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BOSTON, Dec. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — “Plenty of people know the feeling of being first, only or different,” Shonda Rhimes told a sold-out audience of more than 10,000 at the 11th annual Massachusetts Conference for Women. “It means you are a trailblazer. There is a responsibility there, whether you want it or not.” Rhimes, one of television’s most prolific writers and producers, and the creator of hit shows such as “Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” and author of a new book “Year of Yes,” has been changing the face of Hollywood by creating more diverse roles for women, both in front of and behind the camera. Noting that the entertainment industry is making slow if uneven progress in its portrayal of women, Rhimes said that the increasing number of women running television shows means that they can decide who gets “hired and fired,” whether women characters will be “secretaries or CEOs,” and “which stories are told.”
Conference attendees also heard remarks from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and keynote addresses from Sophia Amoruso, founder and executive chairman of Nasty Gal; Tim Gunn, executive producer and star of Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” Ellen Pao, entrepreneur, investor, and writer; Adam Grant, Wharton’s top-rated professor and best-selling author; and Candy Chang, TED senior fellow, urban space artist, and designer.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit conference is the largest personal and professional networking event for women in the U.S., with more than 100 industry and thought leaders from across the country. Breakout session topics included leadership, career advancement, personal branding, social media, health and wellness, finance, and more. Conference attendees participated in the popular Bentley University Career Pavilion with in-person resume reviews by human resource experts, career coaching with members of the International Coach Federation of New England and one-on-one conversations with local community and business leaders.
Shonda Rhimes Speaks at Massachusetts Conference for Women was originally published on praiserichmond.com
