Gloria Steinem, Octavia Spencer to anchor MAKERS women’s empowerment conference
Fresh on the heels of last month’s women’s marches, MAKERS, AOL’s storytelling platform for women’s empowerment, will kick off its third conference series on Monday with a bevy of stars at the peak of their powers.
Activist Gloria Steinem and Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer (“Hidden Figures”) will anchor the conference Monday night with a Be Bold session about Spencer’s entry into acting, the importance of telling stories like “Hidden Figures” and how to better create a landscape of diversity in entertainment.
Tuesday’s sessions will feature actress Eva Longoria, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, designer Diane von Furstenberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, director Jill Soloway (“Transparent”), Olympic medalists Gabby Douglas and Ibtihaj Muhammad, and Tony award winner Cynthia Erivo (“The Color Purple”).
This year’s conference, held at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes is meant to be a “meeting of the minds following the marches” and will highlight issues surrounding the election and how to advance women’s issues under a Trump administration.
The TEDx-esque platform currently features more than 4,500 original videos and more than 400 interviews with industry-dominating women including Oprah Winfrey, and Shonda Rhimes and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
While the weekend event is invite-only, the conference will stream live on the MAKERS website from Feb. 6-8.
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