Inside the Women’s Media Center 20th Anniversary Gala

The Women’s Media Center championed the voices that matter at their 20th Anniversary Women’s Media Awards on June 5.

Industry leaders and journalists who strive for prolific change for the betterment of mankind came together for a dazzling celebration at the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel in New York City.

WMC Co-Founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, Gloria Steinem, and WMC President & CEO Julie Burton spoke and presented before a captivated crowd that was full of love and devotion for the cause.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 05: <> at JW Marriott Essex House Hotel on June 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for The Women’s Media Center)

WMC Board Chair Janet Dewart Bell, WMC Board Co-Chair Emerita Pat Mitchell, former and founding WMC President Carol Jenkins, WMC Board Vice Chair Erica González Martínez, and Board Members Soraya Chemaly, Regina K. Scully, and Rebecca Adamson also helped celebrate the honorees at the gala.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 05: (L-R) Imani Perry and Jane Fonda attend the WMC 2025 Women’s Media Awards at JW Marriott Essex House Hotel on June 05, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for The Women’s Media Center)

“When we started the Women’s Media Center 20 years ago, we framed the future with a clear mission:  we wanted to see more women in media, hear more women in media, and read more articles by women in media,” Burton said. “We have made progress, but change doesn’t come without a fight. We at the Women’s Media Center stand firm in our work for equality and opportunity for diverse women in media and beyond. This year, our Women’s Media Awards celebrate 20-year milestones for women’s representation in media and honor champions for women who set the standard for what media should look like when it gives voice to the female half of the country.”

Presented to outstanding individuals, this year’s WMC 2025 Women’s Media Awards honorees included Geralyn White Dreyfous, Co-Founder of JOLT and Impact Partners, Chair and Co-Founder of the Utah Film Center, and Film Producer, who was honored with the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award; Mitra Kalita, Author; Co-Founder and CEO of URL Media and Epicenter NYC, who was honored with the WMC Carol Jenkins Award; Imani Perry, Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and of African and American Studies; Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award; Erica Smiley, Author, and Executive Director of Jobs With Justice, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award; and Jessica Valenti, Author, Writer, Activist, and Creator of Abortion, Every Day, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award.