Prime Video has announced “Voices: Women Innovating Hollywood,” a special virtual event celebrating Women’s History Month.
The conference will feature panels and programming centering women in the entertainment industry, from prominent actors to behind-the-scenes talent. The event will open with a special introduction from Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai, who star in the Prime Video comedy series “Harlem.”
Events that take place throughout the day will include a discussion with “One Day at a Time” and “With Love” showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett, a panel with prominent casting directors Angelique Midthunder and Carla Hool and a talk from Dr. Katherine Pieper and Al-Baab Khan from University of Southern California. The event will close with a special recap of Lizzo‘s recent performance at the South by Southwest festival, featuring her backup dancers the Big Grrrls.
“We’re excited to bring these women together, from various parts of the entertainment industry, to have frank and intentional conversations about the business we’re in and the work we do not only to entertain, but inevitably to represent people, culture, and life,” said Latasha Gillespie, head of Global DEI at Amazon Studios, Prime Video, and IMDb in a statement. “Data shows that women, particularly women of color, are often left out of the ‘diversity conversation’ as other underrepresented groups tend to over-index. I’m happy that this event series centers and amplifies the voices of women of color and allows for a forum to celebrate progress made and openly push for more.”
“Women Innovating Hollywood” is the seventh in Amazon’s “Voices” series, which explores inequity in Hollywood through the promotion of exemplary voices from underrepresented communities. The events are produced by Amazon Studio’s diversity and inclusion team. Previous “Voices” programming has celebrated Asian and Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, Latino, Black, Indigenous and neurodivergent communities.
“Voices: Women Innovating Hollywood” will take place March 25 at 1 p.m. PT. The event will be free to stream on Amazon Live and Prime Video’s Youtube Channel. View a full schedule for the event below.
1:00 p.m. | Live Welcome Remarks
Speaker: Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai from Prime Video series “Harlem”
1:05 p.m. | Panel Discussion: Innovating Below the Line
Speakers: Pamela Buzick Kim (Executive Director, Free the Work), Bree Frank (President & Founder, HUE You Know / SVP of Production – Unscripted, Hello Sunshine), Jeanette Volturno (Co-Founder/COO, Crewvie)
Moderator: Elaine Low (Insider)
1:35 p.m. | Lightning Talk: Women in Hollywood Data- Academia
Speakers: Dr. Katherine Pieper (Program Director, USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative), Al-Baab Khan (Project Specialist, USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)
1:55 p.m. | Fireside Chat With Gloria Calderón Kellett (Showrunner: “With Love,” “One Day at a Time”)
Moderator: Gia Peppers (“Black Girl Podcast”)
2:25 p.m. | Panel Discussion: Leading in a Woman Dominated Field: Casting Directors
Speakers: Angelique Midthunder (Casting Director), Carla Hool (Casting Director)
Moderator: Tatiana Siegel (Rolling Stone)
:10 p.m. | Entertainment and Closing: A Special Recap Sizzle of Lizzo and the Big Grrrls Taking SXSW by Storm
