Women who Lead, Manpower sponsor forum on female media directors
A panel of six women news media directors will speak on March 8, International Women’s Day, about their experiences accessing senior leadership positions and the milestones they have reached, as well as their economic perspectives and the challenges they have faced in digital media.
The women will speak at a forum being held by Women Who Lead (WWL), ManpowerGroup Puerto Rico and Access All Services (AAS) on Wednesday at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel in Isla Verde.
Women Who Lead founder and CEO Frances Ríos said that despite many accomplishments to date, there are still many challenges in Puerto Rico with regard to achieving equality for women. The issue is evident when examining the island’s labor force, including the composition of the top positions and the boards of directors within many industries.
“Journalism is one of the fields in which women have managed to reach high-level positions in the editorial area and several in the business structure,” Ríos said. “The ‘Meet the Women Who Lead Puerto Rico’s News Media’ forum will be the ideal platform for these six communicators to talk about their careers, challenges and recommendations for women in all professions.”
Ríos stressed that the panelists will also address issues related to women and the economy, the strategies that the news directors have embraced as they integrate multiple digital platforms in their daily workload and the connections they have made with the Puerto Rican diaspora.
Besides News is My Business founder and Editor Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez, the event’s other panelists are Dennise Pérez (Noticel), Niria Ruiz (Wapa TV), Jenny Suárez (Teleonce), Dialma Santiago-Ruiz (Telemundo) and Aiola Virella-García (Metro). Ríos will serve as the panel’s moderator.
In addition, Melissa Rivera-Roena, general manager of ManpowerGroup Puerto Rico, will participate in the event to offer insight on human resources-focused approaches on the inclusion of women, while Maricelis Rivera-Santos, president of Access All Services, will present an overview of the development and current situation of women in journalism on the island.
“Establishing strategies to achieve the inclusion of women on an equal basis must be one of the highest priorities of companies and organizations of all sizes because it is essential to always seek the best well-being for our human capital. The organizations that achieve this have higher performance and motivated teams,” Rivera-Roena said.
Rivera-Santos, who is a communication strategist and author of a thesis on the history of women in journalism, explained that “throughout the more than two centuries of the history of journalism in Puerto Rico, important contributions by women have been registered. However, to achieve this, they have had to forge their way through hard work because journalism was one of the careers dominated mainly by men. This year, we see a unique juncture in history because there are more than a dozen women running news departments, others own very successful media companies and there are also important advances in photojournalism.”
The forum will also offer an opportunity for attendees to connect with high-profile colleagues from the business community in Puerto Rico.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail, followed by a talk with the panelists at 7 p.m. For more information and to register, visit Latinanext.com.
