CABLEFAX: THE MAGAZINE:
When you meet cable women today, do
they ask about WICT’s early days? What
do you tell them?
part young women today seem to take
for granted the reasonably unlimited
opportunity they have. They don’t think
about what it took to gain them those
opportunities.
When we started WICT there
were only a handful of women in the
industry who even knew each other.
Once we sat down and started talking,
MAGGIE BELLVILLE: I wish I could
say yes, but no—it’s such a different
time and place in our industry. Women
in cable today want to be so current,
they don’t think about yesterday.
however, we quickly realized that work- ABBE RAVEN: We have come a long
ing together through an organization way. When I started out in cable, I often
could do a lot more to open doors and remember being one of the only women
opportunity than going it alone. in the room at my company. Back then,
At the same time, we also knew that I would have never imagined that today
the male–dominated industry would I would be running it.
probably not welcome and financially
support the idea unless we positioned
our objectives very carefully. Therefore,
we started with the stated mission
of helping women to develop their
business skills.
CFTM: You’ve seen WICT from the
start. Has it met your expectations?
AR: I believe so...I think it’s incredibly
important for women in our industry
to come together and support each
other. WICT has played a major role
in women mentoring other women and
cultivating leadership in our industry.
GAIL SERMERSHEIM: A few ask
about the early days but for the most
A decade later we finally felt secure
enough to say that our objective was to
empower women to realize their true
potential. Unless you lived through it,
you can’t realize what a pivotal change
that was and the pride we felt in having
gained enough respect and confidence
within the industry to be able to boldly
present our true intent.
MB: Yes, but I think it took a sea
change; it’s when The Betsy Magness
Leadership Institute started. That really created a network for women for
