Source: WonderCon/AFI/The Toy Book

With Comic-Con International’s WonderCon having gone virtual this year, the organizers behind WonderCon@Home put together another weekend filled with panels broadcast via YouTube.

Action Figure Insider‘s Daniel Pickett has been hosting toy panels at both WonderCon and Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) for around 20 years, and the digital editions are no exception. In 2015, Pickett’s SDCC panel focused on Women In Toys and this year’s WonderCon@Home delivered a follow-up.

The 2021 WonderCon@Home Women in Toys 2 panel includes Abby Pickett, licensing associate at Mattel; Ashly Powell, senior director of product development at NECA/Loot Crate/Rubies/Kidrobot; Hilary Gray, associate director of fan marketing at Funko; and Jen Cassidy, vice president of business development and licensing at Super7. Check out the full panel below to hear the stories of four women in the toy industry and what advice they offer to others interested in the field.

Related: Living in a Post-Toys “R” Us World: Navigating the Future of Toy Retail

Looking ahead, SDCC is going virtual again this summer with another free, virtual Comic-Con@Home event, which will take place from July 23-25. Organizers expect to hold a smaller, in-person event in November.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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