Women In Animation - The Mentorship Program

Via WIA:

... Women In Animation, the professional, non-profit organization for women involved in all aspects of the animation industry, has announced that they are now accepting applications for their 2015-2016 Mentorship Program. Designed to empower, educate and support mentees by increasing their industry knowledge and access to information through relationships with experienced animation talent, the WIA Mentorship Program is open to all WIA members. Mentor and mentee applications will be available online until September 13,
2015.

The 2015-2016 WIA Mentorship Program is scheduled to run for seven months, from October 2015 through April 2016. Through the program, entry and mid-level professionals are paired with industry veterans to develop career objectives and devise strategies for reaching their goals. “Mentoring is one of the principles at the heart of WIA's mission and vision, and we look
forward to furthering our goal to foster leadership and encourage women to achieve their professional goals,” says WIA Co-President Kristy Scanlan.

The Mentorship Committee is spearheaded by Scanlan and committee chair Kaaren Lee Brown, “The pilot year of the program was a tremendous success, and we are thrilled to expand our program this year to welcome more pairings and to help more women in their efforts to succeed in our industry,” adds Brown. ...

TAG's current employment data shows that women in signator studios (Disney, Nick, DreamWorks, Warners, etc.) represent 21% of guild-represented employees. That's somewhat better than before, but not particularly "bang the drum" good.

So WIA's mentorship program is a positive thing. Not only does it give the women in the cartoon business some deserved assistance, but it broadens the demographic of artists, designers, technical directors and writers.

Onward and upward!