Panel Explores Challenges for Women in Radio

Executive Vice President and New York Local President Rebecca Damon, National Board member Christine Nagy of WLTW-FM, New York Board member Cheri Preston of ABC Radio, and SAG-AFTRA Chief Broadcast Officer Mary Cavallaro led a conversation with female broadcast members at the New York Local’s inaugural Women in New York Radio Brunch on Tuesday, March 20, at The Smith restaurant.

Preston welcomed the attendees and served as emcee. She discussed issues of work-life balance and offered the union as a place for members to vocalize concerns, as well as a resource to assist members with their personal service contracts. In addition, she underscored the importance of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements in an industry where women are insufficiently represented in management roles and face income disparity with their male colleagues.    

Damon spoke about sexual harassment in the industry and outlined SAG-AFTRA’s efforts to combat the subject through its Four Pillars of Change initiative, the release of a formal Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment and an updated hotline that operates 24/7.

Damon’s comments were echoed by Cavallaro, who said the union was aggressively engaging with employers to prevent workplace harassment and discrimination. She addressed the iHeartRadio and Cumulus bankruptcies and SAG-AFTRA’s determined efforts to protect the interests of affected members. She also called on broadcast members to inform the union of their concerns and what they would like addressed whenever their shop’s contract comes up for negotiation.

Nagy elaborated further on the demands radio and broadcasting place on members’ personal and professional lives, citing social media and streaming video as particular disrupters.