As calls for diversity and gender equality in entertainment reshape the industry, animation continues to promote and represent women in game-changing roles, for executives and creative leaders.
Jennifer Lee leads Walt Disney Animation Studios. Kristen Bilson directs Sony Animation. Karen Tolliver heads up the cartoon arm of Netflix. Ramsey Naito supervises Nickelodeon. Margie Cohn leads DreamWorks. And of course there are many more.
“I think maybe it was in the beginning 10 or 15 years ago, it was an area where women could play a leadership role, somewhere on the chain production ladder of say as a production executive, or a studio executive in an entry-level way,” Meredith says. Roberts, Executive Vice President, Television Animation, Disney Television.
“Over time, they achieved success and moved up the ladder and became high achievers, top producers, big studio level people, and along the way, because they had those opportunities, they created more potential opportunities for other women to be promoted in those roles. I think that What we’ve seen is the end result of probably a decade of toil in the field that has now led to the natural state of female executives in these high-capacity roles.”
For Tolliver, Vice President of Animation at Netflix, Girl Guides have made all the difference. They are the ones she can go to for advice and feedback.
“I was very shy and I remember being in rooms really afraid to speak up and I really had to have that confidence,” says Tolliver. “But I remember Karen Foster, who’s a producer at DreamWorks, teaching me how to stand up and use my voice. I remember Meredith Roberts sharing stories that just gave me the understanding that other people are going through the same thing. You see how all these women move with grace through their careers and being able to connect with them when they’re not. Quite sure. If I didn’t have those ladies to call, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Nora Twomey, director of the Academy Award contender “My Father’s Dragon,” sees the next generation behind her as assertive. The director believes that years of lobbying for gender equality helped create this situation.
“I think the younger generations of women, in particular, are more confident,” Twomey says. “I think everything we’ve seen in the last five years in terms of highlighting diversity has gone just to help people feel that they have the right to say, ‘Yeah, I want to do that,’ rather than asking for declaring. I think my generation — I’m in the 50s Of my age now – maybe he asked permission a little bit. But I think that’s something that’s changing. Education and training are seen as two things that can go into people’s lives as well. So growing into new roles, like if you started as an animator and then wanted to be a director This is seen as possible for women. All of this is changing for the good.”
Alyssa Sapir, Disney Junior’s chief content officer, agrees.
“I think building a circle of advisors that can give you that feedback along the way and kind of give you that input is important,” she says. “Sometimes you just need to check in with those who’ve been through it before who have made it through, who have made these moves to help you, build you and build more and give you that extra push. You find they can show you what you can learn, what you can gain from the experience.” What.Think in terms of building a team that can help you and who you can help.”
Women working as writers, creators, and models have also found opportunities in entry-level positions over the past decade or so. Many of them, after developing their businesses and progressing over time, are now directing or releasing their own shows and feature films.
Domee Shi, the director and screenwriter of Turning Red, a film lauded for its honest portrayal of female adulthood, has not only put together a successful female-centric film, but also done it with an all-female cast. The Academy Award winner found that many of the women working on the film had strong memories of their own experiences that they wanted to share with the younger audiences who would see the film.
“It’s funny, we didn’t plan to have a lot of women on the crew from the start,” Shi says. “Most of the suitable film nominees were women, and that led to women mostly in leadership positions and I think that really benefited the story. I think it helped us take bolder risks when it came to the subject matter of the movie, like when our main character is in that scene.” In the bathroom where you think she got her period. I think I had moments where I wondered if that was a little embarrassing and I had a chorus of women going, “No, do you remember how embarrassing it was for your period? It was worse than that. I go after her.” !’ It just created an environment where everyone feels comfortable presenting crazy ideas that they probably wouldn’t back down from if it wasn’t a female-led production.”
Chelsea Bell, host of “Alice’s Wonderland Bakery,” sees advantages in having female creators work together on heroine-focused stories.
“I think when you have a show with a heroine, like Alice [of ‘Alice’s Wonderland Bakery’ and other shows I’ve worked on like ‘Doc McStuffins’ or ‘Vampirina,’ and then you have a woman at the helm of that show, it really adds to the authenticity of that characterization of the main girl and that overall experience that the show provides,” Beyl says. “Personally, I want my daughter to see and what might inspire her. So, I think when it comes from that very specific perspective, it’s just going to resonate and be that more powerful.”
As Beyl has taken the reins on her show, female animators who worked with her are advancing in their careers. Some were even inspired to create animation based on their specific experiences.
Karissa Valencia, creator of Netflix’s “Spirit Rangers,” which follows three native siblings who join forces to protect a national park, was inspired when she arrived at Disney Junior and found women such as Beyl and “Doc McStuffins” creator Chris Nee already there.
Valencia found Beyl’s leadership style very positive and looked to Nee as a guide for telling stories about the “other” in kids’ animation when she was looking for ways to draw on her own Indigenous background for storytelling ideas. Nee, who crafted “Doc McStuffins” as a series about a young black female protagonist, was supportive of Valencia’s goal. The two of them were also helpful when Valencia was coming up with pitches for her ideas. They became sound boards and cheerleaders.
“It was so cool to see women in leadership positions from the start so that for me, as somebody who was aspiring to be in a leadership position, it was really encouraging,” says Valencia. “I think it’s important that there are all these women that have amazing show ideas and film ideas. I think it starts with the executives. It’s also really cool to see so many women in executive positions, because then they’re the ones that have this hiring power that trickles down to someone like myself who’s now in a hiring position. It’s just like the beautiful domino effect, that I’m very happy to be a part of right now at Netflix. Both of my creative executives are women.”
Peggy Holmes, helmer of Apple TV+ feature “Luck,” thinks it’s also important for women to seek out supportive groups of artists and executives. Holmes directed a segment of “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas,” “The Pirate Fairy” and “Secret of the Wings,” among other projects.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be at companies where you’re really supported as you’re developing and telling stories,” Holmes says. “I think that what’s unique to animation is you create a studio, which has artists in it, and you start to create stories within that studio. It’s a great opportunity for more people to tell their stories.”
While more women definitely appear in executive, showrunner and mentor roles, the percentage overall still lags behind the 50/50 gender parity goal set by Women in Animation, an advocacy organization that champions women and diversity in the ranks of animation. WIA originally aimed to achieve the goal by 2025. It remains to be seen if the numbers will reflect that aim in the next three years, but there are still reasons to celebrate the data even if more work needs to be done.
“I know the numbers [of women in animation] says Marge Dean, executive director of the WIA, noting that in 2013, the number of women in the field was about 20%. “Two years ago, we checked out the animation syndicate, and it’s 30%.”
Dean points out that animators may not have lost women in large numbers during the pandemic because the industry quickly shifted to a work-at-home model. This would make it a possible shift for women who have suddenly given birth to children or whose families are quarantined at home.
With the numbers of women in animation programs more and more strong, Dean is optimistic about the future.
“I see a different approach, mindset and sense of self among young expats,” Dean says. “I can see that there is a stronger trust and commitment to their professions, which I think is very important.”
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