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Creating success and support for women at all levels

March 16, 2022

Maribel Ramos-Weiner

Karen Barroeta de Telemundo

Looking back on all my years working in media and entertainment, I realize that for so much of my early career, I didn’t have the chance to work with women in senior leadership roles. In such a male-dominated industry, I rarely had the chance to work with other women at all – let alone seek out female role models I could look to for mentorship and support.

Now, the thought of inclusivity and women supporting each other in the industry has never felt more relevant and more attainable. As a woman working in media and entertainment, we must continue opening doors for other women at every level, both behind the camera and on the screen.

In the early days of my career, I remember sitting in a conference room full of men and feeling the challenges of being the only woman present. Sitting at that table, I didn’t want my gender to define me. I only wanted to be recognized for the ideas and execution I brought to the table.

Over the years I’ve seen how women must support and advocate for one another to build a shared community across our industry. Ultimately, it is women supporting women that have created the most positive movement for us in the workplace. It is our shared support and success that has begun to shift the dynamic I felt when I was starting out in my career.

When it comes to continuing to push for change, the biggest impact comes from the support we show one another in the day-to-day — from coaching and mentoring, to hiring and selecting women for new opportunities and bigger responsibilities. The power to create a better place for women at work in our industry is in our hands, and the strength to push for positive change is within each of us.

About the author
Karen Barroeta is a television industry executive with more than 20 years of experience in broadcast, pay-TV & content distribution. Throughout her career, Barroeta has been responsible for leading efforts in Programming, Creative, Marketing, PR, and Ad Sales for international and Hispanic-language markets and has cultivated a strong expertise in media management and strategic thinking. Recently, Barroeta has been appointed EVP of Production and Development at Telemundo Global Studios. In this role, she is responsible for leading the development strategy of the Studios, along with the management and execution of long-form scripted productions across all platforms.