of GDP. And on average, within the first 24 months of appointing female CFOs, companies see a 6% increase in profits and an 8% better stock return, per Bloomberg. Furthermore, research shows that company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top, according to McKinsey & Co.’s Diversity Matters report.

At a time when workforces have been reduced amidst dwindling returns, recruiting top talent is more crucial than ever before. Today’s job seekers have access to a remarkable amount of information at their fingertips when undergoing a job hunt or career pivot. Companies that demonstrate their commitment to DEI have a distinct recruiting advantage over companies that do not. In fact, a recent survey from Glassdoor found that 76% of job seekers said a diverse workforce was important when evaluating potential employers. 

In this age of social awakening, with the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements at the forefront, workforce parity has become a mandate. In order to fill that ever-important pipeline of women rising through the ranks in the industry, we must strive to be more inclusive than ever before.

Finally, organizations that develop diverse teams and inclusive workplaces tend to be better at retaining their people. Retention is an important issue for companies due to the significant cost of replacing and retraining employees. 

Crisis Leaders

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, we hear many success stories of women leading skillfully during times of crises. These aren’t merely anecdotal accounts. New research from Harvard Business Review shows that having women leaders in a company’s ranks gives employees a greater sense of teamwork and higher workplace morale. The research found that the engagement level of those working for female leaders is significantly higher than average, showing that female leaders express more awareness of fears that subordinates might be feeling, show concern for well-being and demonstrate confidence in their path forward.

Our industry is in rare air and deserves a resounding shout-out for allowing WICT and our diversity partners at NAMIC to measure and benchmark workplace demographics and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Not many industries are that forthcoming. Participation in the WICT/NAMIC PAR (Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources for Work/Life Integration) and AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) surveys demonstrates a commitment to transparency and a dedication to improvement. And because as we all know, what gets measured gets done, there is no better time than now to get it done. 

Maria E. Brennan, CAE, is president and CEO of Women In Cable Telecommunications.

 The industry’s Diversity Week festivities may not have been in person this year, but issues of diversity and inclusion remained front and center at the virtual events held by Women in Cable Telecommunications and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications.

Both WICT and NAMIC reported higher-than-expected attendance for their virtual presentations, which ran through most of last week. Between live registrations and on-demand signups, WICT said it has surpassed all previous WICT Leadership Conference attendance numbers with more than 843 registered attendees, while NAMIC reported registrations were up 40% from last year's in-person event. Both the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference were held at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel in 2019.

COVID-19-related disruptions in business operations both in the office and the studio  — as well as the social unrest in the country initiated by the May 25 death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody — provided a backdrop to the issue of the industry’s continuing efforts to become more diverse and inclusive within the executive ranks and on the screen.

NCTA–The Internet & Television Association president and CEO Michael Powell said during a WICT Oct. 5 session that Floyd’s killing, as well as other high-profile deaths of people of color at the hands of police, has galvanized both individuals and businesses toward a social justice movement within the country. 

“Business really had a wake up call in a way that I had not seen happen before,” Powell told session moderator Lori Hall, of marketing agency Pop’N Creative. “You’re seeing a lot more willingness by a new generation of business leaders to speak up and commit their company culture resources to important social questions facing the nation.” 

ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said during NAMIC’s virtual town hall on Oct. 8 that the conversations on race relations within companies are taking on greater relevance due to the events of this year. 

“I would say that eight minutes and 46 seconds really jolted us,” Bakish said of the time police kneeled on Floyd’s neck prior to his death. “It’s created a reckoning that’s led us all to confront systematic racism and bias that lives around us. We need to examine what we need to do to make diversity, inclusion, equity and justice a reality for everyone.”

Executives said part of that reality is further diversifying the executive ranks, as well as creating content that more accurately depicts the images and stories of people of color. While those efforts continue, speakers said the pandemic had created a new normal that the industry is still adjusting to and grappling with. 

The pandemic “has enabled us to think so much more creatively and pivot and work very quickly in brand new ways that we never thought we could,” Discovery Inc. chief lifestyle brands officer Kathleen Finch said during an Oct. 5 WICT session called “Navigating Chaos in a COVID World.”

Black News Channel president and CEO Princell Hair added it's important for the industry in general and the country at large to continue to remain diligent in diversity and inclusion efforts while not turning a blind eye to the plight of those who may have different experiences. 

“There’s a call to action that hasn’t been there in the past,” Hair said. “You can’t change what you don’t see, and it feels like society at large is really seeing what the problem is. It’s not just the people that are impacted by these various social injustices, coronavirus or struggling economy.” 

The coronavirus pandemic has not dampened the interest and importance of Diversity Week within the cable industry, as WICT and NAMIC will hold their respective annual conferences virtually this week.

From in-depth video keynotes and panel sessions to virtual happy hours and meet and greets, the groups will look to make the virtual WICT Leadership Conference (Oct. 5-6) and the 34th Annual NAMIC Conference (Oct. 6-9) as informative and enlightening as past in-person Diversity Week gatherings. 

“There will always be a need for diversity and inclusion,” National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications president and CEO A. Shuanise Washington said. “Given the fact that we are in a pandemic environment and given the overall environment that we are operating in as a country, what NAMIC brings to bear in a general nature is clearly more important for our audience this year.” 

More on Diversity Week: Celebrating a Legacy During Unusual Times

Women in Cable Telecommunications president and CEO Maria Brennan said this year’s conference theme, “The Power of Resilience,” is fitting given the challenges the industry and the country has faced this year. 

“When you think about the images we’ve seen on TV and the documentaries that our members have been developing that capture what has been going on in the country, it shows the resiliency of the human spirit,” she said.

Attendance Holding Up  

Despite the unprecedented virtual venue for this year’s conferences, both WICT and NAMIC said registrations are pacing well against traditional attendance marks. 

Between live registrations and on-demand signups, WICT said it has surpassed all previous Leadership Conference attendance numbers with 843 registered attendees as of Sept. 2. 

NAMIC reported that registrations are 40% higher for this year's conference than for last year's live event.

As with previous conferences, WICT and NAMIC will partner for a joint general session on Oct. 6 focused on creating successful Employee Resource Groups that will include AMC Networks chief transformation and people officer Jennifer Caserta; Altice USA executive VP of government and community affairs and chief diversity officer Lee Schroeder; and Comcast executive director of diversity and inclusion Mini Timmaraju. 

While most of the WICT Leadership Conference sessions will be pre-produced, Brennan said that some elements of the conference will be presented live. 

“What’s cool about the conference is that it’ll be pretty hard to discern what’s live and what’s not,” she said. “It’s going to feel like you’re very much walking into the ballroom at the Marriott Marquis — the only difference is that you can go in your sweats.” 

WICT’s opening morning on Oct. 5 will feature a “Super Session” featuring Today host Sheinelle Jones and Comcast VP of local media development Ebonne Ruffins, followed by a keynote session featuring Deborah Gruenfeld, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s School of Business. Also on the agenda are appearances by NCTA: The Internet & Television Association president and CEO Michael Powell, Discovery Inc. chief programming content and brand officer Kathleen Finch and TV One general manager Michelle Rice. 

Brennan said the conference will also continue with its popular “Pearls of Wisdom” session on Oct. 6, which features mini-keynotes from industry leaders. eatured speakers include HGTV president Jane Latman, attorney and TV host Eboni Willams and Diversability CEO and founder Tiffany Yu.

Overall, Brennan said the conference will offer 25 hours of programming across two days. “The beauty of it is you can consume it at your own pace,” she said. “As the program progresses it becomes on demand content.”

The NAMIC Conference’s  theme — “Building a Legacy: The Future is Now” — celebrates the organization’s four decades of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within the cable and communications industry workforce, Washington said. 

The four-day conference will offer keynote and breakout sessions that would have been offered concurrently under normal circumstances. “In the past people had to make a choice as to which ones to attend, but we’re not doing any overlapping programming this year as part of the conference,” she said. 

NAMIC will kick things off with its L. Patrick Mellon Mentoring Session, featuring WarnerMedia executive VP and chief enterprise inclusion officer Christy Haubegger and Essence Communications co-founder, CEO and publisher Ed Lewis. Oct. 8’s session will bring together ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises executive VP chief administrative and marketing officer Mónica Gil, Black News Channel president and CEO Princell Hair and Revolt Media & TV co-head and chief operating officer Detavio Samuels for a virtual Town Hall Meeting on Race and Relevancy in the Workplace, according to Washington. 

The organization will also recognize its Next Generation Leaders, Luminaries and Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award honoree during its Oct. 7 annual awards ceremony (see related story, page 16), as well as host a  Virtual Red Carpet and ELDP Graduation Ceremony on Oct. 9.

Rethinking Future Events

Washington said the ability for conference registrants to attend all of the conference sessions either live and on demand has helped build awareness and interest in the conference. She added that the situation has also forced NAMIC to rethink how it will operate future NAMIC Conferences. 

“It forces you to think about how you do business differently,” she said. “However the new normal will look when we open back up again, I think it’s safe to say that NAMIC will be looking at virtual opportunities for programming delivery from here on out.”

Brennan said future WICT Conferences would also look different post-pandemic.

“Everybody is going to have a different tolerance for crowds and live events after COVID-19 is under control, so for us there will be in the foreseeable future a hybrid approach to this event,” she said. “The WICT Leadership Conference is that one event in which all of our masses can get together, so we may continue to have some events online in the future.” λ

The coronavirus pandemic has altered the makeup of the cable industry’s 2020 Diversity Week festivities as the annual Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner has been canceled and both the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference will be held online. 

In a joint statement, the three organizations announced that they are “forging ahead with new plans for virtual initiatives” to supplant the Diversity Week festivities that were scheduled for the week of Oct. 4

“The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every event planned for the remainder of 2020, and large group gatherings in major American cities are tightly restricted,” according to the statement.

WICT (partial agenda) and NAMIC will proceed with virtual conferences during the week of Oct. 4, with each organization communicating directly with members and conference participants regarding their plans.

The Walter Kaitz Foundation has canceled its traditional dinner this year as a result of the pandemic, and will “pivot to a major fundraising campaign to support the deliberate work of its grants programs and bridge the fundraising gap caused by the cancellation,” according to the statement.

In March, the T Howard Foundation canceled its diversity fundraising dinner due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Women in Cable & Telecommunications said its staff continues to work remotely, with all calls automatically forwarded and mail routed to the appropriate staffers.

WICT has suspended all out-of-town business travel.

It has also cancelled or changed the following out of "an abundance of caution," a caution that has become the watchword in the age of coronavirus and social distancing:

Executive Development Series. The Session is cancelled, with registrants moved to fall session.

Rising Leaders Program. The April Session is cancelled, again with registrants moved to later sessions.

Signature Luncheon — The luncheon (in April) is cancelled, but a revised event will eventually be held, it says, details to follow.

All WICT’s in-person chapter programs have been suspended until further notice.

As part of the just-ended NYC Television Week events, Multichannel News has named the 2020 Wonder Women, who will be celebrated on March 26 during NYC TV Week Spring.

For more than 20 years, MCN has been saluting select female leaders in media at a gala luncheon in New York City, and in a special issue of the magazine. The 2020 luncheon will be at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, an event co-hosted by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications.

More than 700 people are expected to attend to hear the honorees share their inspiring stories and network with their peers in the multichannel TV industry. 

“Now in its 22nd year, the Multichannel News Wonder Women event is a celebration of standout female leaders in media,” said Randi Schatz, VP/Market Leader of Media Entertainment at Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News. “We are thrilled to be honoring women in the industry who exemplify leadership, determination, and innovation across many aspects of the business. They are an inspiration to us all.”

Here are the 2020 Wonder Women (alphabetically):

Friday Abernethy, Senior Vice President, Content Distribution, Univision.

Tricia Alcamo, Group Vice President, Human Resources, Spectrum Enterprise.

Lisa Bonnell, Senior Vice President & General Auditor, Comcast Corporation.

Samantha Cooper, Executive Vice President, Partnerships, Distribution & Business Development, Viacom.

Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery & Factual, Discovery Channel and Science Channel.

Rosalyn Durant, Senior Vice President, College Networks, ESPN.

Mónica Gil, Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Georgia Juvelis, Executive Vice President & Co-Head, Corporate Communications, AMC Networks.

Jennifer Koester, Director of Telco and Video Distribution Partnerships, Google.

Jeanine Liburd, Chief Social Impact and Communications Officer, BET Networks.

Tina Perry, President, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Stephanie Plasse, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, A+E Networks.

For more information about Wonder Women and the event, including table and ticket purchases, please visit the mcnwonderwomen.com site.

The cable and communications industry has made major strides in the hiring of women and people of color, but the industry is struggling with retaining women and people of color at the same pace as men and whites, according to industry diversity employment studies from NAMIC and WICT.

The results of the biennial study — revealed this morning at a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference — offered offered encouraging news on hiring and promotion of people of color and women compared to the last conducted reports in 2017.

Among the companies that participated in both the 2017 and the 2019 surveys, the 2019 AIM/PAR Workforce Survey reported that representation of people of color at executive/senior managers levels increased to 28.4% from 25.1% over the two-year period. In addition, the percentage of people of color at board of director levels increased to 16.8% from 15.3%. Compared to whites, the hiring percentage rate of people of color is 15.4 percentage points higher, said the survey.

Overall, people of color representation within cable industry increased at all levels for both operators and programmers, according to the survey. 

“It’s encouraging to see that people of color are making advancements in the industry,” says NAMIC President and CEO Shuanise Washington.

The survey also reported that female representation at the executive/senior management level increased to 34.9% from 32.7% compared to 2017, as well as at the board of directors level, to 25.2% from 16.8%. The overall promotional rate is higher for women than for men.

“We are grateful that we work in an industry that allows WICT and NAMIC to measure workforce diversity and inclusion,” said WICT President & CEO Maria E. Brennan. “Knowing where women and people of color stand is step-one in ensuring progress. As the survey results show, for women, closing the gaps in hiring and employee retention are central to achieving parity with men.”

The surveys also raised several red flags for the industry. Promotional rates for people of color are lower than whites, and young white professionals under the age of 36 are promoted at more than two times the rate of young professionals of color, according to the survey. For women, the survey reports that the turnover rate for women is 7.3 percentage points higher than for men.

“Clearly more needs to be done, particularly in the area of retaining and promoting people of color,” Washington said. “Companies need to shift from focusing solely on diversity to also focusing on inclusion. That’s where you are going to start to see real progress because diversity without inclusion is not effective in the long term.”

Brennan added that the data will help fortify the industry’s efforts to become more diverse and inclusive. “Like our partners at NAMIC and The Walter Kaitz Foundation, we will use this data to help companies strengthen their practices and policies to improve recruitment and retention of women within their workforce.” 

The AIM/PAR Workforce Survey was administered by research company Mercer and financially supported by The Walter Kaitz Foundation. A total of 21 organizations representing 75.5% of the industry workforce participated in the online survey of cable and communications companies, which employ more than 245,000 people, according to the organizations.

Eight new Touchstones of Leadership Award winners will be saluted at the Women In Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Washington/Baltimore Chapter's PowerBrokers Breakfast Oct. 4 at the National Press Club in Washington. They include a current FCC commissioner saluted for his public service. 

The awards honor leaders who have had local, regional and national impacts on the industry. ABC News Live anchor/correspondent Kimberly Brooks will keynote the event. 

And the 2019 Leadership Awards winners are:  

Geraldine B. Laybourne Award: Michelle Rice, GM, TV One and Cleo TV 

Inspire Award: Jana D. Fay, VP of finance, C-SPAN 

Communicate Award: Janet Uthman, VP, inclusion and multicultural marketing. Comcast Northeast Division 

Connect Award: Brad Surdam, VP, engineering, Comcast's Beltway Region

Know Yourself Award: Michelle A. Ray, executive director, The Walter Kaitz Foundation 

Catalyst Award: Lesli Rotenberg, chief programming executive and GM, children's media and education, PBS 

Listen Award: Vonya Alleyne, VP, human resources, Cox Communications, Virginia 

Glenn Britt Emerging Leader Award: Karen Greenfield, SVP, business and production operations, NatGeo Wild 

Outstanding Public Service Award: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly.

Broadband providers and content companies are teaming up on a digital media campaign (#LeadWithMore) to mark the 40th anniversary of Women in Cable Telecommunications. The companies are committing more than $6 million in airtime to the campaign, as well as social media support.

Comcast NBCUniversal, Cox Communications, Discovery, Inc., Spectrum and Turner joined with WICT to announce the campaign at the National Press Club Monday (March 4) in Washington, with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly scheduled to be on hand to recognize the effort.

WICT unveiled a PSA, backed by those companies and "designed to build awareness of the vast career opportunities available for women in the media industry, specifically in technology, science and engineering roles."

The PSA highlights the following points:

• "Companies with women in top management have higher staff morale (Harvard Business Review).
• "Gender diversity fosters greater innovation (Pfizer and AstraZeneca).
• "Gender diverse companies are more profitable than their competition (McKinsey and Company).
• "Across the board, women in leadership roles enhance a company's performance (Peterson Institute for International Economics)."

“At a time when we can all recognize that time’s up, there’s truly no better time than now to make diversity and inclusion a central part of a competitive business strategy," said WICT Global Chair Marva Johnson.

The #LeadwithMore campaign began Monday (March 4) and continues through June 4.

In his remarks, Chairman Pai borrowed from "one of the greatest female characters ever on cable"--Mad Men's Peggy Olson. "During a job interview," he said, "a male candidate for a writing position once disrespected Peggy, assuming she was a secretary. Peggy replied simply and accurately: "I am the person you need to impress right now.' Like Peggy Olson, WICT demands our attention and deserves our respect."The chairman provided some supporting material: "First, WICT opens doors. Noted television writer Nell Scovell has said that the lack of gender diversity in parts of the media and tech sectors is 'not a pipeline problem. It’s a broken doorbell problem. There’s so much talent that’s on the doorstep ringing the bell. And no one’s opening the door.' For 40 years, you’ve been working to fix that doorbell in the cable industry.  "Second, WICT develops talent. A lot of people may get a foot in the door. But they may not know how to walk all the way in, even with a lot of hard work and aptitude. WICT’s work to create mentoring opportunities helps women turn potential into power. "Third, WICT creates role models. When you open doors for women in the cable industry, and then enable their talents to shine so they can rise to leadership positions, it has a ripple effect far beyond the careers of the women you touch directly.  When talented young women see people who look like themselves holding senior positions in the cable business, they are more likely to see those jobs as a possibility for themselves."

Debra L. Lee, who shaped the vision of Black Entertainment Television for more than 30 years and is among the most prominent African-American female leaders in media, will accept the 2019 Multichannel News Woman of Influence award on Wednesday, March 20, at the annual Wonder Women luncheon in New York City.

Lee, who is CEO Emeritus and Former Chairman of Viacom-owned BET Networks, is the third MCN Woman of Influence and the first African-American woman to receive the award. Last year ESPN's Hannah Storm received the award, following CBS News's Lesley Stahl in 2017.

Related: Click here to reserve your place at Wonder Women

With a trailblazing career spanning over three decades, Debra L. Lee is arguably one of the most influential female voices in the entertainment industry. Up until May 2018, she served as the Chairman & CEO of BET Networks, a leading provider of entertainment for the African-American audience and consumers of black culture globally. 

During her tenure, Lee helmed BET’s reinvigorated approach to corporate philanthropy and authentic programming that led to hits such as The New Edition Story, Being Mary Jane, The BET Awards, Black Girls Rock! and BET Honors, and she launched and rebranded the 24-hour network that is now BET Her, a channel designed for black women. 

She has earned the pay-TV industry’s highest accolades, including the Distinguished Leadership Vanguard Award by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association induction into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. 

Video: Debra L. Lee Discusses Her Legacy at BET

In February 2017, the GRAMMY Organization recognized Lee with the Salute To Industry Icons Award on behalf of her major contributions to American music and culture -- the first and only woman to receive that honor. 

The Wonder Women luncheon, co-sponsored annually by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, will be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Lee is a committed philanthropist, holding a position on The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, serving as President; is a member emeritus of the FCC’s Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age; and sits on the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute, Brown University’s Center for Slavery & Justice, The Paley Center for Media, and The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for former President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and in 2011 was appointed by President Obama to the White House Management Advisory Board during his tenure. Lee also currently sits on the Board of Directors for corporations like Twitter, Marriott and Washington Gas Light.

The 26th Annual LEA Awards — honoring leadership, excellence, advocacy — will be celebrated Thursday, Nov. 29, at a gala luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Women in Cable Telecommunications of Southern California will honor six leading female media executives (cited here) and welcome two special guests, former FCC commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn and former WICT national board member and past Style Network president Salaam Coleman Smith. Hosting the event are Emmy-winning entertainment journalists and producers Erica Olsen, with CBS Los Angeles, and Mark Steines. For more about the awards and event, visit socalwict.org.

Sarah Aubrey is executive vice president of original programming for TNT. She joined the network in February 2015 as a key member of the new executive team under Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT, chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment. She is responsible for overseeing all development and production of original series and miniseries for the network’s rapidly expanding programming slate. Since joining TNT, Aubrey has green-lighted several series including the network’s highest-rated summer hit, Claws. She also helped to develop the TNT series Animal Kingdom, Good Behavior and The Alienist. Prior to joining TNT, Aubrey was partnered with Peter Berg in their production company, Film 44. Together with Berg, she produced such projects as the acclaimed film and television series Friday Night Lights.

Jamia Bigalow is senior vice president, distribution marketing for Fox Networks Group, overseeing strategies to support linear and nonlinear distribution and generating greater brand awareness for Fox’s portfolio of networks. She directs the development of partnership campaigns that align business objectives for the company’s network brands, which include Fox, FX, National Geographic, Fox Sports and Fox News Channel. She also oversees marketing efforts surrounding retransmission consent and channel carriage agreements. Before joining Fox, she was among the first employees of NFL Network.

Rhonda Crichlow is senior vice president and chief diversity officer of Charter Communications, responsible for the overall strategic development and implementation of Charter’s diversity and inclusion strategy. She joined Charter after 10 years with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she most recently served as VP and head, U.S. diversity and inclusion, president of the Novartis U.S. Foundation and a member of the Innovative Medicines Executive Committee. She joined NPC as the executive director of philanthropy and community development in 2006.

Sarah Harden is the CEO of Hello Sunshine, a media brand anchored in storytelling, creating content that changes the narrative for women. Harden partnered with founder Reese Witherspoon to form Hello Sunshine, leading the first investment into the company on behalf of Otter Media where she served as president. Harden earlier led Otter Media, a privately held joint venture between AT&T and The Chernin Group which she helped form in April 2014 to acquire, invest in and launch global over-the-top video services, with companies including Fullscreen, Roosterteeth, Ellation, Crunchyroll, Gunpowder and Sky. Otter was sold to AT&T in 2018.

Amy Introcaso-Davis is executive vice president, development and production for E!. She oversees all unscripted development and production for the global pop-culture brand, including popular series Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Total Divas, Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry and Botched. Prior to joining E!, Introcaso-Davis served as executive vice president, programming and development at GSN, where she was responsible for the program strategy that led to five years of consecutive growth. Before GSN, Introcaso-Davis served as a production executive at Oxygen, Bravo, Lifetime and Fox.

Linda Kavanaugh is vice president of human resources for Cox Communications’ California operations. She provides leadership and strategic direction for employee relations, leadership development, training, performance management, benefits administration and safety and security for the company’s employees in Orange County, Palos Verdes, San Diego and Santa Barbara. She also leads the company’s Diversity Council of employees in California. She joined the Cox Human Resources team in San Diego in 1996, rising through the ranks to her current role in 2017.

Mignon L. Clyburn served on the Federal Communications Commission from 2009 to 2018, and as acting chair from May to November of 2013. During her nearly nine years at the FCC, she was committed to closing persistent digital and opportunities divides that continue to challenge rural, Native and low wealth communities. Previously, she served 11 years on the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Before that, she was the publisher and general manager of the Coastal Times, the Charleston-based weekly newspaper focusing on issues affecting African-Americans. She is currently a fellow at the Open Society Foundation, continuing to champion efforts to eliminate predatory rates for prison telephone services.

The Cable TV Industry’s Annual Diversity Week returns to New York this coming week with Women In Cable Telecommunications, the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications and the Walter Kaitz Foundation hosting events to highlight the industry’s efforts toward creating more diversity and inclusion both on screen and in the executive suite.

WICT leads things off Monday (Oct. 15) with its annual Leadership Conference. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group chairman Bonnie Hammer will deliver the opening keynote at the gathering, which bears the theme “The Intersection of Imagination & Activation.”

WICT Gathering Leads Off

Highlights of the conference include Monday’s Touchstones Luncheon, in which WICT will honor its 2018 Women of the Year: Italia Commisso Weinand, executive vice president of programming and human resources for Mediacom Communications, and Mary Campbell, chief merchandising and interactive officer, Qurate Retail Group. (All three events cited here are at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.)

Author and journalist Joanne Lipman will provide the keynote address on Oct. 16 based on her book, That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together.

WICT will also bring back its “Pearls of Wisdom” series of mini-keynotes delivered by influential female executives, including Michelle Gadsden-Williams, managing director, inclusion and diversity lead, North America, Accenture; Roma Khanna, CEO of Revolt Media and TV; Matt Abrahams, lecturer, organizational behavior, Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-founder, BoldEcho LLC; Francesca Gino, professor of business administration, Harvard Business School; and Masih Alinejad-Ghomi, journalist and author of The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran.

The two-day, 32nd annual NAMIC Conference begins on Tuesday (Oct. 16), with the theme “Empower Leaders, Create Super Heroes.” Led by Shuanise Washington, the organization’s newly named president, and NAMIC Conference co-chairs Italia Commisso Weinand and TV One general manager Michelle Rice, the conference’s numerous panels and events will offer insight towards the industry’s efforts to advance greater inclusion and diversity.

The conference will open with a keynote address from CNN anchor Don Lemon and will close with the organization’s annual awards luncheon Wednesday (Oct. 17). BET Networks chairman and CEO emeritus Debra Lee will receive NAMIC’s Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award.

The conference will also feature the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon. Presented in partnership with WICT and sponsored by the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the program will feature John Kobara, executive vice president and chief operating officer for the California Community Foundation.

During last year’s Diversity Week, NAMIC and WICT teamed to present reports on workforce diversity for women and minorities. While the next report is not set until 2019, WICT president and CEO Maria Brennan said the week’s events put cable in a positive light relative to its diversity goals and initiatives.

“Our industry can teach other business sectors a thing or two about workplace diversity and inclusion,” Brennan said. “Not only does cable allow WICT and NAMIC to measure its workforce diversity, we set aside a full week to convene our stakeholders to share best practices. I know of no other business that does that.”

Kaitz Dinner Is Centerpiece

Diversity Week’s centerpiece is the 35th annual Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner on Wednesday (Oct. 17). The Kaitz dinner raises funds to support media and telecommunications industry diversity groups. The 2017 dinner raised more than $1.6 million. Under the theme “Diversity Through the Decades,” the dinner will celebrate African-American-targeted cable network TV One as 2018 Diversity Champion and the Boys & Girls Club of America as Diversity Advocate.

“These two organizations epitomize the Walter Kaitz Foundation’s belief that a demonstrated commitment to enhance diversity and inclusion can be achieved in groundbreaking and innovative ways across all organizations,” Michelle Ray, the newly named executive director of the Walter Kaitz Foundation, said. “This 35th anniversary milestone offers our industry a unique opportunity to reflect upon the work we’ve all done to make diversity and inclusion one of the cornerstones of our industry while we chart a course for the future.”

TV One’s Michelle Rice, a former Kaitz fellow, told Multichannel News that her network is honored to be recognized by the Kaitz Foundation for contributing to diversity and inclusion on television.

“When we launched in 2004, there was only BET in the marketplace, and people then were questioning whether there needed to be another black network,” Rice said. “Now, if you look at the proliferation of black content across the platform, we know the answer to that question as the industry now understands the value of this audience, and we believe that we had a lot to do with that.”

David Porter will step down as executive director of The Walter Kaitz Foundation effective April 13, the diversity organization announced Friday.

Longtime Kaitz executive and deputy executive director Michelle Ray will serve as interim executive director upon Porter’s departure, according to Kaitz.

Porter joined Kaitz in August 2006 and during his tenure raised more than $20 million – mostly through the organization’s annual autumn fundraising dinner -- to fuel cable industry initiatives implemented by the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), and the Emma L. Bowen Foundation.

READ MORE: Diddy Uses Kaitz Moment For Diversity Message

Under Porter’s leadership, Kaitz has also pioneered bi-annual industry-wide surveys -- conducted jointly with WICT and NAMIC -- to identify and track diversity within the industry’s employment ranks. Here is a link to a story about the 2017 survey results.

"Under David's leadership, the Walter Kaitz Foundation has reached new and sustained levels of achievement, becoming the bedrock for efforts across our industry to enhance and embrace diversity as a core operating principle," said NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell in a statement. "David's leadership has brought out the best in us, in our efforts to shape our industry into a national leader on diversity and inclusion. His passion for, and commitment to, this work is unsurpassed. We will miss his vision and presence, and we wish him all the best in future endeavors."

NAMIC said after analyzing the 2017 NAMIC/WICT Cable Telecommunications Industry Workforce Diversity Survey it had determined the 2017 top companies in the industry for people of color. The Walter Kaitz Foundation funded the survey, by Mercer. Twenty-four organizations completed the survey, representing about 67.5% of the cable telecommunications industry workforce, NAMIC said. 

The survey captured organizational workforce demographics, diversity practices, non-traditional employee benefits, and other indicators of commitment to diversity and inclusion, NAMIC said. The survey also gathered information that enabled the creation of industry-wide Internal Labor Market (ILM) maps showing workforce dynamics – hires, promotions and retention – of people of color in the industry. These data were then used to generate projections of which strategies over the next five years potentially may have significant impact on the career trajectories of the targeted groups, per a NAMIC press release.

Alphabetically (not in ranking order) the companies cited by NAMIC as best in class are:

--Charter Communications, Comcast Corp., Cox Communications, Mediacom Communications and Midco Communications from the operator ranks.

--A+E Television Networks, Discovery Communications, Disney | ABC Television Group, NBCUniversal and Univision Communications among programmers.

RELATED: WICT, NAMIC Surveys Show Women, People of Color Make Gains in Workplace

“NAMIC congratulates each honoree designated as a Top Company for People of Color,” NAMIC president and CEO Eglon E. Simons said in the release. “The successful diversity and inclusion efforts of this group of operators and programmers help to strengthen at its core an industry in a state of constant change and reinvention.  At every organizational level, from call centers to creative teams to Board rooms, these Top Companies for People of Color grasp just how necessary a rich diversity of cultural perspectives is for harnessing innovation and for thriving amidst disruption.”

"Launched in 1999 as 'A Look Toward Advancement: Multi-ethnic Employment in the Communications Industry,' NAMIC’s initial employment survey offered a baseline of statistics and perceptions about the state of multi-ethnic diversity in the cable communications industry," NAMIC said. "Renamed 'The NAMIC AIM' (Advancement Investment Measurement) in 2011, the report continues to provide rich data utilized by companies to support goals for building and sustaining a robust pipeline of multi-ethnic talent."

The editors of Multichannel News have named the 2018 class of Women to Watch, part of the annual Wonder Women celebration. These outstanding women, executives in media companies at the forefront of multichannel TV and related industries, will be honored at the 20th Anniversary Wonder Women Luncheon on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

Multichannel News announced the 20th Anniversary class of Wonder Women in October. More information about the 2018 luncheon is available here.

RELATED: MCN Names 2018 Wonder Women Class

The Women to Watch Award is an honor bestowed upon industry professionals whose ongoing contributions are emblematic of the vital role they currently play, as well as their impact on the industry’s future. The 12 members of the 2018 Women to Watch class are:

• Friday Abernethy, Senior Vice President of Content Distribution, Univision Communications Inc.
• Janet Balis, Global Advisory Leader for Media & Entertainment, EY
• Johanna Fuentes, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Showtime Networks Inc.
• Roz Ho, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer and Metadata, TiVo
• Georgia Juvelis, Senior Vice President, and Co-Head, Corporate Communications, AMC Networks
• Jennifer Koester, Director of Telco and Video Distribution Partnerships, Google
• Colleen Moraghan, Senior Vice President, Data Solutions, 605
• Robyn Polashuk, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
• Samantha Rose, Vice President, Director, Video Investment, Horizon Media
• Michelle Strong, Senior Vice President, Distribution, A+E Networks
• Michele Thornton Ghee, Senior Vice President Media Sales, BET Networks/BET Her, A Viacom Company
• Julie Unruh, Group Vice President, Programming Financial Operations & Analytics, Charter Communications

“This year’s group of Women to Watch is pushing the boundaries in both personal and professional achievements,” said Mark Robichaux, editorial director, Multichannel News. “It’s a distinct pleasure to honor these accomplished women along with our 2018 class of Wonder Women.”

RELATED: At Wonder Women event, Lesley Stahl Says Attacks on Media Could Backfire on Trump

Tickets for the luncheon, co-sponsored by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), are on sale now at http://mcnwonderwomen.com. Wonder Women and Women to Watch profiles will appear in the Jan. 29 edition of Multichannel News. For sponsorship or advertising Information, please contact: Charlie Weiss at (212) 378-0478 or cweiss@nbmedia.com.

READ MORE: #MCNWW News and Profiles

Established in 1999, the annual Wonder Women awards celebration -- co-hosted by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and featuring prominent TV personalities as presenters -- has honored more than 200 women over the years, celebrating their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond. For more information, visit http://mcnwonderwomen.com or search for #MCNWW2018 on Twitter and Facebook. Wonder Women is produced by Multichannel News.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Women in Cable Telecommunications Southern California Chapter is honoring a network P.R. ace, a kids’ content and strategy expert, a content acquisition maven and an actress twice nominated for an Oscar.

The 2017 LEA Awards, their 25th anniversary edition, will be presented at a luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 9, at The Beverly Hills Hotel, kicking off with a networking reception at 11:30 a.m. followed by the awards luncheon at 12:30-3 p.m. (For more, visit LEAAwards.com.)

The program includes a panel discussion on leadership with the honorees, moderated by KCBS on-air host Erica Olsen. The four honorees, listed alphabetically, are being recognized for their contributions to the industry and their commitment to developing women leaders in entertainment.

The honorees are (alphabetically):

• Terri Hines, executive vice president, communications, Fox Sports;
• Nancy Kanter, executive vice president, content and creative strategy, Disney Channel Worldwide, and general manager, Disney Junior Worldwide;
• Mary McDonnell, actress and star of TNT’s Major Crimes;
• and Kathy Payne, head, content acquisition management, Amazon Channels.

Terri Hines joined Fox Sports as executive vice president of communications last December. She serves as Fox Sports’ chief spokesperson and is responsible for leading the development and execution of communication strategies for the sports programmer’s multiplatform portfolio. She reports to Fox Sports president and COO Eric Shanks.

Hines previously spent 10 successful years at Nike, most recently as VP of global communications for the Converse brand. Hines also was director of communications for Nike’s Jordan Brand of premium athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. Working directly with NBA legend Michael Jordan and his team, Hines was a driving force behind a number of brand firsts, notably the campaign launch for the Air Jordan XX3, at the time the biggest in Nike history. She also was responsible for rebranding and launching Jordan Brand’s philanthropic platform, Wings for the Future.

Prior to Nike, Hines spent 10 years at Nissan North America in a variety of roles in media relations, communications, public affairs and multicultural marketing, and created Nissan’s first lifestyle and entertainment practice. She started her career at Volkswagen of America.

Nancy Kanter was promoted to executive vice president, content and creative strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide, and general manager, Disney Junior Worldwide, this year. She is responsible for content creation strategy that guides the development of original live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14 on Disney Channel and Disney XD, and all creative content for kids age 2-7 on Disney Junior. She also oversees strategy for acquired content that supports the overarching creative vision and, working with the live action and animation development and programming teams, continues attracting, developing and retaining creative talent to Disney’s portfolio of entertainment platforms for kids and families.

Under Kanter, the 24-hour Disney Junior channel has reigned as the top preschooler-dedicated TV network in total viewers, kids 2-5, girls 2-5, boys 2-5 and women 18-49. In 2016, the channel presented the top eight series among kids 2-5 and total viewers, including The Lion Guard, Elena of Avalor and Miles from Tomorrowland. Kanter also brought the Peabody-winning Doc McStuffins, the Emmy-winning Sofia the First, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey and the Roadster Racers and Puppy Dog Pals to Disney Junior.

Previously executive VP, original programming, she joined Disney Channel in 2001. In 2011 and 2012, she led the successful rebrand of Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior, establishing the brand a total of 33 Disney Junior channels in 24 languages around the world. Prior to joining Disney Channel, Kanter was president, Bluecow.com, a children’s entertainment internet, following a distinguished run as an executive producer and producer of children’s programming.

Mary McDonnell is a distinguished American actress known for her work in theater, film, and television. She is highly regarded for her portrayals of strong, empathic and powerful women. Her ability to connect with roles in a way that reveals a conscious awareness of the world around her has resulted in a rewarding and long lasting career.

Nominated twice for Academy Awards for her work in movies (Dances With Wolves, Passion Fish), she has also been nominated twice each for Golden Globes and Emmy awards. Her many TV roles include the surgeon Dr. Virginia Dixon in Grey’s Anatomy and Noah Wyle’s alcoholic mother in ER. She played President Laura Roslin in Syfy’s Peabody Award-winning series Battlestar Galactica; Capt./Cmdr. Sharon Raydor in TNT’s franchise drama series The Closer and in Major Crimes; and the mysterious widow Ruby Goldfarb in Fargo on FX.

As an advocate, she has used her voice to support The National Lyme Disease Association (spokesperson), Autism Speaks, Sunshine Kids, Ocean Park Community Center and Everett Company Stage School in Providence, R.I. She recently aided the fundraising effort for The Water Protectors Legal Collective, devoted to finding legal representation for Americans arrested during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Kathy Payne joined Amazon in March to lead the content acquisition team focused on live television channels for Amazon Channels. Over the course of her career, she has been at the forefront of transforming the consumer television experience, negotiating video programming rights from virtually every major media company over 25 years.

Before she joined Amazon, Payne was chief programming officer at Suddenlink Communications (now part of Altice USA) and before that, she was VP of content acquisition and an assistant general counsel at Cox Communications.

Payne served on the board of Women in Cable & Telecommunications for seven years, chairing it for two years. She has received several industry and corporate awards for leadership, commitment to customers and cost-mitigation efforts. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and loves adventure travel, most recently trekking in Peru and Nepal and exploring Cuba and Argentina.

The editors of Multichannel News have announced the 2018 class of Wonder Women — the 20th anniversary class — ahead of a celebratory luncheon event on Thursday, March 22. The luncheon, co-sponsored by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, will be at the new Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

Since 1999, MCN's Wonder Women has celebrated the accomplishments of industry decision-makers who have helped pave the way for younger generations of women in the evolving worlds of multichannel TV and related media businesses.

The 12 members of the 2018 class of Wonder Women are (alphabetically):

• Darcy Antonellis, CEO, Vubiquity
• Kerry Brockhage, Executive Vice President & Chief Counsel, Content Distribution, NBCUniversal
• Christa D'Alimonte, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Viacom
• Stephanie Druley, ESPN Senior Vice President, Event & Studio Production 
• Marianne Gambelli, President, Ad Sales, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network
• Sarah Gitchell, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Counsel - Content Acquisition, Comcast Cable
• Beth Main, Senior Vice President, Domestic Network Distribution, HBO
• Jennifer Mirgorod, Executive Vice President of Content Distribution & Strategic Partnerships, Turner
• Debra O'Connell, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Disney|ABC Television Group
• Elaine Paul, Chief Financial Officer, Strategy & Business Development, Hulu
• Loretta Polk, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, NCTA - The Internet & Television Association
• Josie Thomas, Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, CBS Corp.

The 2018 Class of Women to Watch will be announced separately.

For more information on the 2018 Wonder Women class and event, including registration information, visit http://mcnwonderwomen.com. 

For comprehensive editorial coverage of Wonder Women coverage over the years, click here.

New York City TV Week is coming up, starting with the 27th annual Broadcasting & CableHall of Fame on Monday, Oct. 16. For more about NYCTVWK, click here. 

While cable is making positive strides with regard to hiring women and people of color for executive positions, an increase in the employee turnover rate – with many employees migrating to OTT and new media companies – must be addressed to keep future leaders within the industry, executives said during a Town Hall meeting Tuesday morning in New York. 

The Town Hall session featured the unveiling of the Women in Cable Telecommunications's PAR Cable Telecommunications Industry Diversity Survey and and the National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications’s AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) Workforce Study, which revealed increased percentages of women and people of color in executive positions since the last surveys in 2015.

Executives speaking at the Town Hall meeting said the challenge will be to continue those gains within an industry that’s also focused on evolving to better serve its customers and remain competitive against digital companies.

RELATED: WICT, NAMIC Surveys: Women, People of Color Make Gains at Senior Management, Executive Level

“In that [competitive] space there’s a lot of distraction, so making sure that we maintain diversity and inclusion in the forefront so we don’t experience slippage in our progress is a challenge,” ESPN vice president of diversity, inclusion and wellness Monica Diaz said. “The key is to make it part of the disruption that we want to get done.”

Comcast senior executive vice president and chief diversity officer David Cohen added that extending the commitment to diversity and inclusion beyond the human resources department and into a company’s full business operations is critical for success.

“When you define diversity that widely, it's actually easier to get executive and employee buy-in to the value of diversity as a business imperative,” Cohen said.

Related: New York Backs TV Production Tax Break for Hiring Diverse Writers, Directors

To attract and retain talent, Cox Communications executive vice president and chief human resources officer Karen Bennett said it's important for companies to positively project an image of inclusiveness for current and prospective employees to see.

“A lot of this starts with putting your image out there of who you are and then representing that to those who have joined the company so that they stay,” Bennett said.

Cohen added that millennials in particular value diversity and will be drawn more toward companies that foster inclusion and diversity.

“We are more diverse than Silicon Valley and the tech industry, and that gives us a competitive advantage in attracting millennials who would otherwise be inclined to go to tech companies.,” he said.

Related: Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative Paves Way for Women and Minority Directors

Once they get women and people of color in the door, the industry has struggled to keep them within the cable ranks. The turnover rate for women is higher than for men at all levels, while the turnover rate for people of color is higher than their white counterparts, according to the WICT and NAMIC surveys.

Yet Adria Alpert Romm, chief HR and global diversity officer at Discovery Communications, said that even if women and people of color leave the industry, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t return at some point in their careers.

“If we do a great job of bringing talent into our expanded cable industry, and then they’re picked off by the Facebooks of the world, I don’t think that’s bad,” said Romm. “I think the key thing is that everyone – Hulu, Facebook, Netflix, etc. – learn from the cable industry and bring diversity into those organizations. Then the flow of candidates will move [back and forth], which is good for the industry.”

Related: NAMIC’s Annual Awards Now a Rite of Fall

Several executives pointed to the low number of companies actually participating in the PAR and AIM surveys. Only 24 of 80 companies contacted actually partook in the surveys, although that number represented some 67.5% of the total cable workforce.

“[The survey findings] are probably the result of a few [cable companies] that are carrying the perspective or perception of stronger diversity than there might actually be,” said Rhonda Crichlow, senior vice president and chief diversity officer for Charter Communications. “I can’t understand why the participation rate is so low… From my perspective as an industry, we might have more work to do in terms of helping people understand the importance of the work we want to do in terms of diversity and inclusion.”

Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) has tapped BBC America president and general manager Sarah Barnett and Comcast executive vice president and chief communications officer D’Arcy Rudnay as its respective 2017 programmer and operator “Woman of The Year” honorees.

WICT also announced its “2017 Women To Watch” honorees, which include Samira Panah Bakhtiar, Director of Media Operations for Cisco Systems -- the first award recipient of the newly established Technology category -- Tina Thornton, Senior Vice President of Production & Multimedia Sponsorship Integration and Management Operations for ESPN; and Charlene Keys, AVP, Field Operations, Western North Carolina, for Charter Communications. 

Honorees will receive their awards during the WICT Touchstones Luncheon on Monday, Sept. 25, at the WICT Leadership Conference, part of the cable industry's annual Diversity Week. AMC Networks will once again return as the exclusive Premier Sponsor of the Touchstones Luncheon. 

"WICT is honored to applaud and celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary individuals," said Maria Brennan, CAE, President and CEO of WICT, in a statement. "Each honoree embodies the WICT Touchstones of Leadership and serves as a shining example for others in the industry to emulate. We look forward to showcasing their accomplishments during this year's Touchstones Luncheon as part of Diversity Week 2017, and we thank AMC Networks for their continued support of this important event."

The Walter Kaitz Foundation will honor HBO and nonprofit organization Girls Who Code during its 34th annual Fundraising Dinner on Sept. 27, the company announced Monday.

HBO will be honored as a 2017 Diversity Champion, an award given to organizations that act as catalysts for diversity throughout the cable industry, while its Diversity Advocate award will go to Girls Who Code, a group dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by providing girls with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities, according to Kaitz. 

“Since its founding, HBO has cultivated an environment that values divergent voices, encourages innovative thinking and expression, and rewards both individual and collective accomplishments,” said David Porter, executive director of the Kaitz Foundation in a statement. “Girls Who Code is a 21st century organization that is harnessing technology and making it real and usable for girls. The young women trained here will be instrumental in helping us to continue to revolutionize our industry.”   

Pat Esser, president, Cox Communications, and Ken Lowe, chairman, president & CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive, will serve as dinner co-chairs for the dinner, which will be held in New York City . Other executives sitting on the dinner committee include Rocco Commisso, chairman and CEO, Mediacom Communications Corp.; Nancy Dubuc, president & CEO, A&E Networks; John Evans, chairman & CEO, Evans Telecommunications Company; Peter Rice, chairman & CEO, Fox Networks Group; Richard Sjoberg, president & CEO, Sjoberg’s, Inc.; Robert Stanzione, executive chairman, ARRIS; and David Zaslav, president & CEO, Discovery Communications. 

Funds raised during the dinner will help support the programs and initiatives for three key industry organizations, including the Emma L. Bowen Foundation, the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT).

Women in Cable & Telecomunications says its Signature Luncheon series will return for year two to the CES show in Las Vegas.

With the shuttering of NCTA: The Internet & Television Association's annual INTX convention last year, where the luncheon had taken place since 2010, WICT had to find new digs. WICT has called CES "the perfect partner for the group."

The next lunch will be held Jan. 10 at the Aria Hotel. The lunch salutes the best companies for women in cable and telecom.

RELATED: Cable TV Pioneers Names 2017 Class

"On behalf of the WICT Board of Directors, we are very excited that the WICT Signature Luncheon will return to CES, the largest media and technology event in the world," said Martha Soehren, chair of the WICT Board of Directors and chief talent development officer, senior VP, Comcast, in a statement. "The remarkable support we received from WICT's stakeholders during our debut earlier this year reaffirmed our partnership with CES and offers WICT a strong platform to highlight the business imperative of strong gender diversity."

Comcast is the luncheon's "premiere sponsor."

LOS ANGELES — The 2016 LEA Awards, hosted by the Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Southern California chapter, is gearing up to be a night to remember.

On Thursday (Nov. 10), hundreds of media professionals will converge in Hollywood to honor the five LEA (Leadership, Education and Advocacy) Awards recipients and recognize the work they do to empower women leaders in entertainment and communications. But that’s not all that’s in store for attendees.

WICT Southern California has enlisted industry veteran and former Style Network president Salaam Coleman Smith to give the evening’s keynote address. She brings more than 25 years of experience working with some of the most powerful brands in entertainment, including The Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal and Viacom.

Maria Brennan, current president and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications and former president of American Women in Radio and Television, will also be featured as a guest speaker. Actor and comedian Elon Gold will kick off the festivities and keep the crowd laughing as the evening’s master of ceremonies.

2016 LEA AWARDS RECIPIENTS

Toby Berlin

President, School of Toby

Toby Berlin is the founder and president of The School of Toby, a media consultancy that supports programmers, MVPDs, cable networks and institutional investors. She provides advice on distribution negotiations, strategic planning, business development and financial and contractual support. She also consults on regulatory compliance, content acquisition, packaging, pricing and crisis management.

Berlin was one of the first members of the Sony PlayStation Vue launch team, engaged to provide foundational cable distribution knowledge to the organization’s TV service that streams live TV, movies and sports across a variety of devices. She continues to consult with Sony on content acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

Previously, Berlin spent 15 years as VP of programming acquisitions for DirecTV. During her tenure with the satellite-TV provider, she oversaw programming acquisitions and negotiations across numerous categories including Spanish-language, international services, general entertainment, shopping, pay-per-view events, local into local, airborne and music services. She also founded and served as president of the company’s first employee resource group, the Women’s Leadership Exchange.

Berlin earned her juris doctor from the Southwestern School of Law as a student in the SCALE program, an intensive two-year undertaking. She has an undergraduate business degree from the University of Miami.

Del J. Heintz

Senior Director, State Government Affairs, Western Region, Charter Communications

Del J. Heintz is highly respected as a strategic planner, problem solver and team-builder. His talent as a motivator and mentor has been honed over a 30 year career in telecommunications. Since 2007, Heintz has been the California and Wisconsin state director for government affairs for Charter Communications, covering elected officials, community-based organizations and educational leaders in hundreds of communities. Well-versed in the analysis of legislation and regulations, Heintz sets the strategic direction for his department and develops key initiatives. He has also led community outreach projects with the company’s public relations and sales departments. He is part of the executive committee and currently serves as the treasurer of the California Cable Telecommunications Association.

Before joining Charter, Heintz spent 13 years at Time Warner Cable as the director of government affairs and general manager of operations in Southern California. There, he oversaw political, community and public relations while forging relationships with elected officials. Prior to TWC, he held positions at several networks, including A&E.

Heintz has been influential in various educational businesses and nonprofit organizations. Through his interaction with elected officials, community leaders and local philanthropists, he has executed numerous fundraising events. Del earned his degree in business administration from the University of Washington in Seattle, and has an honorary degree from Orange Coast College.

Nadya Ichinomiya

Director of IT, Television Marketing, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Starting with a business degree from the University of Southern California, Nadya Ichinomiya cut her corporate teeth at IBM in sales and management. At age 27, she became vice president of Electronic Data Systems (now Hewlett Packard) in Frankfurt, Germany, shattering the glass ceiling as the highest-ranking woman in the region and youngest VP worldwide (of 117,000 employees).

From computer screens to movie screens, she changed course and rebooted her career as a Hollywood producer.

After five years working with Bonnie Hunt in movies and TV (as a producer on ABC’s Life With Bonnie) Ichinomiya returned to the corporate world, joining MGM in TV distribution.

Currently, she is director of information techonology at Sony Pictures, leading teams that create world-class mobile apps and websites to support TV shows such as The Blacklist, Outlander and Shark Tank.

Two years ago, Ichinomiya co-founded Women In Technology: Hollywood, a cross-media and entertainment initiative with 600-plus members from all the major studios, and is also co-chair of Women in Technology at Sony Pictures. Each group’s mission is to empower women to expand their professional development and build their network, as well as to encourage girls to consider a career in technology, whether in coding or code-adjacent roles in project management or business analysis.

Donna Thomas

Senior Vice President, Studio Sales, Vubiquity

Donna Thomas is a seasoned media and entertainment executive with a passion for content. A powerful business driver, she currently serves as senior vice president of sales at Vubiquity and is responsible for the company’s studio and distributor clients.

An expert in the digital media space, Thomas has worked every aspect of the content supply chain from creation through distribution. Prior to Vubiquity, she served as vice president of sales at Technicolor, as senior VP, distribution at Deluxe Entertainment Services and as senior VP of national accounts for Discovery Networks. She is also the founder of the Thomas Angel Foundation, which partners with improv comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to award scholarships to women in comedy. Since the foundation’s inception, more than $150,000 has been awarded.

Thomas is a performer at heart. A lover of comedy, you can find her performing throughout Los Angeles on any given night with one of her improv teams. She recently completed a sold out run of her solo show, “From Southern Belle to Mrs. Cartel,” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and was a finalist in the New York New Works Festival.

Erika Nolting—WICT SoCal Board Member of the Year

Enterprise Client Executive, Neudesic

Erika Nolting is an enterprise client executive in sales at Neudesic, a technology and management consulting company that helps businesses focused on digital modernization and transformation. She is responsible for cultivating and managing relationships with businesses seeking to leverage the power of technology.

Nolting has partnered with many executives on their strategic software development and change initiatives across a wide range of industries, including media and entertainment, healthcare, retail, and finance throughout California and the Western region of the U.S.

Nolting evolved into the technology industry after seven years at Disney and ESPN. While serving as an account executive on major U.S. cable content distribution licensing negotiations and marketing partnerships, she also was a member of task forces that helped develop and launch new digital distribution user experiences, including the Watch ESPN, Watch Disney and Watch ABC Family Web and mobile applications. During her tenure with the company, she also helped develop ESPN’s syndication business and worked on ESPN’s ad sales team in account management and operations of over 25 brands advertising on ESPN’s cable networks.

She holds a bachelor of arts in communications from Cornell University, where she graduated summa cum laude with distinction in research. She currently resides in Redondo Beach, Calif.

NAMIC, WICT and The Walter Kaitz Foundation on Monday (Sept. 19) will partner to offer a panel discussion on the successes and challenges of women of color in business, one of several conversations on inclusion within the cable industry during its annual Diversity Week.

The week’s festivities — which will include Women in Cable Telecommunications’ day long Leadership Conference and Touchstones Luncheon on Monday, the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications’ 30th annual conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the annual Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner Wednesday evening — will be highlighted by a Monday afternoon, jointly presented general session titled “Leadership Lessons for Women of Color.”

The event will feature some of the industry’s top female executives providing insights and strategies on how to transcend the challenges facing women of color in the workforce and make it to the top of their respective fields, according to the organizations. Slated to appear: Monica Diaz, vice president of diversity, inclusion and wellness at ESPN; Tamara Franklin, executive vice president of digital for Scripps Networks Interactive; Susan Jin Davis, senior vice president of operations and compliance for Comcast; and Michelle Rice, executive vice president of content distribution and marketing for TV One.

Dr. Ella Bell, associate professor of business administration at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and founder of nonprofit organization ASCENT-Leading Multicultural Women to the Top, will moderate the panel, which will provide a strong, informative kickoff to the rest of the Diversity Week activites, Maria Brennan, president and CEO of WICT, said.

“We will be presenting a perspective from women of color and looking at what are the common denominators of these powerhouse women in the industry who have really overcome the statistics and really risen through the ranks inside the media world,” Brennan said.

Overall, executives from WICT, NAMIC and Kaitz said that the industry’s focus on diversity during and beyond this week continues to make good business sense as its subscriber base becomes more diverse.

“Whenever we talk about diversity we couple it with inclusion because there’s nothing inside of the research that says diversity and inclusion is bad for business,” Brennan said. “It’s quite the opposite — if you ignore the research and the data, you would be doing so at your own risk and probably at your own peril.”

Added Kaitz Foundation executive director David Porter, “Diversity Week is a critical industry effort that allows us to recognize excellence while fostering leadership development and networking opportunities for our employees.”

Here are some of the highlights of Diversity Week:

WICT Leadership Conference: Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee and Comcast Corp. senior executive vice president and chief diversity officer David Cohen will be the guest speakers at the opening general session of the conference, which will feature several keynote speeches, master classes, talks, interactive roundtables and think tank discussions.

“What’s unique about the Leadership Conference is that we deliver the teaching in many different learning platforms, and we do that because everyone learns differently,” Brennan said. “By breaking up the formatting and the content, we have the best chance of ensuring that people assimilate the information and it sticks with them.”

The Leadership Conference’s tent-pole event, The Touchstones Luncheon, will feature as its keynote speaker Danai Guira, co-star of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead. During the luncheon, WICT will honor Kathleen Finch, Scripps Networks Interactive chief programming, content and brand officer, as its Woman of The Year. The organization will also highlight its Women to Watch honorees, Laura Gentile, ESPN’s senior vice president of espnW and Women’s Initiatives, and Mary McLaughlin, Comcast Cable’s senior vice president for the Beltway region.

NAMIC Conference: NAMIC will field a star-studded lineup of speakers for its conference. The two-day event will kick off Sept. 20 with a general session keynote address delivered by Reggie Love, former assistant to President Barack Obama, NAMIC said.

ABC News’ 20/20 co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas will be the special guest speaker for NAMIC’s 2016 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon, in partnership with WICT and Kaitz.

Music industry icon and New Edition/Bel Biv Devoe member Michael Bivins will discuss his career and BET’s upcoming New Edition biographical miniseries during the conference’s Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards presentation, according to NAMIC.

In between the high-profile keynoters, the conference’s theme, “Diversity 3.0: Innovation Through Inclusion,” will be executed through sessions aligned with three educational tracks of Business Solutions, Leading and Learning, and Content and Imagery, said the network.

“NAMIC is honored to present such a distinguished line-up of speakers and session facilitators. Our sincere thanks is extended to this year’s planning committee co-chairs and all of the sponsors that have provided support for this milestone 30th anniversary conference,” said Eglon Simons, NAMIC president and CEO.

Kaitz Foundation Dinner: Inclusion, impact and inspiration are the themes for Kaitz’s Sept. 21 annual fundraising dinner, which is on track to raise more than $1.6 million to fund diversity-themed programs and organizations within the cable industry. CNN’s Weekend Edition anchor Fredricka Whitfield will host the gala, which will feature on-stage appearances from dinner co-chairs John Martin, Turner chairman and CEO, and Tom Rutledge, Charter Communications chairman and CEO, as well as Michael Powell, CEO of the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.

Kaitz will honor A+E Networks with its Diversity Champion Award and The National Association of Latino Independent Producers with its Diversity Advocate Award, Porter said.

Actress/playwright Danai Gurira will serve as the keynote speaker for the Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT)’s Sept. 19 Touchstones Luncheon, the organization said Wednesday.

“All of us at WICT are delighted to welcome Danai Gurira to the big stage as we showcase WICT's Woman of the Year and Women to Watch. Danai is an integral cast member of AMC's The Walking Dead -- among the most popular cable TV shows ever created,” said WICT Board Chair Martha Soehren, senior vice president and Chief Talent Development Officer, Comcast. “She is also a highly decorated actress and playwright, garnering six Tony nominations and six Ovation Awards. She brings a unique perspective to our audience through her highly acclaimed work,"

WICT also announced that AMC Networks executive vice president and chief communications officer Ellen Kroner will serve as the luncheon’s 2016 Honorary Chair. The luncheon, held during cable’s Diversity Week, will honor Scripps Networks Interactive chief programming, content and brand officer Kathleen Finch as its woman of the year.

"We are also delighted to welcome my WICT Board colleague Ellen Kroner to serve as this year's Honorary Chair,” Soehren said. “Aside from Ellen's significant business accomplishments, she is a staunch WICT supporter and a true champion of diversity and inclusion."

Oxygen co-founder and entrepreneur Gerry Laybourne will deliver the keynote speech at the 2016 PowerBrokers Breakfast Oct. 13 at the National Press Club in Washington.

Laybourne fits the bill of powerful women in the cable business, having had a hand in Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite and the Disney Channel. In fact, the Washington/Baltimore chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, which is sponsoring the breakfast, named one of its Touchstone awards after Laybourne.

Those awards are being handed out at the Oct. 13 event, which will be emceed by Val Nicholas, VP and creative director at NBC News.

With the helping hands and checkbooks of media companies, WICT provides "professional development programs, research and services that help advance women in cable media."

Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Thursday named Scripps Network Interactive executive Kathleen Finch as its “Woman of the Year,” the organization’s highest individual accolade.

Finch, chief programming content & brand officer for Scripps, will receive the "Woman of the Year" award – given to a leader who has made increasingly significant contributions throughout her career to her company and the overall cable telecommunications industry – during WICT’s  Sept. 19 Touchstones Luncheon in New York in conjunction with the annual WICT Leadership Conference that's part of Cable's Diversity Week.

Also at the luncheon WICT will honor Laura Gentile, senior vice president, espnW and Women's Initiatives at ESPN and Mary McLaughlin, senior vice president, Beltway Region for Comcast Cable, with its "Women to Watch" award, which recognizes leaders who show tremendous promise for transforming the industry through her professional accomplishments.

"WICT is proud to recognize and honor these three highly accomplished professionals," said Maria Brennan, CAE, president & CEO, WICT in a statement. "All of our honorees exemplify the WICT Touchstones of Leadership and offer other women compelling role models to emulate. We look forward to showcasing their achievements during this year's Touchstones Luncheon as part of Diversity Week 2016."

Linda Brodsky Cooper, whose long cable TV career included speechwriting for prominent industry executives and leadership of the Women in Cable TV& Telecommunications (WICT) organization, died on July 26 in Philadelphia. She was 76 and had battled cancer for several years.

Known professionally as Linda Brodsky, she is survived by her husband, Frank Cooper; both were inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers.

Brodsky's cable career began at the University of Pennsylvania, where she wrote a paper about the nascent "pay TV" industry in the 1960s. That led to a public relations and marketing job at Jerrold Electronics (later General Instruments and Motorola), from which she jumped to the operations side of the industry.

She was VP public relations for Warner Cable Corp. and speechwriter for Alfred Stern, its chairman/president in the early 1970s. She then moved to BroadBand Communications Inc., holding a similar role for nearly 15 years. 

Among her tasks at BroadBand was writing speeches for the legendary Irving B. Kahn, chairman of the company. When Kahn returned to the industry after serving a prison term in connection with earlier cable franchise activities, Brodsky drafted the speech he delivered to a state cable TV association meeting, starting, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." The line brought down the house and eased Kahn's reentry to the cable business.

When that company was sold, Brodsky moved to Bresnan Communications, remaining there from 1991 to 2010, serveing as a consultant to chairman William J. Bresnan and providing speechwriting and PR strategy for the public affairs department.

Brodsky was a founding board member of WICT (national) and founding president of the New York chapter. She served as chairman of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's public affairs committee in the late 1970s and early '80s, and was active in many other industry groups.

Brodsky's quick wit and passionate activism came through as executive producer and writer of "The Cable Follies," WICT’s annual satirical musical fundraiser for the cable industry from 1982 to 1985.

A video of Brodsky's oral history about her top-level cable recollections is in the Cable Center.

Brodsky also was active in Volunteers for Israel, where she provided non-military support services for the Israel Defense Forces for three weeks annually from 1991 to 1998, handling repair and maintenance of military vehicles.

Memorial arrangements have not yet been confirmed.

The Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT) has selected 55 women as 2016-17 fellows of the Besty Magness Leadership Institute.

Comcast boasts the largest contingent of new class members at a dozen, appropriate since Magness was a cable pioneer, who, with her husband, Bob, helped build TCI, which became AT&T Broadband, which merged with Comcast.

The institute named after Magness is a leadership development program for senior-level women. Drawn from the cable and telecom programming, distribution and technology executive ranks, the 55 honorees will be split into two classes (Class 34 and Class 35) as they participate in the year-long program.

They will join more 800 women who have already graduated from the institute, which works to enable "fellows to make the transition from effective managers to enduring leaders," the WICT website notes.

Charter will be the chief sponsor of the classes.

Sports analyst/correspondent Mary Carillo will host the 2016 Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT) Signature Luncheon in conjunction with NCTA's INTX Convention in Boston May 16.

That is the luncheon where WICT honors its 2015 PAR Best Companies for Women in Cable.

This year's PAR honorees in the operator category are Cox Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House networks and Atlantic Broadband. Programmers are Discovery, Disney, NBCU, Turner and HSN.

Carillo is a correspondent for NBC Sports and NBC's Olympics team, as well as HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel and The Tennis Channel.

Multichannel News is pleased to announce that ESPN reporter Shelley Smith will co-host the March 10 Wonder Women luncheon event at the New York Hilton. The event, co-sponsored by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, will honor 13 Wonder Women and 13 Women to Watch, selected by the editors of the magazine in recognition of their leadership and contributions to companies and organizations in multichannel TV and related industries.

Read more about the 18th class of Wonder Women and Women to Watch at our editorial coverage page and at the event site: mcnwonderwomen.com.

Smith joins previously announced co-hosts Lori Greiner, the entrepreneur and co-host of ABC’s Shark Tank, and Egypt Sherrod, the real-estate expert and host of HGTV’s Property Virgins and Flipping Virgins.

Shelley Smith is a four-time Emmy-winning reporter for ESPN who joined the network in January 1997. She has covered just about every sporting event in existence, and has done many long-form features and investigative stories for a multitude of shows.

A former writer-reporter at Sports Illustrated, Smith has written extensively for ESPN.com and various ESPN in-house entities. She also has written three books – Just Give Me The Damn Ball, with former New York Jets and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson; You Play to Win The Game, with former head coach and current ESPN analyst Herm Edwards; and Games Girls Play: Lessons to Guiding and Understanding Young Female Athletes.

In May 2014, Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment, which ended June 2015. A recent mammogram showed no evidence of disease and she is considered cancer free.

In 2015, ESPN featured a story about Smith and her relationship with Jake Olson, whom she met as a 12-year-old about to lose his sight to cancer. Despite so many odds, Olson made his high school football team as a long snapper and this fall is a walk-on on the USC Trojans football team. Smith has documented his journey and, in the most recent feature, talked with him about their battle to beat cancer.

Smith has one daughter, Dylann Tharp, who was an All-Pac-12 Conference second team soccer player at the University of Oregon and is a freelance producer with NFL Network and other entities. In October 2015, Tharp and Smith teamed with Keyshawn Johnson to produce a 30 for 30 documentary, The Trojan War, about the 2005 USC Trojans and their appearance in the BCS national championship game against eventual victor Texas.

Smith (Twitter ID: @ShelleyESPN) continues to help spread the importance of early detection in breast and other kinds of cancers and has consulted with numerous charities, including the V Foundation, the American Cancer Society and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In 2015, she teamed with InfiniteLimitsMedia, a production group out of Seattle, documenting her first post-treatment mammogram, done on state-of-the art 3D machinery. Entitled Triumphant, it, for the first time, gave doctors proof that the cancer is gone.

Follow Wonder Women news on Twitter (@MCNWonderWomen) and at www.multichannel.com/mcnww.

Comedian and actress Kira Soltanovich will be the emcee and veteran industry executive Bridget Baker, formerly of NBCUniversal and now president of Baker Media, will provide the keynote address at the 2015 LEA Awards, set for Thursday evening (Nov. 12) at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles.

The 23rd annual awards gala, presented by the Southern California chapter of Women in Cable & Telecommunications, will honor five industry veterans for their outstanding contributions to the cable telecommunications industry.

A LEA Award is one of the most prestigious honors one can receive in the Southern California entertainment business.

The five honorees are:

Sherry Brennan, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Fox Networks;

Dale Hopkins, Executive Vice President, Distribution, Game Show Network;

Gail Kodama, Senior Sales Director, Charter Communications;

Suzanne Schlundt, Vice President of Marketing — West Region, Cox Communications; and 

Board Member of the Year:Emilio Rangel, Creative Supervisor, Time Warner Cable Media.

Born in the Soviet Union and raised in San Francisco, emcee Kira Soltanovich has hosted her own Showtime comedy special (Here Comes Trouble); was a series regular in Oxygen’s Girls Behaving Badly; and was the recurring voice of “The Photo Booth” on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. She’s also written for series on TV Land and Disney Channel and appears in comedy festivals around the world.

For more information about the event, visit www.socalwict.org.

SHERRY BRENNAN

Senior Vice President, Distribution,Fox Networks

Sherry Brennan is responsible for developing multiplatform growth strategies for FN’s video products, exploring potential new business models with alternative platform distributors, and contributing to FN’s long range digital strategy. She also oversees analysis of video-consumption trends and the changing value equation in the new multiplatform landscape, works closely with FN’s business development team on new channel ideas and acquisitions, and helps manage the strategy behind Fox’s investment in Hulu.

Brennan joined FN in 2005 as vice president of sales strategy and development. In that role, Brennan created strategic sales initiatives with the division’s top video distributors and worked closely with FN’s business-development team on new channel ideas.

Earlier Brennan spent seven years with Cablevision Systems in Bethpage, N.Y., as vice president, PPV and enhanced video products, and as programming consultant for the HDTV satellite service, Voom. Prior to Cablevision, she served as director of operations for Los Angeles’s Falcon Cable TV.

DALE HOPKINS

Executive Vice President, Distribution,GSN

Dale Hopkins has more than 20 years of deep C-level experience — including positions as CEO, chief operating officer and chief marketing officer — with digital and traditional high-growth media conglomerates such as Comcast, BSkyB, Star TV, Liberty Media, DirecTV, Sony and NBC. She has built and managed successful multimillion-dollar digital and traditional media companies with total invested and realized capital of more than $2 billion. These include E!, Style, G4, g4tv.com, eonline.com, GSN, CNBC and iwin.com.

She joined multimedia content provider GSN, owned by Sony and DirecTV, in 2009. As head of distribution, she works closely with the key decision-makers at top satellite and cable companies. Previously, she was executive VP and chief marketing officer for GSN. Prior to GSN, Hopkins served as interim CEO of CGS (Championship Gaming Series), a co-venture of DirecTV, BSkyB and Star TV. She spent seven years (including as COO) at the G4 network. She has also held executive positions at E! Entertainment Television, CNBC and CBS.

GAIL KODAMA

Senior Sales Director,Charter Communications

Gail Kodama serves in the Spectrum Business organization, the business-services unit of cable provider Charter Communications. In her current role, she is responsible for support of sales, operations, and process initiatives for the SMB organization nationally for the SMB space under Charter executive vice president Jon Hargis.

She has been with Charter for more than 10 years, starting out as a sales manager in Southern California in 2005 and then promoted to director for California and then a senior director for the West Region at the cable provider.

She has carried out key roles within the Charter organization, such as supporting the launch of All Digital, launching the Channel Partner Programs and migration of the SMB organization in 2015.

Kodama has been in the telecommunications industry for more than 18 years, starting out by “carrying a bag” as an account manager for a regional CLEC, and advancing to manager and then to regional director.

She continues to mentor and coach key sales people within the Charter organization.

SUZANNE SCHLUNDT

Vice President of Marketing — West,Cox Communications

Suzanne Schlundt’s territory includes San Diego, Orange County, Palos Verdes, Santa Barbara, Arizona and Las Vegas. She is responsible for the field execution of the cable company’s national marketing strategy, as well as the launch of new products and product enhancements.

Schlundt, who joined Cox in December 2012, has more than 20 years of marketing experience in fast-paced, highly competitive consumer industries including the restaurant, consumer product goods and entertainment sectors. Her background includes research, brand strategy, product development and integrated marketing communications.

Earlier, she was vice president of client services for Blueocean Market Intelligence, a global-market research and consulting company. She has also held leadership positions with Disney Consumer Products, Jack-in-the-Box and Mattel. She has a bachelor of arts degree from Occidental College and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She lives in San Diego with her husband, Dave, and two daughters.

EMILIO RANGEL

Creative Supervisor,Time Warner Cable Media

Emilio Rangel never saw the inside of a traditional classroom until he attended college. With his siblings, he was homeschooled by his mother where, at a young age, he discovered his passion in the creative arts. Educated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College, he went on to graduate from California State University, Fullerton with a graduate degree in graphic design.

Throughout his nine years at Time Warner Cable Media, Rangel has proven to be an integral member of the corporate marketing team as creative supervisor. He spends his days working with his team on the TWC Media brand within projects that span from print, on-air, digital, social media, and events. He manages the brand in 46 markets.

His experience expands beyond the media and marketing world; he also wored a professional wedding cake decorator while in his early 20s. He resides in Belmont Shore, Calif., where he can be found enjoying a run along the beach, freeing space on his DVR, or traveling to an adventurous place.

The cable industry has seen an increase in the percentage of women and people of color in management and senior level positions, according to new employment studies from Women in Cable Telecommunications and NAMIC.

The results of WICT's PAR Cable Telecommunications Industry Diversity Survey and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communication AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) report also warned of increased turnover rates that, if not addressed, could cut into management gains for both women and people of color.

The findings of the two surveys were revealed during a joint WICT and NAMIC town hall meeting Tuesday morning (Sept. 29) in New York.

The PAR survey reported that the percentage of female executives and senior-level managers increased by 4% since the last PAR report in 2013. Promotion rates in the manager and executive/senior manager levels were higher for women than for men, according to the survey.

For people of color, the percentage of executives and senior level managers increased by 1% since the 2013 NAMIC AIM report -- mostly from increases within cable MSOs and programmers, NAMIC officials said.

The number of entry-level and mid-level managers of color increased by a modest 1% since 2013, according to the NAMIC AIM survey.

While women gained in numbers in upper management positions, WICT's PAR report said the actual number of full-time female employees declined by 1% in the past two years. The survey added that an increasing turnover rate projects a decline in the representation of women at the manager level and above over the next five years, according to the survey.

“There is progress in a number of important areas for women; however, there is more work to be done,” WICT president and CEO Maria Brennan said. “The key driver that will significantly enhance representation of women is increased workplace retention. Overall, the survey illustrates the need for WICT and our industry to remain resolute in our commitment to creating more opportunities for women.“

Promotion rates for people of color continued to decline since 2013, and turnover rates remain higher than those of their white counterparts, according to the survey. Most notable are the differences at the executive and senior manager levels, where the promotion rate for white employees is twice that rate for people of color, according to the survey.

"While there is evidence that our industry is committed to increasing multi-ethnic diversity, continued vigilance and commitment will be essential as we move forward,” Eglon Simons, president and CEO of NAMIC, said. “The high rate of turnover and poor rate of promotion being experienced by professionals of color threaten to undermine hard-fought gains.”

The latest scorecard on ethnic and gender diversity at companies in the cable industry is coming this week (Sept. 29) as a centerpiece of the industry’s annual Diversity Week.

Every two years, the Women in Cable Telecommunications PAR (Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources for Work/Life Integration) initiative and the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) effort do surveys at about two dozen cable-TV providers and programmers. Surveys for the upcoming report were conducted beginning in January.

The surveys released in 2013 found the percentage of women as full-time employees was 34%, down from 39% in 2003 when WICT began its PAR research. The NAMIC AIM research found people of color comprised 38% of the surveyed groups, up 5 percentage points from 2011 – but at the executive or senior level of manager or executive, the percentage had declined to 15% from 19%.

The report from surveys in 2013 noted that people of color were promoted less frequently, and had a higher turnover rate (or left companies) more often than white employees – but concluded that robust hiring, if it continued on the pace seen in 2012 (when the surveys were done), would keep overall minority employment levels at around 25% over the next five years. The new results may shed light on whether that proved true.

The research will be announced and debated at the joint town hall session with industry leaders including National Cable & Telecommunications Association CEO Michael Powell; Gail Greenfield, PhD, principal, Mercer; Suzanne Malveaux, anchor, CNN;  David Cohen, executive vice president, Comcast; Pat Esser, president, Cox Communications; Mary Meduski, executive vice president & chief financial officer, Suddenlink; Stacy Green, executive vice president, Global Human Resources and Facilities, A+E Networks, and Paul Richardson, senior vice president, HR, ESPN, and chief diversity officer, The Walt Disney Co.

NAMIC’s 29th annual conference will continue throughout the day and into Wednesday, focusing on the continued growth and importance of diversity in an ever changing television industry, NAMIC president Eglon Simons told Multichannel News. Keynote speakers for the conference include legendary television producer Norman Lear; heralded filmmaker Spike Lee and New York Times best-selling author Eddie Huang.

"A sea change is occurring in our industry with the emergence of unscripted content, OTT, TV everywhere and other distribution alternatives,” Simons said. “We are pleased to present a cross-generational roster of diversity champions who are at the forefront of this change, with sessions that will inspire our members and all of the diversity champions in attendance to keep fighting for diversity and seeking opportunities to educate and adapt to evolving business models.”

Spanish language broadcaster Univision will be feted during The Walter Kaitz Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner on Wednesday as the organization’s “Diversity Champion.” Kaitz Foundation executive director David Porter says the program will emphasize and encourage individual action to help further foster diversity within companies.

“If everyone takes one action to have a positive effect on diversity, that collectively will make all the difference in the world,” Porter said. “Whether it’s choosing someone to mentor or taking someone out to lunch that is new to the company and is different in some way from you, one action really does make a difference.”

Kicking off the week on Monday will be WICT’s Leadership Conference, which will feature a lineup of industry leaders and shakers from opening keynote speaker Hoda Kotb, of NBC’s Today, to closing session speakers TV One chairman Alfred Liggins; TLC personality Stacy London; Suddenlink chief programming officer Kathy Payne; HGTV host Egypt Sherrod and FBI agent Joe Navarro.

Filmmaker Leslye Headland will be the featured guest at WICT’s sold-out Touchstones Luncheon, which also honors Woman of the Year Ellen East (Time Warner Cable) and two Women to Watch, Bernadette Aulestia (HBO) and Rachel Welch (Time Warner Cable).

“Our goal for the WICT Leadership Conference and all Diversity Week activities—as always—is to educate and increase the pipeline of women leaders in the cable industry,” WICT CEO Maria Brennan said. “Given the anticipated audience and the superlative program our conference committee has put forward, we believe we will achieve that goal.”

Multichannel News is now accepting nominations for the 18th class of  Wonder Women.

Selected by the magazine’s editors, the Wonder Women class represents the best and brightest of female executives in the realms of cable operations, programming, technology and related fields in cable and telecommunications. 

The women selected will be profiled in a January 2016 edition of Multichannel News and honored at a gala luncheon on March 10, 2016, co-produced by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications and attended by hundreds of cable and telecommunications professionals.

The Wonder Women luncheon is a signature celebration for women executives in cable television and telecommunications. More than 200 Wonder Women – and an equal number of Women to Watch – have been honored thus far for their accomplishments in an industry well known for high-performing female leaders. See videos from the March 2015 event and read about the women honored then (and past classes) at mcnwonderwomen.com. 

A separate class of Women to Watch will also be honored in the report and at the event. Members of earlier Wonder Women classes are not eligible.

To nominate, please click this link. 

Pictured: Wonder Women class of 2015, photo by Erik Ekroth.