Women

Edie Adams on being an uncredited female writer/producer on her show Here's Edie

Edie Adams on advancements for women in television

Mary V. Ahern on her experience as a female television producer in the 1950s

Mary V. Ahern on how opportunities for women in television have changed over the years

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

Kay Alden on where storylines originate from on The Young and the Restless and the influence of academic debate on her writing

Kay Alden on social change and public awareness on The Young and the Restless

Editor Janet Ashikaga on women in the editing field and on knowing particular editing systems

Editor Janet Ashikaga on women in the editing field and on knowing particular editing systems

Editor Janet Ashikaga on being a female editor

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

Alan Ball on feminism on Cybill

Anne Beatts on hiring an all-female writing staff for Square Pegs (with "token" male Andy Borowitz)

Anne Beatts on late-night television as an area that still hasn't fully accepted female writers

Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general

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

Linda Bell Blue on sexism in the television industry

George Bodenheimer on the importance of female sports fans

George Bodenheimer on televising women's sports and ESPNW

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

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on becoming one of four female editors in New York after World War II

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on meeting the other three female editors in New York

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on not being treated as an equal to the men on See It Now

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"

Yvette Lee Bowser on her experience of working on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and not feeling valued

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

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

Yvette Lee Bowser on the "Maxine Shaw Effect" from Living Single

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

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

Yvette Lee Bowser on the legacy of Dear White People

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

Vivian Brown on being a female meteorologist 

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

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

Allan Burns on placing the main setting of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in a newsroom and "Mary Richards" not being a married woman

Allan Burns on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the feminist movement

Allan Burns on The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Good Time News"

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

David Chase on the role of women characters on The Sopranos

Julia Child on being a female chef

Margaret Cho on the groundbreaking aspects of All-American Girl -- the first representation of a Korean American family on U.S. primetime television

Margaret Cho on network notes she got on All-American Girl -- that she was too fat

Margaret Cho on Drop Dead Diva tackling body issues head on

Margaret Cho on advice for young women entering the industry

Connie Chung on being co-anchor of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and women anchoring the news

Connie Chung on the double standard with on-camera older women and men

Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer

Connie Chung on becoming a news writer and an on-air reporter

Connie Chung on getting hired at CBS News

 Joan Ganz Cooney on the initial lack of female puppeteers on Sesame Street

Joan Ganz Cooney on being a woman in a male dominated business

Joan Ganz Cooney on how the character of Susan on Sesame Street was problematic for NOW (National Organization for Women)

Barbara Corday on pitching Cagney & Lacey in 1974 and on being involved in the women's movement at the time

Barbara Corday on the premise of Cagney & Lacey and on dealing with women's issues on the show

Barbara Corday on the challenges of being a female executive in television

Barbara Corday on how the status of women in television has changed since she started

Katie Couric on feeling like most of the women at ABC News were in subservient positions

Katie Couric on what being a female journalist means to her

Katie Couric on becoming the first solo female news anchor

Katie Couric on why a solo female news anchor may not work for some people

Katie Couric on wanting a solo female anchor to be an accepted norm on television

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on Sisters being one of the only television dramas to explore the lives of women at its center

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

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman on their push to have as many female directors and writers on Sisters as they could

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

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

Judith Crist on Al Morgan of Today being a big supporter of women

Judith Crist on why she left Today and feeling the decision to let her go was sexist

Judith Crist on getting to know women in television

Judith Crist on not encountering sexism in the television industry

Judy Crown on diversity in her field

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

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

Ann Curry on inappropriate behavior she witnessed at NBC News, and on the then-current battle to prevent harassment of women in the workplace

Ann Curry on how she has seen opportunities for women and people of color change in journalism over the course of her career

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

Sam Denoff on That Girl's feminist message

Betty Cole Dukert on hard to anticipate questions from female journalists and balancing the panel of reporters on Meet the Press

Betty Cole Dukert on being a female producer and the male to female ratio of guests on Meet the Press

Rebecca Eaton on finding out she was pregnant on the same day she was offered the job of executive producer of Masterpiece Theatre

Rebecca Eaton on the roles women had at PBS in the early 1970s, and how that has changed over time

Rebecca Eaton on the challenges of balancing her professional life and personal life as a female producer

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

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

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

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

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

Diane English on the network's thoughts on having a 40 year old woman as the main character of Murphy Brown

Diane English on character "Murphy Brown" becoming a single mother and Dan Quayle's response

Jeannie Epper on her few close fellow stuntwomen and the passing of her brothers and sisters

Jeannie Epper on being one of the founding members of the Stuntwoman's Association of Motion Pictures

Jeannie Epper on the challenges that stuntwomen face that stuntmen don't

Jeannie Epper on the lack of women stunt coordinators

Edie Falco on her Nurse Jackie character, "Jackie Peyton," as an anti-hero, and the uniqueness of her being a female anti-hero

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

Barbara Feldon on her Get Smart character, "99"

Barbara Feldon on hosting The '80s Woman which focused on women's issues

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

Barbara Feldon on working without shoes on Get Smart and trying to look shorter than she was

Julian Fellowes on the rape storyline on Downton Abbey

Sally Field on starting her own production company

Sally Field on ageism against women in the industry, and how things were changing in the then-present

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

Dorothy Fontana on "Uhura" and "Number One"- one of the first major female black characters, on Star Trek

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

Dorothy Fontana on writing for The Streets of San Francisco

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

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

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

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

Lesli Linka Glatter on gender discrimination in her career, and discrimination and harassment in the television industry

Lesli Linka Glatter on how things have changed for women in the industry since she started

Sharon Gless on not experiencing sexism as an actress in the 1970s

Sharon Gless on being more interested in the complicated character of "Christine Cagney" than being a "role model for the '80s"

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

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

Florence Henderson on working during her pregnancies

Winifred Hervey on getting accepted to the Warner Bros. Writing Workshop

Winifred Hervey on being the only female writer on The Cosby Show

Winifred Hervey on the writers' room of The Golden Girls

Winifred Hervey on her biggest challenge in the business - being female and a minority

Winifred Hervey on opportunities for women and minorities in writing

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

Felicity Huffman on how roles for women on television have changed since she started in the industry

Gwen Ifill on learning to be an assertive woman in college and how it applies to her career

Gwen Ifill on being the first female and first African-American to moderate Washington Week

Gwen Ifill on moderating a Palin/Biden Vice-presidential debate

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

Lucy Jarvis on the impact of the organization Women in Film

Lucy Jarvis on the work environment for women in network news in the early 1960s

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

Julie Ann Johnson on the challenges of being a female stunt person in the 1960s, and on founding the Stuntwoman's Association

Julie Ann Johnson on the changes she's trying to make in the stunt industry to improve safety, and also for minorities and women

Julie Ann Johnson on the then-current state of the stunt industry for stunt women and safety standards

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

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

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

Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession

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

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

Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession

Marta Kauffman on the status of female writers on television when she started

Marta Kauffman on making sure the shows she produces are friendly for female staff members, and how things have changed for women in television

Elodie Keene on advocating for more female directors on L.A. Law

Elodie Keene on how opportunities for women in the industry have changed since she started

H. Wesley Kenney on hiring a female camera operator

Kim Kimble on the representation of women of color, as portrayed on her reality show, L.A. Hair

Michael Patrick King on the premise and final year of Murphy Brown

Michael Patrick King on Sex and the City empowering the individual

Kay Koplovitz on being one of the few women executives in the cable industry in the 1970s

Kay Koplovitz on her proudest achievements

Rita Lakin on the advent of the showrunner, and on being the first female showrunner on Flamingo Road

Rita Lakin on the television movie Torn Between Two Lovers, and on advancing the cause of more women television writers

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

Vicki Lawrence on the challenges for women in television

Norman Lear on the controversial abortion episode of Maude

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

Judith Light on her Ugly Betty character "Claire Meade" and working with America Ferrera as "Betty Suarez"

Judith Light on the importance of Transparent

Margaret Loesch on the dearth of female executives in television when she first started

Margaret Loesch on her advice to female executives regarding the #metoo movement

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on being the only woman on the set of Seinfeld

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the atmosphere on the largely female set of The New Adventures of Old Christine

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

Anita Mann on facing discrimination in the industry as a woman

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

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

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

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

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)

S. Epatha Merkerson on whether opportunities for black women on television have changed over the years

Millie Moore on being one of the sole women in the A.C.E. when she joined

Millie Moore on women being more welcomed into the A.C.E. as editors, not just librarians, after the studio system began to crumble

Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years

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

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

Michael Moye on hiring diverse writers

Anne Nelson on becoming the first female executive at CBS, and the difficulties she encountered getting there

Anne Nelson on her style of negotiation, and on the challenges of being a female in business affairs in her era

Anne Nelson on being a female television executive

Sheila Nevins on being a woman in the entertainment business

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

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

Lori Openden on the casting field being predominately women

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

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

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

Gail Parent on being the only female writer on a variety show when she was hired on The Carol Burnett Show

Gail Parent on how the business has changed for women since she started

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

Jane Pauley on early critical reservations about her anchoring the local news on WMAQ in Chicago

Jane Pauley on dealing with her pregnancy and motherhood on air

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

Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS

Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer

Madelyn Pugh Davis on working on the "social page" as opposed to news in radio

Madelyn Pugh Davis on being one of the first female writers hired at CBS radio

Madelyn Pugh Davis (with Bob Carroll, Jr.) on the early treatment of female radio and television writers and producers

Bob Carroll, Jr. & Madelyn Pugh Davis on the treatment of female producers

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

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

Marian Rees on producing "Tell Me Where it Hurts" for General Electric Theater  and her commitment to feminism 

Marian Rees on her involvement in Women in Film

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

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

Cokie Roberts on how opportunities for females have changed in the television news industry since she started

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

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

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

Barney Rosenzweig on the idea for Cagney & Lacey

Barney Rosenzweig on what Cagney & Lacey was about at its core

Barney Rosenzweig on the legacy of Cagney & Lacey and what it did for the portrayal of women on television

Morley Safer on his interview with Betty Ford

Maria Elena Salinas on being called "the most recognized and trusted Hispanic newswomen in America"

Maria Elena Salinas on the challenges of being a female news anchor

Maria Elena Salinas on the current state and then-future of diversity in television 

Marlene Sanders on the number of women in television when she started

Marlene Sanders on other female journalists when she came along

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

Marlene Sanders on her role in the women's movement

Marlene Sanders on publishing the book "Waiting for Primetime" and her conclusions about women in broadcasting

Marlene Sanders on advice for women in broadcast journalism

Jay Sandrich on the impact the women's movement came to have on The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Jay Sandrich on a scene in Soap which deals with sexual tension, written from a woman's perspective

Jay Sandrich on how Susan Harris brought a woman's perspective to the writing on Soap

Jay Sandrich on what good comedy can do for us socially

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

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

Esther Shapiro on the limited number of female writers

Esther Shapiro on being a female writer in Hollywood and whether or not having a male writing partner helped her

Esther Shapiro on fellow female executives at ABC

Nina Shaw on Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin bringing more Black characters to television and on the number of women who worked for Tandem

Nina Shaw on negotiating talent deals in the 1970s and '80s and how race and gender affected salaries

Nina Shaw on joining Dern, Mason, Swerdlow & Floum and on many firms not hiring women at that time

NIna Shaw on female directors often "having to get the one shot to screw up"

Jack Shea on diversity within the DGA

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

Treva Silverman on the challenges of being the only female on the writing staff of The Dean Martin Show

Treva Silverman on being the only female writer to work on The Monkees

Treva Silverman on writing The Mary Tyler Moore Show's "Rhoda Morgenstern," played by Valerie Harper, and on the female characters of the show

Treva Silverman on the male writing staff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and helping them write for female characters

Treva Silverman on how the role of women has changed since she started in television

Treva Silverman on being the first female writer to win an Emmy Award

Abby Singer on dealing with Affirmative action as a production manager

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

Aaron Spelling on the scarcity of female writers and directors in the '50s and '60s

Aaron Spelling on hiring the cast of Charlie's Angels

Aaron Spelling on the "jiggle TV" label placed upon Charlie's Angels

Lesley Stahl on consciously trying to convey authority as a reporter

Lesley Stahl on encountering sexism within news crews when she was a rookie reporter for CBS in Washington D.C. in the 1970s

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

Lesley Stahl on getting hired at CBS' Washington D.C. news bureau, and how affirmative action played a part in her hiring

Lesley Stahl on the jobs women had at NBC News when she started in 1967

Lesley Stahl on women in broadcast journalism during her day

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

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

Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer

Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl

Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life --  It Happened One Christmas

Grant Tinker on the lack of diversity in television

Ret Turner on wardrobe challenges like pregnancy

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

Tracey Ullman on the sketch "What Were You Wearing?" on Tracey Ullman's Show, and on the sketch going viral

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

Ellen M. Violett on sexism she faced in her career

Ellen M. Violett on being a pioneer for women in television

Barbara Walters on being able to "write for men" on the Today show

Barbara Walters on being denied the opportunity to travel overseas for reporting in her early career

Barbara Walters on being the first female network news anchor (she was co-anchor from 1976-1978 on ABC Evening News)

Barbara Walters on the rise of women in television and her advice to women on getting ahead

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

Matthew Weiner on the gender equality themes of Mad Men  season 7a

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

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

Susan Whiting on being a female executive in the media world

Tucker Wiard on fond memories working on The Carol Burnett Show

Ethel Winant on rising up through the ranks at CBS as a woman

Ethel Winant on being the first female executive at CBS and dealing with other executives like William S. Paley

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