News Archive

June 21, 2017

DEG Presents First “Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology” to Geena Davis

The Digital Entertainment Group is pleased to announce it will present its first “Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology” to Academy Award winning actor and advocate Geena Davis, Founder and Chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. DEG created the Innovation Award to recognize female executives in the fields of entertainment and technology who have made a significant contribution to the industry. Read More…

June 04, 2017

Geena Davis Has Led the Charge for Women in Hollywood. Now She’s Doing the Same for Advertising

Don’t ask Geena Davis about role models. At least, don’t ask her about female role models on screen. The Oscar-winning actress turned gender-equality activist wants more women in movies and on television playing scientists, engineers, lawyers, CEOs—all of the jobs that women have in real life—but please, if you do anything, make those characters interesting. In Davis’ view, treating female characters solely as role models means they can end up wooden and humorless—which inevitably leads to fewer of them. “Who wants more stiff, strong female characters when what you need is really colorful, flawed, messed-up, interesting female characters—just like male characters are?” says Davis. Read More…

May 25, 2017

Wind Dancer Day

We have all heard about the issues of gender representation and Hollywood. While it is film and primetime television that get the most attention, the area that may have the biggest impact is in children’s TV. Why is children’s television so important? It is because it is from children’s media that kids often form the views that will guide them later on, in school and in life. According to data from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the more hours of media girls consume, the fewer life options they believe they have, while the more hours boys watch, the more sexist they become. Read More…

March 29, 2017

Geena Davis on Doc McStuffins

Princesses Can Do Anything! Princess Persephone (Geena Davis) show Doc and the toys that a princess can not only rescue herself but others too! Watch Video…

February 21, 2017

Beloved Actress Geena Davis Visits Walt Disney World Resort

Actress, producer, and writer Geena Davis, takes her family on a surprise winter vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Geena, the mother of two tween boys, spent a majority of her time on the big thrill ride attractions including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom Park. A big change of pace from the Disney classics like “it’s a small world” when they were little. Geena was able to sneak in a little one-on-one time with Minnie Mouse, though! Read More…

February 16, 2017

Hollywood star to shine at high tea

Put on a headscarf over your hair and hold her hand tight, as women from the Northern Rivers drive to see Thelma and Louise star Geena Davis at a Regional High Tea. Davis, 61, will be appearing in a live stream from Sydney Opera House All About Women Festival. One of Hollywood’s most respected actors, Geena Davis is recognised for her advocacy of gender equality in media, nearly as much as for her acting accomplishments. She is an official partner of UN Women, working toward their goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women worldwide. Davis is also the Chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women. Read More…

February 13, 2017

Geena Davis Is On a Mission for Gender Equality in the Media

Don’t discount the power of a media image on a young girl’s life, says Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis (Tootsie, Thelma & Louise, The Accidental Tourist, A League of Their Own), who was in Sarasota Monday giving two charming and humor-laden talks at the Ringling College Library Association Town Hall series about a serious subject: the damaging way that females in American television and film are overwhelmingly “sidelined, hypersexualized or simply not there.” Why does that matter? Elizabeth Gray, the Ringling College student who painted Davis’ portrait and presented it to her backstage before her morning talk, gave the perfect answer. She’d seen A League of Their Own as a young child, she told Davis, and because of it she’d always wanted to be a baseball catcher. But when she got old enough to join a team she was told she was too scrawny. “I said no, if Dottie Hinson (the role Davis played) can be a catcher, so can I.” And she went on to catch for school baseball teams for eight years. Read More…

February 13, 2017

Geena Davis will speak at United Way event in Phoenix

Geena Davis, an Academy Award winning actor who is one of Hollywood’s most respected stars, is coming to Phoenix to speak at a luncheon presented by the Women’s Leadership Council of the Valley of the Sun United Way. “We Are UNITED,” a fundraising event to help fund Valley of the Sun United Way’s Breakfast in the Classroom program, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 28 at The Phoenician Resort. Read More…

February 07, 2017

Geena Davis, Female YouTubers Unite for Gender Equality in Media

Move over Louise, Thelma has three new pals riding shotgun. Geena Davis has wrangled a trio of successful female creators from YouTube for a new campaign pushing for gender equality in media. Unlike her reckless roadtrip with Susan Sarandon in the legendary “Thelma & Louise,” this trip is headed for higher ground than the floor of the Grand Canyon in a Thunderbird. Like the iconic 1991 film though, Ford is back on board. “#ShesGotDrive” is a branded content campaign promoting gender equality on-camera, off-camera, and female empowerment throughout the media and entertainment industries. Read More…

February 07, 2017

Taryn Southern, Yulin Kuang and Clara Chung Join Geena Davis Institute’s #ShesGotDrive Campaign

Last night at the YouTube Space in Los Angeles, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with YouTube and Ford, launched a brand new campaign called #ShesGotDRIVE, bringing together some of YouTube’s most popular and powerful female voices to promote a vision of female empowerment and equality. The #ShesGotDrive campaign has enlisted the help of YouTube powerhouses Taryn Southern, Yulin Kuang and Clara Chung (A.K.A. “Clara C.“) to make videos that both tell the stories of their own inspirations, path, and drive, as well as emphasize the fact that girls and women need to see more women like themselves in media in order for things to change in the real world. Read More…

IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT®