The Women’s Media Center Celebrates 20 Years of Amplifying Women’s Voices ar 2025 Gala

The Women’s Media Center (WMC) commemorated two decades of feminist media advocacy with a star-studded celebration at the 20th Anniversary Women’s Media Awards, held Thursday, June 5, at the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel in Manhattan.

The gala honored five extraordinary women who are transforming the media landscape and redefining whose voices shape America’s stories.

This year’s 2025 WMC Women’s Media Awards honorees include:

• Geralyn White Dreyfous, film producer and Co-Founder of JOLT and Impact Partners, honored with the WMC Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award

• S. Mitra Kalita, media entrepreneur and Co-Founder of URL Media and Epicenter NYC, awarded the WMC Carol Jenkins Award

• Imani Perry, Harvard scholar and public intellectual, recipient of the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award

• Erica Smiley, labor leader and Executive Director of Jobs With Justice, also honored with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award

• Jessica Valenti, feminist author and founder of Abortion, Every Day, recognized with the WMC Progressive Women’s Voices Impact Award

The ceremony was led by WMC co-founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, alongside WMC President & CEO Julie Burton and members of the WMC board, including Janet Dewart Bell, Erica González Martínez, and Soraya Chemaly.

Julie Burton reflected on the Center’s founding: “When we started the Women’s Media Center 20 years ago, we had a clear mission: to make women—especially diverse women—more visible and powerful in media. We’ve made progress, but that work is far from over. The women we honored tonight are setting the new standard for a media that reflects the full spectrum of our stories.”

Co-chair of the gala and WMC board member Regina K. Scully added, “What an honor to celebrate 20 years of WMC’s groundbreaking work to amplify women’s voices, leadership, and rights within our culture.”

The Women’s Media Awards raise essential funds to support WMC’s year-round programs, including:

• WMC Media Lab, which produces research and accountability reports on women’s representation in media

• WMC Progressive Women’s Voices, a training program for women leaders and experts

• WMC SheSource, a resource platform connecting journalists to diverse women experts

• WMC original journalism, which investigates and publishes stories amplifying women’s voices

The event was supported by a powerhouse roster of Awards Co-Chairs, including Loreen Arbus, Mellody Hobson, Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Pritzker, Sophia Yen, and Pat Mitchell, among others.

Past WMC honorees include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christiane Amanpour, America Ferrera, Joy Reid, Fatima Goss Graves, Soledad O’Brien, Padmasree Warrior, and the late Barbara Walters—further affirming WMC’s legacy of recognizing women who shift narratives, shape culture, and lead change.