Women


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

Interviewees discuss the portrayal of women on televison and women's roles within the television industry.

Highlights
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
02:21
Maria Elena Salinas on the challenges of being a female news anchor
02:47
Madelyn Pugh Davis on being one of the first female writers hired at CBS radio
01:18
Rose Marie on her Dick Van Dyke Show character "Sally Rogers"
01:35
Katie Couric on wanting a solo female anchor to be an accepted norm on television
00:26
Editor Janet Ashikaga on women in the editing field and on knowing particular editing systems
01:29
Who talked about this topic

Edie Adams

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Edie Adams on being an uncredited female writer/producer on her show Here's Edie
03:07
Edie Adams on advancements for women in television
05:55

Mary V. Ahern

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Mary V. Ahern on her experience as a female television producer in the 1950s
02:12
Mary V. Ahern on how opportunities for women in television have changed over the years
01:24

Alan Alda

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Alan Alda on Loretta Swit's contribution to making her M*A*S*H character three-dimensional
01:37

Kay Alden

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Kay Alden on where storylines originate from on The Young and the Restless and the influence of academic debate on her writing
05:15
Kay Alden on social change and public awareness on The Young and the Restless
05:26

Janet Ashikaga

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Editor Janet Ashikaga on women in the editing field and on knowing particular editing systems
03:57
Editor Janet Ashikaga on women in the editing field and on knowing particular editing systems
01:29
Editor Janet Ashikaga on being a female editor
01:34

Tammy Faye Bakker Messner

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Tammy Faye Bakker Messner on her experience as a woman in Christian television
00:18

Alan Ball

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Alan Ball on feminism on Cybill
01:17

Anne Beatts

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Anne Beatts on late-night television as an area that still hasn't fully accepted female writers
01:33
Anne Beatts on hiring an all-female writing staff for Square Pegs (with "token" male Andy Borowitz)
00:58

Samantha Bee

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Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
05:39
Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general
02:37

Sharon Bialy

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Sharon Bialy on lessening the pay gap between male and female leads on Halt and Catch Fire, and on her observations of pay equity negotiations in recent years
02:18

Linda Bell Blue

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Linda Bell Blue on sexism in the television industry
03:44

George Bodenheimer

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George Bodenheimer on the importance of female sports fans
00:37
George Bodenheimer on televising women's sports and ESPNW
01:34

Peter Bonerz

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Peter Bonerz on the Murphy Brown episode, "Uh, Oh, Part 2," and the criticism of Murphy's single motherhood by then U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle
08:48

Mili Lerner Bonsignori

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Mili Lerner Bonsignori on becoming one of four female editors in New York after World War II
02:18
Mili Lerner Bonsignori on meeting the other three female editors in New York
00:57
Mili Lerner Bonsignori on not being treated as an equal to the men on See It Now
04:20

Yvette Lee Bowser

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Yvette Lee Bowser on balancing serious subject matter within the context of a comedy on A Different World -- including the episode "If I Should Die Before I Wake"
03:31
Yvette Lee Bowser on her experience of working on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and not feeling valued
03:22
Yvette Lee Bowser on taking two weeks off from Hangin' with Mr. Cooper to write the pilot for Living Single and on several white male writers getting promoted during her absence; on forming her production company, SisterLee Productions
02:19
Yvette Lee Bowser on pitching her idea for Living Single, pushing back on network notes in order to keep "Maxine Shaw", and finalizing the pilot script for the show
03:37
Yvette Lee Bowser on the "Maxine Shaw Effect" from Living Single
01:47
Yvette Lee Bowser on being the first Black woman to create, run, and produce her own primetime series in the U.S. -- with Living Single
01:03
Yvette Lee Bowser on writing a couple episodes of Dear White People, including co-writing "Volume 2: Chapter IX", in which "Sam" returns home after her father's death; on the female friendships on Dear White People
03:20
Yvette Lee Bowser on the legacy of Dear White People
00:24

James L. Brooks

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James L. Brooks on the feminist revolution and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
03:27

Vivian Brown

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Vivian Brown on being a female meteorologist 
02:51

Frances Buss Buch

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Frances Buss Buch on the press she got for being one of the first women directors at CBS
02:24

Carol Burnett

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Carol Burnett on how Lucille Ball changed when Ball and Desi Arnaz got divorced and the dynamic of females in Hollywood
02:11

Allan Burns

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Allan Burns on placing the main setting of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in a newsroom and "Mary Richards" not being a married woman
04:58
Allan Burns on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the feminist movement
00:52
Allan Burns on The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Good Time News"
02:59

Marcy Carsey

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Marcy Carsey on the progression of her career at ABC and becoming head of series television
02:05

David Chase

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David Chase on the role of women characters on The Sopranos

Julia Child

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Julia Child on being a female chef
01:28

Margaret Cho

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Margaret Cho on the groundbreaking aspects of All-American Girl -- the first representation of a Korean American family on U.S. primetime television
03:10
Margaret Cho on network notes she got on All-American Girl -- that she was too fat
04:51
Margaret Cho on Drop Dead Diva tackling body issues head on
00:50
Margaret Cho on advice for young women entering the industry
00:31

Connie Chung

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Connie Chung on becoming a news writer and an on-air reporter
02:59
Connie Chung on getting hired at CBS News
01:12
Connie Chung on being co-anchor of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and women anchoring the news
02:13
Connie Chung on the double standard with on-camera older women and men
01:25
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer
01:04

Joan Ganz Cooney

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Joan Ganz Cooney on how the character of Susan on Sesame Street was problematic for NOW (National Organization for Women)
00:38
 Joan Ganz Cooney on the initial lack of female puppeteers on Sesame Street
01:34
Joan Ganz Cooney on being a woman in a male dominated business
02:25

Barbara Corday

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Barbara Corday on pitching Cagney & Lacey in 1974 and on being involved in the women's movement at the time
05:11
Barbara Corday on the premise of Cagney & Lacey and on dealing with women's issues on the show
04:43
Barbara Corday on the challenges of being a female executive in television
03:00
Barbara Corday on how the status of women in television has changed since she started
04:45

Katie Couric

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Katie Couric on wanting a solo female anchor to be an accepted norm on television
00:26
Katie Couric on feeling like most of the women at ABC News were in subservient positions
01:37
Katie Couric on what being a female journalist means to her
02:39
Katie Couric on becoming the first solo female news anchor
01:22
Katie Couric on why a solo female news anchor may not work for some people
01:43

Ane Crabtree

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Ane Crabtree on her research for the costumes of The Handmaid's Tale, how she was impacted by the subject matter of the show, and design ideas for the Handmaids, Econopeople, Guardians, Aunts, and Commanders
12:50
Ane Crabtree on how Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale is similar to present day, and how costumes similar to those she designed began to be worn at political protests
21:12

Judith Crist

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Judith Crist on Al Morgan of Today being a big supporter of women
01:19
Judith Crist on why she left Today and feeling the decision to let her go was sexist
01:33
Judith Crist on getting to know women in television
03:27
Judith Crist on not encountering sexism in the television industry
12:24

Judy Crown

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Judy Crown on diversity in her field
04:22

Ann Curry

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Ann Curry on being hired as a reporter at KTVL in Medford, Oregon, a station that had never before had a female reporter, and on the sexism she faced on the job
04:27
Ann Curry on aspiring to be a news anchor like Walter Cronkite early in her career, and how she navigated her ambitions with few available role models in broadcast journalism who were women or people of color
02:45
Ann Curry on inappropriate behavior she witnessed at NBC News, and on the then-current battle to prevent harassment of women in the workplace
05:18
Ann Curry on how she has seen opportunities for women and people of color change in journalism over the course of her career
02:14

James Day

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James Day on Frieda Hennock, the first female commissioner of the FCC
02:14

Sam Denoff

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Sam Denoff on That Girl's feminist message
00:42

Betty Cole Dukert

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Betty Cole Dukert on hard to anticipate questions from female journalists and balancing the panel of reporters on Meet the Press
03:01
Betty Cole Dukert on being a female producer and the male to female ratio of guests on Meet the Press
04:56

Rebecca Eaton

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Rebecca Eaton on finding out she was pregnant on the same day she was offered the job of executive producer of Masterpiece Theatre
04:21
Rebecca Eaton on the roles women had at PBS in the early 1970s, and how that has changed over time
01:54
Rebecca Eaton on the challenges of balancing her professional life and personal life as a female producer
03:44

Dick Ebersol

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Dick Ebersol on Julia Louis-Dreyfus' time on Saturday Night Live
03:12

Barbara Eden

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Barbara Eden on the perceived anti-feminist aspects of I Dream of Jeannie
01:27

Stephanie Edwards

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Stephanie Edwards on gender discrimination she see's in the business
00:53

Linda Ellerbee

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Linda Ellerbee on how things have changed for women in television news over the years
04:42

Ruth Engelhardt

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Ruth Engelhardt on her sister being an agent at William Morris, and on how she was treated as a woman in the industry
04:25

Diane English

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Diane English on the network's thoughts on having a 40 year old woman as the main character of Murphy Brown
03:07
Diane English on character "Murphy Brown" becoming a single mother and Dan Quayle's response
07:24

Jeannie Epper

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Jeannie Epper on her few close fellow stuntwomen and the passing of her brothers and sisters
02:16
Jeannie Epper on being one of the founding members of the Stuntwoman's Association of Motion Pictures
03:36
Jeannie Epper on the challenges that stuntwomen face that stuntmen don't
04:04
Jeannie Epper on the lack of women stunt coordinators
02:54

Edie Falco

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Edie Falco on her Nurse Jackie character, "Jackie Peyton," as an anti-hero, and the uniqueness of her being a female anti-hero
01:26
Edie Falco on how roles for women have changed since she started out in television and how she relates to her characters as a woman
01:57

Barbara Feldon with Emerson College

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Barbara Feldon on her Get Smart character, "99"
05:45
Barbara Feldon on hosting The '80s Woman which focused on women's issues
03:45
Barbara Feldon on being grateful for her time on Get Smart and how the industry is not generous to women; on how comedy is more fun to do than drama
02:28
Barbara Feldon on working without shoes on Get Smart and trying to look shorter than she was
00:57

Julian Fellowes

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Julian Fellowes on the rape storyline on Downton Abbey
03:34

Sally Field

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Sally Field on starting her own production company
01:40
Sally Field on ageism against women in the industry, and how things were changing in the then-present
05:09

Dorothy C. Fontana

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Dorothy Fontana on the challenges of being a woman writer and using D.C. Fontana on her scripts so that she would be given a chance
03:01
Dorothy Fontana on "Uhura" and "Number One"- one of the first major female black characters, on Star Trek
01:29
Dorothy  Fontana on the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child", over which she argued with Gene Rodenberry about the portrayal of women; she had a different ending
01:55
Dorothy Fontana on writing for The Streets of San Francisco
03:13

Ron Friedman

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Ron Friedman on the groundbreaking female characters of G.I. Joe
01:26

Pamela Fryman

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Pamela Fryman on how the industry has changed since she started, and on women in the industry
03:49

Sandra Gimpel

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Sandra Gimpel on how she became a stunt coordinator in the 1970s and the fact that women were mostly not stunt coordinators at the time, and on becoming second unit director, as well as stunt coordinator on Mrs. Columbo
05:52
Sandra Gimpel on how the equipment used by stunt performers has changed over time, especially for women, who oftentimes in the past could not wear padding because it was so bulky and too visible under costumes
02:47

Lesli Linka Glatter

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Lesli Linka Glatter on gender discrimination in her career, and discrimination and harassment in the television industry
04:49
Lesli Linka Glatter on how things have changed for women in the industry since she started
01:33

Sharon Gless

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Sharon Gless on not experiencing sexism as an actress in the 1970s
00:53
Sharon Gless on being more interested in the complicated character of "Christine Cagney" than being a "role model for the '80s"
03:26

Whoopi Goldberg

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Whoopi Goldberg on the HBO documentary she produced about Moms Mabley, Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
09:28

Lee Grant

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Lee Grant on how opportunities for women in television have changed over the years
02:25

Florence Henderson

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Florence Henderson on working during her pregnancies
01:42

Winifred Hervey

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Winifred Hervey on getting accepted to the Warner Bros. Writing Workshop
02:12
Winifred Hervey on being the only female writer on The Cosby Show
01:52
Winifred Hervey on the writers' room of The Golden Girls
02:09
Winifred Hervey on her biggest challenge in the business - being female and a minority
02:07
Winifred Hervey on opportunities for women and minorities in writing
00:40

Felicity Huffman

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Felicity Huffman on her Desperate Housewives character, "Lynette Scavo's" struggle with balancing motherhood and work, and how it related to Huffman's own work-life balance
03:54
Felicity Huffman on how roles for women on television have changed since she started in the industry
02:32

Gwen Ifill

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Gwen Ifill on learning to be an assertive woman in college and how it applies to her career
00:35
Gwen Ifill on being the first female and first African-American to moderate Washington Week
01:38
Gwen Ifill on moderating a Palin/Biden Vice-presidential debate
02:14

Allison Janney

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Allison Janney on her West Wing character, "C.J. Cregg"
02:07

Lucy Jarvis

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Lucy Jarvis on the work environment for women in network news in the early 1960s
03:45
Lucy Jarvis on hiring women for The Nation's Future  and organizing a landmark class action suit against NBC for discrimination against its female employees
05:10
Lucy Jarvis on the impact of the organization Women in Film
01:27

Julie Ann Johnson

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Julie Ann Johnson on the challenges of being a female stunt person in the 1960s, and on founding the Stuntwoman's Association
06:43
Julie Ann Johnson on the changes she's trying to make in the stunt industry to improve safety, and also for minorities and women
11:12
Julie Ann Johnson on the then-current state of the stunt industry for stunt women and safety standards
03:48
Julie Ann Johnson on the course of action stunt women have if they feel discriminated against or harassed, and what she would like to see happen
05:29

Irma Kalish

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Irma Kalish on her status as a woman writer in the early days of television and the pressure to be "twice as good as a man" and how Rocky supported her career
02:24
Irma Kalish on the dearth of women in writer's rooms in any television show when they first began working in TV and how they helped change the dynamic
03:05
Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession
02:11

Rocky Kalish

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Irma Kalish on the dearth of women in writer's rooms in any television show when they first began working in TV and how they helped change the dynamic
03:06
Irma Kalish on her status as a woman writer in the early days of television and the pressure to be "twice as good as a man" and how Rocky supported her career
02:24
Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession
02:11

Lucille Kallen

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Lucille Kallen on being the only female in the writers room of Your Show of Shows
05:04

Marta Kauffman

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Marta Kauffman on the status of female writers on television when she started
01:33
Marta Kauffman on making sure the shows she produces are friendly for female staff members, and how things have changed for women in television
02:56

Elodie Keene

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Elodie Keene on advocating for more female directors on L.A. Law
03:48
Elodie Keene on how opportunities for women in the industry have changed since she started
03:59

H. Wesley Kenney

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H. Wesley Kenney on hiring a female camera operator
01:01

Michael Patrick King

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Michael Patrick King on the premise and final year of Murphy Brown
01:56
Michael Patrick King on Sex and the City empowering the individual
01:42

Kay Koplovitz

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Kay Koplovitz on being one of the few women executives in the cable industry in the 1970s
01:20
Kay Koplovitz on her proudest achievements
01:21

Rita Lakin

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Rita Lakin on the advent of the showrunner, and on being the first female showrunner on Flamingo Road
03:50
Rita Lakin on the television movie Torn Between Two Lovers, and on advancing the cause of more women television writers
01:33

Lucy Lawless

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Lucy Lawless on how television has changed for women and in general since she started acting
02:25

Vicki Lawrence

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Vicki Lawrence on the challenges for women in television
00:52

Norman Lear

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Norman Lear on the controversial abortion episode of Maude
03:13

Michael Learned

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Michael Learned on how things have changed for actresses since she started acting
01:25

Judith Light

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Judith Light on her Ugly Betty character "Claire Meade" and working with America Ferrera as "Betty Suarez"
04:44
Judith Light on the importance of Transparent
04:13

Daniel Lipman

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Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on Sisters being one of the only television dramas to explore the lives of women at its center
01:29
Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on the success of Sisters among female viewers, despite the fact that executives did not normally pay attention to that demographic
01:37
Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on their push to have as many female directors and writers on Sisters as they could
01:31
Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on Sisters being one of the only television dramas to explore the lives of women at its center
01:29
Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on the success of Sisters among female viewers, despite the fact that executives did not normally pay attention to that demographic
01:37
Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on their push to have as many female directors and writers on Sisters as they could
01:31

Margaret Loesch

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Margaret Loesch on the dearth of female executives in television when she first started
03:10
Margaret Loesch on her advice to female executives regarding the #metoo movement
06:01

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus on being the only woman on the set of Seinfeld
00:42
Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the atmosphere on the largely female set of The New Adventures of Old Christine
02:00

Nancy Malone

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Nancy Malone on the changes for women in the television industry and the Women in Film organization

Anita Mann

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Anita Mann on facing discrimination in the industry as a woman
03:18

Sonia Manzano

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Sonia Manzano on adding aspects of feminism to her character on Sesame Street
02:28

Rose Marie

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Rose Marie on her Dick Van Dyke Show character "Sally Rogers"
01:35

Garry Marshall

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Garry Marshall on the dearth of female comedy writers during The Dick Van Dyke Show era
00:14

Beth McCarthy-Miller

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Beth McCarthy-Miller on being a woman working on Saturday Night Live
02:44

S. Epatha Merkerson

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S. Epatha Merkerson on coming to Law & Order after it had been on for four seasons (two female characters were introduced the year she came on)
03:26
S. Epatha Merkerson on whether opportunities for black women on television have changed over the years
02:26

Millie Moore

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Millie Moore on being one of the sole women in the A.C.E. when she joined
03:03
Millie Moore on women being more welcomed into the A.C.E. as editors, not just librarians, after the studio system began to crumble
00:45
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50

Donald A. Morgan

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Donald A. Morgan on how cinematography for television has changed since he first started in the business -- becoming more diverse
00:39

Priscilla Morgan

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Priscilla Morgan on being a female agent in the '50s
05:41

Michael Moye

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Michael Moye on hiring diverse writers
01:56

Anne Nelson

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Anne Nelson on becoming the first female executive at CBS, and the difficulties she encountered getting there
00:46
Anne Nelson on her style of negotiation, and on the challenges of being a female in business affairs in her era
07:23
Anne Nelson on being a female television executive
01:15

Sheila Nevins

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Sheila Nevins on being a woman in the entertainment business
03:11

Agnes Nixon

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Agnes Nixon on being one of the only women to write for the Golden Age anthology dramas
00:29

Soledad O'Brien

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Soledad O'Brien on the state of journalism in the 1990s, women she worked with at KRON, and whether or not she faced bias and discrimination at that time
04:26

Lori Openden

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Lori Openden on the casting field being predominately women
01:12

Bernie Orenstein

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Bernie Orenstein on the legacy of That Girl: representing feminism on television
02:14

Lyn Paolo

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Lyn Paolo on designing costumes on The West Wing for "C.J. Cregg," played by Allison Janney, and on thinking about how to dress a female member of a (fictional) presidential administration
02:24
Lyn Paolo on dressing Stockard Channing as "First Lady Abbey Bartlett" on The West Wing episode "The State Dinner," on the controversy the dress invited, and on why she felt it was unwarranted to shame a woman's body that way
01:22

Gail Parent

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Gail Parent on being the only female writer on a variety show when she was hired on The Carol Burnett Show
03:31
Gail Parent on how the business has changed for women since she started
01:07

Estelle Parsons

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Estelle Parsons on how she was treated as a woman on the Today set
01:34

Jane Pauley

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Jane Pauley on early critical reservations about her anchoring the local news on WMAQ in Chicago
07:41
Jane Pauley on dealing with her pregnancy and motherhood on air
12:17

Bill Persky

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Bill Persky on how That Girl reflected its time, and on the show's feminist undertones
04:16

Maury Povich

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Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS
02:42
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer
01:04

Madelyn Pugh Davis

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Madelyn Pugh Davis on being one of the first female writers hired at CBS radio
01:18
Madelyn Pugh Davis on working on the "social page" as opposed to news in radio
02:31
Madelyn Pugh Davis (with Bob Carroll, Jr.) on the early treatment of female radio and television writers and producers
01:57
Bob Carroll, Jr. & Madelyn Pugh Davis on the treatment of female producers
00:43
Madelyn Pugh Davis (with Bob Carroll, Jr.) on the early treatment of female radio and television writers and producers
01:57
Bob Carroll, Jr. & Madelyn Pugh Davis on the treatment of female producers
00:43

Martha Quinn

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Martha Quinn on her experience of being a woman in the television industry
00:48

Charlotte Rae

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Charlotte Rae on how roles for women on television have changed over the years, and on how television has changed since she started
01:39

Marian Rees

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Marian Rees on producing "Tell Me Where it Hurts" for General Electric Theater  and her commitment to feminism 
04:23
Marian Rees on her involvement in Women in Film
07:01

Hank Rieger

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Hank Rieger on advice to someone wanting to go into Public Relations, and how it's a great career for women
02:37

Cokie Roberts

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Cokie Roberts on her move to New York, on facing discrimination as a female looking to be a broadcaster, and on becoming a foreign correspondent in Greece
05:04
Cokie Roberts on how opportunities for females have changed in the television news industry since she started
04:54

Doris Roberts

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Doris Roberts on the challenge of being an older woman in Hollywood and beyond
04:13

Meta Rosenberg

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Meta Rosenberg on advice to an aspiring television producer and succeeding in the industry as a woman
02:21

Barney Rosenzweig

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Barney Rosenzweig on giving Aaron Spelling criticisms of Charlie's Angels and wanting to incorporate the themes of the Women's Movement into the show
04:53
Barney Rosenzweig on the idea for Cagney & Lacey
01:42
Barney Rosenzweig on what Cagney & Lacey was about at its core
03:41
Barney Rosenzweig on the legacy of Cagney & Lacey and what it did for the portrayal of women on television
01:55

Morley Safer

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Morley Safer on his interview with Betty Ford
01:01

Maria Elena Salinas

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Maria Elena Salinas on being called "the most recognized and trusted Hispanic newswomen in America"
01:50
Maria Elena Salinas on the challenges of being a female news anchor
02:47
Maria Elena Salinas on the current state and then-future of diversity in television 
01:30

Marlene Sanders

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Marlene Sanders on the number of women in television when she started
00:57
Marlene Sanders on other female journalists when she came along
02:50
Marlene Sanders on being the first woman to anchor an evening news broadcast (for one night) and later for three months; on more women entering the business
04:29
Marlene Sanders on her role in the women's movement
10:08
Marlene Sanders on publishing the book "Waiting for Primetime" and her conclusions about women in broadcasting
02:31
Marlene Sanders on advice for women in broadcast journalism
01:33

Jay Sandrich

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Jay Sandrich on the impact the women's movement came to have on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
01:30
Jay Sandrich on a scene in Soap which deals with sexual tension, written from a woman's perspective
01:15
Jay Sandrich on how Susan Harris brought a woman's perspective to the writing on Soap
01:43
Jay Sandrich on what good comedy can do for us socially
01:37

Ted Sarandos

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Ted Sarandos on the importance of pay equity, and on the importance of transparency in regards to executives' pay and diversity data in production
06:37

Alfred Schneider

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Alfred Schneider on writer/producer Susan Harris's response to being told that a scene in Soap where women were discussing sex had to be cut
00:51

Esther Shapiro

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Esther Shapiro on the limited number of female writers
00:27
Esther Shapiro on being a female writer in Hollywood and whether or not having a male writing partner helped her
02:45
Esther Shapiro on fellow female executives at ABC
01:25

Nina Shaw

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Nina Shaw on Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin bringing more Black characters to television and on the number of women who worked for Tandem
01:01
Nina Shaw on negotiating talent deals in the 1970s and '80s and how race and gender affected salaries
01:03
Nina Shaw on joining Dern, Mason, Swerdlow & Floum and on many firms not hiring women at that time
01:52
NIna Shaw on female directors often "having to get the one shot to screw up"
02:47

Jack Shea

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Jack Shea on diversity within the DGA
01:01

Cybill Shepherd

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Cybill Shepherd on how opportunities for women have changed since she started in the industry
01:15

Treva Silverman

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Treva Silverman on the challenges of being the only female on the writing staff of The Dean Martin Show
01:53
Treva Silverman on being the only female writer to work on The Monkees
01:21
Treva Silverman on writing The Mary Tyler Moore Show's "Rhoda Morgenstern," played by Valerie Harper, and on the female characters of the show
03:53
Treva Silverman on the male writing staff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and helping them write for female characters
03:36
Treva Silverman on how the role of women has changed since she started in television
00:52
Treva Silverman on being the first female writer to win an Emmy Award
01:23

Abby Singer

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Abby Singer on dealing with Affirmative action as a production manager
01:16

Suzanne Somers

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Suzanne Somers on how things have changed for women in television since she started
01:46

Aaron Spelling

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Aaron Spelling on the scarcity of female writers and directors in the '50s and '60s
00:17
Aaron Spelling on hiring the cast of Charlie's Angels
02:06
Aaron Spelling on the "jiggle TV" label placed upon Charlie's Angels
02:23

Lesley Stahl

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Lesley Stahl on the jobs women had at NBC News when she started in 1967
00:24
Lesley Stahl on getting hired at CBS' Washington D.C. news bureau, and how affirmative action played a part in her hiring
01:21
Lesley Stahl on being told to re-do an on-camera piece without smiling (to exude more authority) while a correspondent for CBS in Washington in the 1970s
00:51
Lesley Stahl on encountering sexism within news crews when she was a rookie reporter for CBS in Washington D.C. in the 1970s
01:47
Lesley Stahl on consciously trying to convey authority as a reporter
01:07
Lesley Stahl on women in broadcast journalism during her day
01:51

Jean Stapleton

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Jean Stapleton on her involvement with the Women's Movement of the 1970s
01:21

Nina Tassler

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Nina Tassler on the importance of developing shows that provide leading roles for women as well as a work-life balance for lead actresses
02:36

Marlo Thomas

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Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
02:21
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life --  It Happened One Christmas
00:10
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
02:13

Grant Tinker

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Grant Tinker on the lack of diversity in television
02:35

Ret Turner

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Ret Turner on wardrobe challenges like pregnancy
01:03

Saul Turteltaub

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Saul Turteltaub on Marlo Thomas' input on That Girl, and how his and Bernie Orenstein's push for Thomas' character to get married led to the end of the show
02:14

Tracey Ullman

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Tracey Ullman on the sketch "What Were You Wearing?" on Tracey Ullman's Show, and on the sketch going viral
01:36
Tracey Ullman on how changes can be made in the television industry, in light of the #MeToo and Times Up movements, and on her thoughts on the movements
02:13

Ellen M. Violett

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Ellen M. Violett on sexism she faced in her career
03:23
Ellen M. Violett on being a pioneer for women in television
02:57

Barbara Walters

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Barbara Walters on being able to "write for men" on the Today show
01:20
Barbara Walters on being denied the opportunity to travel overseas for reporting in her early career
04:34
Barbara Walters on being the first female network news anchor (she was co-anchor from 1976-1978 on ABC Evening News)
00:46
Barbara Walters on the rise of women in television and her advice to women on getting ahead
00:53

Matthew Weiner

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Matthew Weiner on the Mad Men  episode, "The Other Woman," in which "Joan Holloway" (Christina Hendricks) prostitutes herself to get an account for the firm
04:41
Matthew Weiner on the gender equality themes of Mad Men  season 7a
00:44

Av Westin

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Av Westin on negative reactions to Barbara Walters and other female news anchors
04:40

Betty White

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Betty White on how it was for women in television in the early '50s
02:14

Susan Whiting

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Susan Whiting on being a female executive in the media world
01:26

Tucker Wiard

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Tucker Wiard on fond memories working on The Carol Burnett Show
14:24

Ethel Winant

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Ethel Winant on rising up through the ranks at CBS as a woman
01:26
Ethel Winant on being the first female executive at CBS and dealing with other executives like William S. Paley
05:58

Lauren Zalaznick

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Lauren Zalaznick on how things have changed for women in television since she started, and on the then-future of women in television
02:53

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