The Sky’s the Limit

April 2008

The presidential election in the United States has drawn a lot of attention to the qualities required for leadership—experience, character and determination. Hillary Clinton is the first woman in America considered to have a good chance of winning the nation’s highest office. Her every move, comment, argument, outfit and show of emotion—from slight vulnerability to fits of anger—are being dissected by the media. Many observers wonder whether she is being held to a different standard than male candidates.

Female heads of government in other countries, from Margaret Thatcher in the U.K. and Angela Merkel in Germany to Michelle Bachelet in Chile and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina, just to name a few, have faced the same scrutiny. Although such scrutiny is most apparent in the political arena, it is also present in the business world. Many businesswomen have reached high executive positions, but the CEO office is still predominantly occupied by men.

“If you look at studies of women in positions of power within media companies, there is still a glass ceiling,” says Terry Lawler, the executive director of New York Women in Film & Television, a group that advocates equity of opportunity and compensation for women in media. “You don’t see women in the boardroom or women CEOs very much. You see women as presidents of channels or entities that are owned by these larger entities, but the person who’s in charge of that larger entity is always a man.”

THE GREAT EQUALIZER

But in speaking to female media executives, many of whom bristle at the idea of being a “woman media executive” as opposed to a “media executive,” it is apparent that game-changing forces are overtaking the media business with cyclone-like rapidity.

The first is technology. It seems as though each day a new screen or device is being served up allowing consumers to enjoy movies, music and programming anywhere and anytime. As a result, there are two main imperatives for any media company—secure the right content and hire the right people—which are increasingly wiping the gender issue off the table.

“You always want to build the best teams and you’re always searching for the most innovative, creative talent for every single part of your business,” says Anne Sweeney, a co-chair of Disney Media Networks and the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group.

In this context, all a good manager, male or female, can do is “run your company well,” says Amy Pascal, the co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “You can’t predict what’s going to happen next. We make movies to be experienced first in a theatrical setting, but the business is changing. While we are committed to making product that supports a community experience in a movie theater, you don’t know what kind of screens people are going to be looking at in ten years. You’ve got to make sure that your company is ready and nimble to make changes as fast as they come. And they are coming fast!”

“The business is going through a tremendous change,” agrees Belinda Menendez, the president of NBC Universal International Television Distribution. “It’s a challenging but also an invigorating time. Business models are in transition. Nobody has a crystal ball and can see what it will look like in five years. That’s one of the great things about this business. As long as I’ve been in it, it’s been in perpetual motion. There are always new technologies, new business models, new media opportunities to explore.”

“What the world needs now are open-minded leaders, people who are willing to take calculated risks, know how to get things done, and know how to work with other people,” says Bonnie Hammer, the president of USA Network and SCI FI Channel. “The most important thing is to surround yourself with people who are not afraid of change, because if you cannot embrace change, you cannot live in this media world.”

In this continually evolving media business there is a second major sea change. And that is how women see themselves, the opportunities ahead of them and that infamous glass ceiling.

While Lawler and several others say that the glass ceiling is still there, many more women say they don’t notice it. Sony’s Pascal, for one, claims she never experienced a glass ceiling. “I looked clear through it,” she says. “I never saw it. I never acknowledged it. I just looked straight up.”

“When I was younger it didn’t even dawn on me that it existed,” says Hammer. “I thought it was a past generation’s fairy tale, their excuse why they couldn’t grow or get anything done. I’m a big, big believer in meritocracy. I’m not a big believer in the glass ceiling. I do believe that because many corporations have been populated over the years by more men, they sometimes don’t feel comfortable working with women. I also think that the more women analyze themselves by believing that there is one, sometimes we create these barriers for ourselves. We put ourselves in a situation that almost creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“I’m more concerned about being considered a good or strong executive,” says Mary Herne, the executive VP of international television and home entertainment at Peace Arch Entertainment.

CLEAR SKIES ABOVE

Other women, often at earlier stages in their careers, are keeping an eye out for the proverbial transparent barrier. “Personally, I haven’t encountered the glass ceiling yet, but I’ve got a ways to go,” says Roma Khanna, the president of global networks and digital initiatives at NBC Universal International. Khanna recently moved to her new London post from Toronto, where she had been the senior VP of content and co-head of CHUM Television, responsible for programming and new-media initiatives. “Maybe the ceiling is still above me somewhere,” she adds.

“I haven’t experienced a glass ceiling yet,” says Shonda Rhimes, the creator and executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. “I’m waiting to hit it and we’ll see what happens when I do, but so far, so good. I haven’t felt any limits placed on what I can do from the studio or network side.”

For some women, the glass ceiling is perhaps too simplistic a description of the barriers and obstacles that women face. Sheila Aguirre, the VP of sales and development for Latin America and Hispanic USA at FremantleMedia Enterprises, says she shares the views of the social psychologist Alice Eagly, whose latest work, Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders, asserts that the glass ceiling no longer applies in today’s corporate world.

“Rather, women are faced with a ‘labyrinth of obstacles’ which prevent them from reaching the top,” says Aguirre. “[One] challenge has to do with leadership behavior. When a woman takes charge and is forceful, people often react negatively. However, if she satisfies the stereotype of a soft, gentle-natured woman, she runs the risk of being viewed as weak and, therefore, is perceived as being incapable of being a leader.”

For Candace Bushnell, the author of Sex and the City and Lipstick Jungle (the former was made into one of HBO’s most successful series and the latter is airing on NBC), the glass ceiling is a broad concept that extends to men as well as women. “The reality is that there is a glass ceiling for everybody,” she says. “There’s a glass ceiling for men. There are a lot of men who are managers and they are never going to be CEOs. Getting to that very tip-top level takes a very rare kind of person, male or female. Let’s face it, most men aren’t CEOs, either.”

And for entrepreneurial women in charge of their own companies, the glass ceiling is irrelevant. “There came a point in my career when I needed to start my own company, make my own decisions and create my own vision,” says Anne Marie La Traverse, who founded her own production company, the Toronto-based Pink Sky Entertainment, in 2003, after working for many years at Alliance Atlantis. The company is in preproduction on Flashpoint, a drama series for Canada’s CTV that has also been picked up for the U.S. by CBS.

“Before I went on my own, I worked for a public company primarily owned by four male partners,” she says. “It was like a family business and they were very supportive of my career. I never felt a glass ceiling, but, if one was there, I started my own company before I would have hit it.”

Another entrepreneur, Nely Galán, also bypassed the glass ceiling by starting her own company, Galán Entertainment, which has produced reality series like The Swan and The New You. Before striking off on her own in 1994, Galán worked at Telemundo. There is a glass ceiling at corporations, she believes, “but you can’t focus on that, because if you do, you’ll get nowhere. It is possible to break the glass ceiling, although difficult. But you can’t start thinking that it can’t be done because then you really won’t be able to do anything. There are roadblocks in everybody’s career, but there are those who will be defeated by them and others who will conquer them, and that is the difference between people.”

CREATIVE CULTURES

For many women, the opportunity to advance in their careers was largely influenced by the history of their country or the corporate culture of the companies where they worked.

Ilaria Dallatana is the director and head of productions at Magnolia, a leading Italian production company that has created a local version of Camera Café and is currently working on The X Factor. With experience in two markets that have histories of being distinctly male dominated, Italy and Spain, Dallatana believes that who a woman works for can make all the difference. After a very successful run at Mediaset, as part of the programming teams that came up with groundbreaking hit shows for Canale 5 and Italia 1, she and Giorgio Gori, who had been programming director for both networks, set up Magnolia.

Dallatana claims that being at the right place at the right time played a role in her career advancement. “I worked alongside a very strong man,” she says. “Giorgio always gave women a lot of space and a lot of recognition. In my case, I can easily say that it was a bit of luck and my own initiative and abilities that got me where I am. But can I say that all women in television in Italy have the same chances? I don’t know. The fact that there still hasn’t been a woman head of programming at any of the networks makes me wonder.”

Canada is a different case. “Twenty years ago, the Canadian media industry was a little different; many were family owned companies, with sons stepping into the business,” recalls Mary Powers, who worked for many years at CHUM Limited, then at CTVglobemedia before setting up her own media consulting firm. “I still remember going to my first Canadian Association of Broadcasters conference, and out of 500 people, 495 were men in gray suits. But Citytv, where I started, was totally different. Phyllis Switzer co-founded the station with Moses Znaimer, creating a new culture which included a much higher than average number of women in senior positions, so I never gave a second thought to being a woman. It was only when we stepped outside of our little Citytv bubble that we realized there weren’t that many women in senior positions.”

Far more than on labels or barriers, real or perceived, female executives are focused on their work and building successful teams.

For Cathy Payne, the chief executive of Southern Star International, taking the company and “building it into a player in the international market was my biggest accomplishment,” she says, “Together with having such an experienced and stable sales team that has grown and developed talent. And the fact that we haven’t lost all that experience has been great, whereas many of our competitors have had a lot of personnel changes.”

“The team is what drives our business,” says NBC Universal’s Menendez. “I look at our business like a watch. If one of the parts stops, it doesn’t matter the size of it, the watch stops. It’s important that our team understand what the overall initiative is for the group so they can drive to that objective, whether on an annual basis or a deal basis.”

FremantleMedia’s Aguirre lists good listening, clear communications, a willingness to try new ideas and the ability to motivate a team among the skills of any good manager. “Above all,” she adds, “I believe it’s important to focus on what one can do for the company, rather than what the company can do for me.”

Although none of these descriptions of management styles differ from what male managers would say, some women stress that females can bring an extra element of support and nurturing to a corporate relationship.

Galán points out that she disagrees with the management style of one very prominent male manager, Donald Trump, as he displays it on Celebrity Apprentice, which she appeared on earlier this year. “I admire Trump’s clarity, directness and focus, but we differ in style and culture,” she says. “I don’t agree with him on the point where he believes you have to win no matter what. You can make it without the winner-take-all approach.” At the same time, Galán considers herself very demanding. “I’m not a softy. But I will say that I’m prepared to do the same thing I ask of others.”

But whether it’s a man or a woman doing the managing, the key to success is motivating people. For NBC Universal’s Menendez, the best way to do that is to be passionate. “I’m very passionate about what I do,” she says. “I’ve been doing it for a while but still find it energizing and invigorating as a business. As a leader, if you feel that way about your business, and you have people that are talented and equally as passionate about what they do, then it’s a very easy dialogue.”

VIEW FROM THE TOP

“Women tend to be different when they reach the top jobs, compared to men,” says Lynda La Plante, the creator of Prime Suspect and Trial & Retribution. “Men are more interested in getting the large corner office, or the biggest company car, while women are more interested in doing the work. And often with women there is a calmness about them because they often have quite strong domestic lives. They are juggling children and schools and yet still are quite capable of running major companies.”

“Having children has helped me grow professionally and personally in many areas,” says FremantleMedia’s Aguirre. “First, it has given me valuable time-management skills; it’s taught me the importance of prioritizing; and, finally, I’ve learned the value of multitasking. As a result of having a career, my children appreciate our time together more, they respect me more, and I believe that when they grow up, they’ll be better adjusted, more responsible adults, and have a clearer understanding of the value of life and making the right sacrifices.”

Southern Star’s Payne recognizes the importance of helping working parents, because it creates a better team. “Sometimes it’s played down by people who don’t understand, but when you have good, experienced employees who are female, and they have a family, to give them an environment where they can continue their professional growth in a way that works for you and for them, is essential,” she says. “And you can’t underestimate the value, for a working mom who might work from home one day or two days a week, of being able to do a load of washing while taking that morning coffee break, or being able to pick up children from school one or two days week. I think it’s a fantasy that you can have it all. You can only have it all if you have a lot of help or a lot of money to pay for all that help. I don’t want to see [my employees] so pulled because they are trying to do everything but they don’t satisfy themselves. I have a few people with young families and a couple of days a week they come in really early and they leave early. Creating that environment is all part of managing and growing a good team.”

Sony’s Pascal agrees. “Everybody has Little League games or doctor’s appointments. Men are taking their boys to the doctor now. It’s a whole new era. I just want everyone who works here to feel like this is a company that recognizes their whole life.”

THE WAGE GAP

While the salary gap between men and women has been narrowing, in the U.S., on average, women make 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same position. And unfortunately that gap widens the more hours worked. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women working 41 to 44 hours per week earn 84.6 percent of what men working similar hours earn; women working more than 60 hours per week make only 78.3 percent of their male counterparts’ wages.

In the biggest European countries, the situation is similar. In the U.K., women make 78 percent of what males earn, in Germany it’s 81 percent, in France 88 percent, in Spain 86 percent and in Italy 91 percent.

“A difference definitely exists,” says Lawler of New York Women in Film & Television, citing research conducted by Catalyst, a New York nonprofit group that studies women’s issues. “Women in our industry are making only a percentage of what men are making. They don’t have equity with men.”

“I don’t have facts or figures,” says Cecilia Persson, the VP of programming, acquisitions and presentation at Turner Broadcasting System Europe. “I saw a documentary recently which highlighted the fact that in many jobs men are paid more than women, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the same thing occurred in television. There’s the concept in the workplace that the man is supporting a family.”

In fact, one woman who wanted to remain anonymous mentioned that a friend working at an international media company in the U.S. was told she was making less than a male colleague in the same position because he had a family to support.

The same stories can be heard on the other side of the Atlantic. “Although I have no complaint on this score, I will say that I know for a fact that we tend to not be as well paid as men,” says Christina Willoughby, the managing director of Channel 4 International (C4i). “We compare notes. We network. Say you know someone at Granada who starts dating some guy who works for the BBC. Or say this one married that one. This is a people-friendly industry. We get phone calls from former colleagues who’ve become competitors asking things like, ‘What should I be asking for?’ and ‘I make this, but I really want that much money.’”

POSITIVE INFLUENCE

When recalling mentors and others who influenced their careers, women in the industry cite men and women in equal measure.

“I had a lot of people,” says Sony’s Pascal. “My very first boss was a really wonderful man, Tony Garnett, who was a producer at the BBC and works for the BBC now. He taught me to respect writers and the creative process. I’ve tried my whole life to emulate some of the [principles he taught me].”

Peace Arch’s Herne’s role model is the late mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, whom she once met at The Explorers Club in New York. “Early in my career I took time off and went to Nepal to climb to the base camp of Mt. Everest,” she says. “It was incredibly difficult. The lesson I learned is that it doesn’t matter how hard something is. You can do anything you set your mind to do. You can push yourself beyond what you think you can do in any aspect of your life.”

For some women, the source of their drive and determination can be traced back to their homes. Herne credits her mother. “It was just me and her when I was growing up. From her I learned how important it is to have the tools to be self-sufficient, and how these tools lead to empowerment.”

“I have so many role models,” says Martha Stewart, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “But I had a really good father and mother, and my father would always say, ‘You know, Martha, if you want it you can get it. If you try hard enough you will succeed. You can do anything.’ That kind of encouragement really helped me along, because I didn’t think I couldn’t do it.”

“I have great parents who were wonderful and let me explore the things I was interested in, but they also provided a lot of discipline in our household,” says Disney-ABC’s Sweeney. “They probably deserve all the credit in the world for giving me opportunities. As far as drive is concerned, I think it’s just a passion thing. Do the job that excites you the most. Do the job that’s scary. Do the job that you haven’t done before, because you are going to work harder to succeed than doing the job that you could do with your eyes closed.”

As the U.S. presidential election is demonstrating, character, experience and determination are the key qualities that define leadership. It hasn’t always been easy, but the women who have succeeded in the media business have embodied these traits since the beginning of their careers. As they look to their daughters and nieces, should they be telling them about obstacles that some women have encountered?

“I honestly don’t think it is a concern for our daughters,” says Sweeney. “I know it isn’t for mine. My daughter, Rosie, thinks that she can do pretty much anything she puts her mind to. She knows who she is. She’s one of the most confident—without being cocky—and one of the most self-aware people I’ve ever met. I doubt that she would ever entertain the idea that there was a limit to what she could do because of her gender.”

“I’m a big believer in the sky is the limit and meritocracy, because if you’re strong enough and you believe in yourself enough, you’ll figure out your way to get what you need and what you want,” says USA’s Hammer. “Sometimes our biggest problem is creating issues for one another that are just women’s issues as opposed to world issues. The more we focus on issues that are just about us, the smaller we become.”