The Power of I Am: Stories for Women by Women

The stories we tell help to shape our view and understanding of the world around us. Because of that, it’s essential that we expand the scope of those stories to elevate a more diverse range of voices, both behind the camera and in front of it.  Women inside and outside of AT&T and WarnerMedia have shown the power of women telling stories for and about women. In doing so, they remind all of us that compelling and authentic stories are integral to creating human connections that foster deeper understanding.

AT&T and WarnerMedia are consistently working to remove barriers for women so that they can succeed, thrive and lead in whatever area of the business that they choose.  AT&T believes If You Can #SeeHer, You Can Be Her, and we are committed to using our scale and brand to elevate and accurately portray women and girls in marketing, advertising, media, sports and entertainment. As part of that commitment, we’re helping to lead the SeeHer movement to eliminate gender stereotypes in advertising and media. 

AT&T was the first SeeHer member to copy-test all our ads using the Gender Equality Measure (GEM™), which measures how Authentic, Respectful, Appropriate and Positive women and girls are portrayed. We reached the SeeHer goal of 20% improvement two years ahead of the 2020 goal and through 2019, AT&T’s has improved the portrayal of women & girls in its ads by 42%.Using our platform to amplify the voices of a diverse range of storytellers is also the inspiration behind programs like AT&T Presents Untold Stories partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival and launch of Youth Voices Collective.

Untold Stories, which offers filmmakers funding, mentorship, and distribution for their films, has produced three feature films to date and two of them have been directed by women. Lucky Grandma premiered at Tribeca in 2019 and was co-directed by Sasie Sealey and Angela Cheng. More recently, Kate Tsang premiered her debut feature – Marvelous and the Black Hole – at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The Youth Voices Collective provides instruction and publishing opportunities to thousands of students across the U.S., especially those in underserved communities. As a part of our $1 million contribution to literacy groups, the program has offered students learning opportunities with CNN journalists and access to Six Feet of Separation, an online newspaper established for students to share their stories during COVID-19 and beyond. It’s expanding in 2021 to teach young people media making and entertainment production skills.

We know how powerful it is when women and girls see themselves and their experiences represented and respected. Through our business, our sponsorships, partnerships and community engagements, we will continue our efforts to empower and elevate their stories and their talents.

Learn more from AT&T women about how we’re continuing to amplify stories for women by women in this week’s AT&T’s “Power of I am..” video below.