Marianne Williamson: Women and Leadership

I get particularly disappointed when I – the publisher of the LA Progressive – find that it’s 8:00 in the morning and we’re about to put out our daily newsletter without it containing a single piece written by or about a woman or a minority. This doesn’t happen often but when it does I feel that I have fallen short of the mark.

This morning, feeling like I failed to hit the mark, I thought I’d offer this. Let me start by sharing a few statistics about women — the demographic that represents 51% of our population. The data below was recently published by Catalyst, a 50-year-old organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for women:

• 4% – Percentage of women currently serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
• 4.1% – Percentage of women holding CEO positions in Fortune 1000 companies
• 17% – Percentage of women currently serving in the United States House of Representatives
• 17% – Percentage of women currently serving as United States Senators

According to a report published by Catalyst that examined women’s roles in the top 250 films in the United state in 2011:

• 96% of films had no women cinematographers
• 77% of films did not have a single woman writer
• 76% of films had no women editors
• 59% of films had no women executive producers

One of the primary reasons we publish the LA Progressive is to bring issues to light that are either ignored or given short shrift by traditional media. We had boots on the ground at the Occupy LA encampment weeks before mainstream media showed up. We publish pieces written from a broad array of perspectives – consciously choosing to provide a platform to those who are underrepresented in mainstream media circles. Women clearly fit the bill. So why is it so hard to attract women writers?

Recently, we met New York Times bestselling author Marianne Williamson at a talk she was giving. The topic of her talk? Women, non-violence, and women in leadership, particularly political leadership. We learned at that talk that Marianne Williamson is gearing up to present a special event this coming November 10th and 11th . We wanted to know more.

In meeting with Marianne, we learned that the event is entitled, “Sister Giant: Women, Non-Violence and Birthing a New American Politics”. The goal is to bring people together who are concerned about the over-influence of moneyed interests in our political system and the underrepresentation of women in political leadership — people who want a transformational view of the world.  We’ll learn more about this over the coming weeks and months. As we do, we will share what we know with you.

This morning, Ms. Williamson will be a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday. Here is a link to the Oprah’s site and below is a video preview of the interview. Enjoy.

Preview: Oprah and Marianne Williamson’s Reflections 20 Years After A Return to Love

Twenty years ago, Marianne Williamson’s Oprah Show appearance launched a phenomenon. Now, Oprah is sitting down with Marianne, the author of A Return to Love, for a new, can’t-miss interview. Watch a preview of their conversation about life’s big questions.

Sharon Kyle, Publisher

Posted: Sunday, 29 July 2012