The Women’s Media Center celebrated trailblazers in a spectacular fashion during the 21st anniversary of the Women’s Media Awards.
Hundreds enthusiastically gathered at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City on March 5 to honor the 2026 receipients at a ceremony that showcased the work and efforts of Julie K. Kay, Barbara Kopple, Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, Chandra Childers, Margot Wallström, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, and Paola Ramos.
Glittering careers and daring activisim put these riveting women on a pedestal and in a grand orbit on the night.
The WMC 2026 Women’s Media Award Honorees. Photo by Craig Barritt for Getty.
The champions for women in media included: Margot Wallström, Sweden’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the first United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who was honored with the WMC Robin Morgan Sisterhood is Powerful Award; Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, President & CEO, Knight Foundation, who was honored with the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award; Barbara Kopple, two-time Academy Award-winning, Emmy-winning director, producer, and activist, who was honored with the WMC Ahead of Her Time Award; Paola Ramos, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and author, was honored with the WMC Carol Jenkins Award; Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director, Voces de la Frontera, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award; Julie F. Kay, Founder and CEO of Reproductive Futures, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award; and Chandra Childers, Senior Policy and Economic Analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, who was honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: (L-R) Robin Morgan and award winner Margot Wallström attend The WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards at Tribeca Rooftop on March 05, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for The Women’s Media Center)
The night kicked off with special remarks via video from Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States.
“Your vital work drives forward the remarkable misson of the Women’s Media Center to make to make women not just more visible, but more powerful,” Obama said in the video.
WMC Co-Founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, Gloria Steinem, and WMC President & CEO Julie Burton both participated and presented awards at the gala as well.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: (L-R) Donna Deitch and award winner Barbara Kopple attend The WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards at Tribeca Rooftop on March 05, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for The Women’s Media Center)
“Building community is an act of defiance. Us being here we are a community and we are an act of defiance,” Fonda stated to the audience before awards were distributed. “It’s also what sustains us and gives us hope.”
Attendees for the WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards included past WMC Award honorees S. Mitra Kalita, Maria Hinojosa, Lauren Embrey, Donna Deitch, Pat Mitchell, and Regina K. Scully. Other attendees included Heather Gerken, Arianna Huffington, Vanessa Vadim, Christy Tanner, and Georgia Levenson Keohane.
“When we started the Women’s Media Center 21 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,” Julie Burton, President, and CEO of the WMC remarked. “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 women in media and beyond. This year, our Women’s Media Awards celebrate 21-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.”
WMC Board Chair Janet Dewart Bell, WMC Board Co-Chair Emerita Pat Mitchell, WMC Board Vice Chair Erica González Martínez, and WMC Board Members Soraya Chemaly, Donna Deitch, Lauren Embrey, and Regina K. Scully, were also notables on this special night.
Co-Chairs included: Loreen Arbus, Donna Deitch, Kiehl Friedman Family, Mellody Hobson, Cindy Holland, Carlene C. Laughlin, Cynthia McFadden, Michelle Mercer & Bruce Golden, Pat Mitchell, Susan Pritzker, Sheryl Sandberg, Regina K. Scully, Alexandra Shiva, and Mary & Steven Swig.
Additional support for the WMC 2026 Women’s Media Awards included the Artemis Rising Foundation, Christensen Fund, Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, Abigail Disney, Lauren Embrey, and Jenny Warburg. Proceeds from these awards support the work of the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER.
Founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, the WMC is a feminist organization that works for gender representation and equality in media. The WMC mission is to make women visible and powerful in the media.
For more information about the ongoing work, please visit HERE.