United Talent Agency will observe Wednesday’s follow-up protest to the Women’s March on Washington — a strike labelled “A Day Without a Woman.”
Female employees at the Hollywood agency will gather at offsite meetings in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, where their star clients and thought leaders will speak.
Women in Film President and producer Cathy Schulman will speak in the L.A. sessions, exclusive to UTA employees, as will USC’s Stacy Smith. New York will feature local Planned Parenthood Chair Katie Danziger and UTA Partner Nancy Gates.
“We consider it vital for UTA to be a part of the global dialogue about gender equity and underscore its importance,” UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer said in a statement. “Women play a critical role in the workforce and are essential members of the UTA family, and we fully support this event and encourage women across the agency to mark the day.”
“On the heels of our United Voices rally, it was a very natural decision to stand up for, and with, our own female employees,” Suzette Ramirez-Carr, UTA’s Global Head of Human Resources, continued. “Every woman will have the freedom to spend the day as she sees fit–with the full support of her male colleagues.”
This is not the first time since President Trump’s election that show business has gotten in on political movements — especially in the context of stories agency competition.
A few weeks ago, UTA held an immigration rally (while no Hollywood companies will concede an anti-Trump position, all of this action is a barely-veiled response to the policies and rhetoric of his administration) in protest of the travel ban. The day before, CAA held a day-long conference of speakers and promoted causes like the ACLU.
Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell’s WME promised to develop a full-fledged political action group within its Beverly Hills, California, headquarters.
Read more about the political ambitions of talent agencies here.
The full UTA announcement:
United Talent Agency (UTA) is announcing its plans to observe Wednesday’s “A Day Without a Woman.” UTA supports this day of action to spotlight the value of women in the workforce and highlight the issue of gender inequality. The event is an outgrowth of the recent Women’s March held in cities around the world, and it encourages women to stay away from work on March 8th to raise awareness of the central role women play.
“We consider it vital for UTA to be a part of the global dialogue about gender equity and underscore its importance,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “Women play a critical role in the workforce and are essential members of the UTA family, and we fully support this event and encourage women across the agency to mark the day.”
UTA will hold off-site events this Wednesday for its female employees in its offices in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. The Los Angeles and New York events will feature community leaders as well as prominent talent from across the news, literary and film worlds discussing issues of gender equity and the arts, including sharing their own personal journeys and experiences. The New York gathering will take place at event partner Tumblr’s headquarters. In Toronto, employees are organizing a clothing and fundraising drive for Toronto Dress for Success and local shelter Women’s Habitat.
“On the heels of our United Voices rally, it was a very natural decision to stand up for, and with, our own female employees,” said Suzette Ramirez-Carr, UTA’s Global Head of Human Resources. “Every woman will have the freedom to spend the day as she sees fit–with the full support of her male colleagues–and I couldn’t be more proud of the conversations taking shape globally around this decision.”
While Wednesday’s offsite events are for agency employees only, UTA did release the following roster of featured speakers.
A DAY WITHOUT A WOMAN: LOS ANGELES
Isha Sesay – Anchor & correspondent, CNN International
Pae White – LA-based American visual artist
Laila Lalami – Author of The Moor’s Account
Cathy Schulman – President, Welle Entertainment & Women In Film, LA
Haifaa Al Mansour – Filmmaker
Stacy Smith, Director, Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative USCA DAY WITHOUT A WOMAN: NEW YORK
Conducted in partnership with TumblrYasmeen Hassan – Global Executive Director, Equality Now
Katie Danziger – Planned Parenthood of NY City Board Chair
Jordan Brooks – Managing Director and COO, United State of Women
Rebecca Jarvis – ABC News Chief Business, Technology & Economics Correspondent
Julie Alvin- Executive Editor at Bustle
Danielle Maged – EVP of Global Partnerships, Fox Networks Group
Katherine Barna – Head of Communications, Tumblr
Nancy Gates – Partner, Co-Head TV Talent, United Talent Agency