Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT) will honor Academy Award-winning actor and advocate Geena Davis with the Changemaker Award and Jill Barad with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 WIT Wonder Women Awards Gala.
The gala’s theme is WIT Changemakers: Playing it Forward, and will recognize female executives who are creating positive changes by giving back, passing on lessons they’ve learned, and paving the way for future leaders. Davis is co-founder and chair of the Bentonville Film Festival and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and has been an advocate to the toy industry of the importance of improving gender balance, reducing stereotyping, and creating diverse female characters in kids’ entertainment. Barad is a former chairman and CEO of Mattel, where she was one of few women at the helm of a Fortune 500 company and helped build Barbie from a $320 million business into a $2 billion global brand.
Both women will be honored at the 13th Annual Wonder Women Awards Gala on Feb. 19 at Pier 60 during the North American International Toy Fair.
